[SpydaMite]

About less than a year ago I purchased a 2003 spyder for an awesome deal. The only problem was that it was an SMT. I could never seem to enjoy my spyder as much as I did with my manual spyder. Recently my SMT would not shift and left me stranded at work. I had problems before and the problem would seem to fix itself. Not this time. Rather then spending time trying to figure out whats wrong I think its time to do what I always wanted to do. Go back to the manual.

I have been collecting parts over the past few months just to get this project started. Heres what I have so far

-Clutch Pedal
-TRD Short Shifter with Assembly Mount
-Shroud for shifter
-Master Cylinder
-Slave Cylinder
-Shift cables from shifter to Tranny
-6Speed LR Shifter Shaft

Things that I still need
-Main Clutch line from Master Cylinder to Slave Cylinder (Waiting on a parted out Spyder)
-Fabricated Plate to block SMT tranny
-Lots of shifter stuff on tranny that connects to manual
-Misc, Misc, Misc

I have been using Deans blog to guide me on the conversion
Dttsou's 300WHP Blog

Simon, Curt, Dev and the spyderchat community has always been very helpful and I really do appreciate all your help.

So here's where Im at so far.
Heres where the SMT hides, right under the stock air intake box.

Heres a view of under the car behind the tranny with the smt removed from the tranny. 3 Wire plugs are for the SMT. I will need to stencil where the SMT attached to the tranny and get a plate to block that so gear oil wont spill out.

To the left of that is the clutch actuator arm. As you can see you can see to the left of that is 2 holes where the slave clyinder will mount and engage the arm.

I had to remove the shifter shaft and replace it with a 6speed manual shaft

Top shaft is LRs and bottom one is one from SMT. Gonna swap up the little bits here and there to fit on the LRs shaft

Heres the the view from right under the steering wheel and the pedals. There is a spot to add the clutch pedal and the master cylinder. I need to cut a bit hole in the middle and 2 small ones on the sides for the bolts.

Removed the smt shifter which is a pretty hefty unit for being a plastic piece. Heres the TRD shifter with the shroud that I will install once I figure out how the shifter cables connects to the shifter to the tranny.

Heres a the SMT and the hydraulic pump. These 2 units are pretty heavy Im guessing about 25-30lbs.

So the easy part is over. Now for the hard part. Im gonna need help from here on.
-Cutting the firewall for the clutch pedal and master cylinder.
?I never had to cut a firewall before. What would I use to cut the shapes that I want? Better yet anyone have a pic of their master cylinder? I can eye ball it.
-Shifter cables from the shifter to the tranny.
?I have the cables I dont know where they go through.
-Shifter cables connects to tranny.
?Well once I figure out how to get the cables through how do I connect it to the tranny? I know Im missing hella parts that connects the cables to the tranny. Does anyone have a pic of their the cables connect to their tranny?
-Main Clutch line
?I am still waiting for the cable to come in from a parted spyder. If it does not come by the end of the week I may go to Mr.T and buy one for $$$. Where does this cable line through? My service manual does not specify where the clutch line from the master go to the slave???

I forgot to mention that you also need to take your throttle body and cut the piece that prevents it from WOT. This was a LR mod to make your SMT shift faster. Ive done this months ago and I highly recommend any smt user to do this mod that dont cost nothing but your own time. I will also need to connect the starter wire to the clutch pedal button. But Im not even there yet.

There is still so much work ahead of this project. For me its very overwhelming. Simon and many others have told me that its better selling your car and buying a manual, but I guess I was just curious on how it worked. Now that I know I will not do this mod again. Mainly because getting that parts was a real pain and doing this mod I really had no direction just reading Deans blog and pestering knowledgeable members. I do remember that there were some members that wanted to do a manual to SMT. After working on this your biggest problem will be wiring harness. There are SOOOOOO many wiring on its not even funny. Wires from the steering wheel, shifter, ECU, SMT ECU, tranny, SMT and many more places like fuse relays. I would say this is impossible but nothing is impossible if you put the time and money in it. Might as well sell your manual and buy an smt. Well the weekends over wont be able to do much until next weekend. Until that time more parts to come in. Im tired from working on the car and typing Im gonna sleep now. So yeah help help help guys!!!

