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Old 26-02-2005, 06:40 PM   #6
JynX
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Most of the above is good advice but you need to seriously think about what your overall plans are.

As far as I know, doing the conversion on an auto box is a waste of time. The autos simply cant handle the torque increase. Either sell and get a manual or do a manual conversion.

A halfcut is a relatively easy swap in swap out job and I would budget 5-6K to cover all costs.

If you plan on taking the car past the 'standard BPT conversion' then you dont need to start with a halfcut.

I would buy the following if doing it again:
- BPT Motor Only
- Microtech ECU
- Hybrid 600x300x75 FMIC
- HD clutch from Daikin
- Whatever accesories I want in addition (bov and boost gauge mainly)

That will probably bring you to around 3K roughly.

Take the car to a good speed shop with dyno facilities. You are probably looking at around 4-5K which should include:
- Intercooler Piping (roughly 800-1200 depending on what its done in)
- Dyno Tuning (good tuner will do it in a day so probably 3-4hrs on the dyno @~$100/hr)
- Remove/Replace of motor
- Hosing and clamps as required.
- Belts/Oils/Seals
- New Coil Pack.

The initial outlay is slightly higher but this will give you a much better base package to work with then the standard conversion. Changing things like turbo, boost, fuel, timing becomes alot easier and you will get maximum potential from the car and wont have annoying boost cut issues

Having said that, the standard ecu will provide you with a much more "stable" car. It wont have problems starting at different temps and your fuel consumption will be better. It will also adjust for the current conditions and has systems in place to prevent motor damage so think carefully about what you want from the car before choosing either path.

Selling parts off a halfcut is not as easy as some lead you to believe. The gearbox will not fetch 1000-1500. Youll be lucky to get 600-800 depending on condition (if someone is stupid enough to pay 1K+ then rock on for you). Ive got a garage full of GTX parts as I did the "buy halfcut sell what I can" method and I probably made back to the equivelent of buying the motor by itself. Familias are relatively rare in Oz and not a huge demand for parts. If you do go this route, contact the local rally guys as there are usually a few people running familias and they always want spare panels.

I bought the halfcut as it was the only option at the time. If you can get your hands on a good motor by itself, its a much easier option unless you want the hassle of fart arsing about selling parts. Also means less money required initially.

This is based on my own experiences/opinion and im sure others will disagree on parts.
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