 

[SimonTan75]

SpydaMite, looking at the parts you've collected, it looks like there's no turning back now.

First off, I recommended you to sell your SMT and get a manual instead was because there wasn't anyone who had done this swap before until Dean came along. I advised him the same thing too when he came for the part list from me. I can only say he exceeded my expecatation, and now he has my admiration. I've researched his blog thoroughly long time ago, it seems not more is needed for the SMT-MT conversion than my SMT-k20a conversion. Therefore the SMT-MT isn't as daunting as I once thought. You don't even have to swap out your SMT harness you get what I mean? You already have most of the items needed, now all you need is some mechanical understanding of how to get the conversion going. You'll also need to do the starter modification as outlined in his blog.

If you are not competent mechanically to do this swap, don't. If you have to, be prepared to try, be patient as you go along, and ask questions when you meet problems. I reckon you should have by now, all the pointers jotted down in a notebook or somewhere from Dean's blog, so go over them properly in your head before you attempt the swap. Give youself a month or two to work on it during your spare time. Patience is of the essence.

I'm quite positive Dean's taken more photos than he has posted in his blog. Why don't you politely request some more photos on areas of modification from him? Tiang has gone the SMT-2zz route, so it's pretty much the same deal. If you give them your best manner coupled with inquisitve and determined nature, I'm sure these nice gentlemen will give you a hand or two. Or have you been bugging these blokes already?

Work on the big issues first. Smaller ones will pop up, but that's not a problem. You can always get help from us like how to bolt this to that, cut there and join here etc. The idea is to get the flow chart of the swap right. Procedures and sequence is important. So plan your swap neatly.

IMHO, get the facts right and start cracking. Stop worrying about all the problems, because you'll solve them as you go along.

 

[dttsou]

Hi SpydaMite,

Simon pointed me to the fact that you had been posting for help on this one. I am sure you have already figured out many of the answers to your questions here, but if not, here's my attempt at answering some of them.

Dean

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SpydaMite @ Oct 8 2007, 09:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

-Cutting the firewall for the clutch pedal and master cylinder.
?I never had to cut a firewall before. What would I use to cut the shapes that I want? Better yet anyone have a pic of their master cylinder? I can eye ball it.[/b]

For the master cylinder to clutch pedal holes, there are three holes you will need to drill, a big one in the middle, and two smaller ones on either side. The big hole is where the master cylinder pushrod goes through, and the two smaller ones on either side are where the bolts holding the master cylinder and the clutch pedal assembley go through. I remember it was an MAJOR PITA drilling those holes because it was a nice and thick firewall. For the middle, larger hole, I initially had these drill "bits" (not your typical bit.. I am just not very good with these terms, but description follows here -->) that were round, "hollow" on the inside, and with teeth on the circumference... kinda similar in shape to the drill bits that they use when they cut holes in a house door to install the door knob. However, I managed to round off the teeth to two of these drill bits, and eventually gave up...

What I did in the end, which proved much quicker and less painful was just to slowly increase the size of the drill bits and drill larger and larger holes. Also, after drilling through the firewall with a particular sized drill bit, I applied a bit of side way force to "chew" around the edge of the hole to enlarge the hole a bit, which makes for easier drilling with the next sized drill bit. Eventually, I got a big enough hole. After about 6 hours and a bucket of sweat... I am sure a professional could have done it MUCH faster! But hey, for a noob like me...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

-Shifter cables from the shifter to the tranny.
?I have the cables I dont know where they go through.[/b]

The cables go through the firewall just above the fuel tank as per the picture below...

There is about a 4 inch gap between the bottom of the luggage compartment and the top of the fuel tank, right in the middle of the car... you need to drill a hole on the firewall here that is oval in shape and the two shifter cables will go through here and into the engine bay.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

-Shifter cables connects to tranny.
?Well once I figure out how to get the cables through how do I connect it to the tranny? I know Im missing hella parts that connects the cables to the tranny. Does anyone have a pic of their the cables connect to their tranny?[/b]

Dont have a picture of when they are attached to the tranny, but here is a picture of where they should be attached to (shown in red circles).

 

[dttsou]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

-Main Clutch line
?I am still waiting for the cable to come in from a parted spyder. If it does not come by the end of the week I may go to Mr.T and buy one for $$$. Where does this cable line through? My service manual does not specify where the clutch line from the master go to the slave???[/b]

From front of the car to the back, the clutch line goes pretty much underneath the car, in the middle where the coolant pipes run, then it goes up and over the fuel tank, and out into the engine bay.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

I will also need to connect the starter wire to the clutch pedal button.[/b]

Thats a good idea! I should do that! I've started my car so many times now with the gearbox in gear!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

There is still so much work ahead of this project. For me its very overwhelming.[/b]

You look like you are definately heading in the right direction. You will get there no doubt! Just take your time, think it through, understand how it works, ask lots of questions, before you make any permanent changes to the car like cutting holes in the firewalls.

 

[SpydaMite]

Yeah I havent worked on it since the last post. Only been collecting parts with Simon. Hopefully my shift linkage will come in today. Thanks for answering all my questions. Im pretty confident that I will get this done soon.

 

[SimonTan75]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (dttsou @ Oct 20 2007, 02:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

For the middle, larger hole, I initially had these drill "bits" (not your typical bit.. I am just not very good with these terms, but description follows here -->) that were round, "hollow" on the inside, and with teeth on the circumference...[/b]

What Dean meant was what I've told you earlier in PM SpydaMite. It's called a hole saw.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (dttsou @ Oct 20 2007, 02:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

From front of the car to the back, the clutch line goes pretty much underneath the car, in the middle where the coolant pipes run, then it goes up and over the fuel tank, and out into the engine bay.[/b]

Dean is exactly right. Take a look at the photo I've PM you. The one where it shows the whole master cylinder setup. You will see the cluch line going underneath the car. I'll link it to you here anyway.

With these, you have more than enough info. Ask for more and we'll try our best to help.

 

[dttsou]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SimonTan75 @ Oct 20 2007, 05:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

What Dean meant was what I've told you earlier in PM SpydaMite. It's called a hole saw.

[/b]

Hehehe... yeah, that! Thanks for clarifying my Dean-glish... Life makes so much more sense with you around Simon!

 

[SpydaMite]

Just an update. I finally finished the conversion. 3 months and 3000 dollars later I am finally done. Getting parts was pure hell. Lotsa of custom modifications had to be done. Also need Toyota to reprogram my ECM as well. As much time and pain that this project has caused me, it all paid off when I finally drove my dman™™ car. Worked out all the bugs and the car is purring like a kitten and driving like a champ. I'll spare you guys the boring details of what I did to get it all working. Unless you want me to write it all up. I have the pictures. While my car was down I also started other projects.

-Changed out all front bushing with superpro.
-Installed fender struts.
-Installed manual antennae with short LT.
-Changed all brake rotors and pads with Woods brakes
-Changed to steel brake lines.
-Installed larger wind deflector.
-Installed front rear gas struts for hoods.
-Installed transmission bushing obvious short shifter.

I would like to thank all members that have helped me out with parts and advice. I would list names but its a pretty long list. This project has taught me so much and now that Ive done it, I feel that I will know exactly what to do if I was ever to do this again. Would I do it? Never again. Save yourself time, money, happiness and rebuy a manual. Like everyone before that has done this conversion told me, DONT DO IT! One thing I do notice with the 6speed shifter. I hate the reverse. I keep on hitting 3 instead of first cause Im not sure where Im at. Hopefully LRs reverse block will solve this problem. Got mines on order. Anyone else feeling the 6speed like me?

Next project is Carvercharger. Already got my M90 blower

 

[Tem]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SpydaMite @ Jan 7 2008, 10:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I'll spare you guys the boring details of what I did to get it all working. Unless you want me to write it all up. I have the pictures.[/b]

I'd love to read the writeup and see the pics!

And I'm sure they'd be even more useful for someone who decides to do the same you did.

 

[SimonTan75]

Congrats Mite!!

The swap could have been easier if not for your itchy backside. If only you didn't do the quickshift TB mod, you would have a perfect working TB, and you won't have to get a manual ecu, and getting it reprogrammed. But anyhoo, your patience has been well rewarded.

Is the SMT light lit on the gauge?

 

[dros]

Hello to every one!
I am new in here and from greece so excuse me if my english isnt very good!
I have made a smt to mt conversion an have some problems.When i start my car and dont hit the gas it turns of also i adjusted
my throttle body to fully open and when i hitted the gas while i was testing it the car was ding some weared things!it was like it turned of or so.......
Anyway my question is if i intall a pfc and the mt thrittle body will the car work or wuld it be necessery to change the whole engine wiring harness?
Any help would be nice!!!
ps:you guys are doing a very nice job here!keep up the good work!

 

[MikeV]

Spydamite, I wasn't following your thread, so I don't know why you went the MT route, but... I'd love to perform an autopsy on any parts of your SMT system that died.

 

[mrtequila]

Problem with an SMT. SMT would not shift n IDElz low...stallz n gets stuck in gear.. while driving n starting up...i tried warming the car n cleaning sensorz...

still no difference. gears also crunch can some one help...

manual convo need i think unless ppl know how to fix it....i hope

I think i am gona look for these parts most are aval for a mate who has a 2ZZ mr2 2000 model n turbo one, who will strip his manual also think about addin turbo at the same time smart move??? let me know thzz..

my one is also a 2000 model.


-Clutch Pedal
-TRD Short Shifter with Assembly Mount
-Shroud for shifter
-Master Cylinder
-Slave Cylinder
-Shift cables from shifter to Tranny
-6Speed LR Shifter Shaft
-Main Clutch line from Master Cylinder to Slave Cylinder (Waiting on a parted out Spyder)
-Fabricated Plate to block SMT tranny
-Lots of shifter stuff on tranny that connects to manual

 

[FriendOfSpyder]

Wow! Really glad to see that you got everything together and in working order. Looks as if it was quite the task!

Mike, i too am interested in the internals of the SMT pump, if you do get your hands on one, make sure to take plenty of pics to share with the rest of us!

Joe

 

[SpydaMite]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mrtequila @ Feb 18 2008, 06:39 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Problem with an SMT. SMT would not shift n IDElz low...stallz n gets stuck in gear.. while driving n starting up...i tried warming the car n cleaning sensorz...

still no difference. gears also crunch can some one help...

manual convo need i think unless ppl know how to fix it....i hope

I think i am gona look for these parts most are aval for a mate who has a 2ZZ mr2 2000 model n turbo one, who will strip his manual also think about addin turbo at the same time smart move??? let me know thzz..

my one is also a 2000 model.


-Clutch Pedal
-TRD Short Shifter with Assembly Mount
-Shroud for shifter
-Master Cylinder
-Slave Cylinder
-Shift cables from shifter to Tranny
-6Speed LR Shifter Shaft
-Main Clutch line from Master Cylinder to Slave Cylinder (Waiting on a parted out Spyder)
-Fabricated Plate to block SMT tranny
-Lots of shifter stuff on tranny that connects to manual[/b]

Unless your SMT actuator that moves the shifter shaft is not fully engaging, but from the sounds of it your tranny is giving up on you as well. If your gears are crunching like you say this conversion may not fix your problem. So for you on top of everything that you have to do, you will also need to swap out your tanny. If I were you I would get another SMT pump and see if youre still gear crunching. But if you are done with SMT and like a challenge go for it I'll help you as much as I can. Another thing I might want to add, this is a pretty expensive project. I got almost all my stuff off other dead Spyders and it cost me 3k plus. Youll be surprise how much Mr. T will charge for parts including nuts and bolts. Its straight up robbery. And for you, you might even need another transmission as well. If you dont already have lotsa parts on your spyder, sell it for a reduced cost, buy a manual and take the hit for cost. Otherwise youll be spending more money and time working on this, customizing that, waiting on parts this and that.

My SMT pump was fine, never had a problem with it. It was my SMT ecm that failed on me. Which required for me to change out my ecm which meant I needed to change out my TB, which means I have to rewire 3 different components and get the car towed to Mr.T which raped me in charges for programming ecm to my key. I wanna do a writeup on this but Im so lazy and Im against this conversion to spyder owners. You can do autopsy on my SMT ECM

I didnt know 2000s had SMT