UZ1

Alright, so I’ve been considering manual swapping my SC400 since the day I bought it. For about the past 3 months I’ve been digging in deep to find out as much as I can, but I still have some unanswered questions. I’m going to be mounting the transmission to a stock 1UZ-FE, but I’m not planning on keeping it stock forever. On top of that I will be mating the transmission to a 4.27 SC300 diff. I know a transmission swap won’t be cheap, but I don’t have tons of money to spend due to the fact that I’m only a senior in high school making $8/hr. I already save the majority of my money from my paycheck so saving up for a while isn’t too big of an issue, but I’d like to get a rough estimate of how much this swap will cost so I can work out when I’ll actually be able to do it. Now that I’ve got some basic info out of the way, I’ll move on with the questions. I know of just about all the available transmission swap options, the CD009, W58, KA or SR trans and so on. I don’t plan on the car ever being more than 400hp (if i ever do mod the engine), so which of these would hold up the best and provide the most for the cost? I won’t be abusing the **** out of the car, but I already can’t resist romping it nearly everywhere I go; whether it’s on the way to school, work, or even just a mile or two to my friends house. I’m also not a pro drifter or anything (obviously) but I do plan on taking the car out and doing some skids. So I guess my two main questions for now would be; ‘How much would it roughly cost?’, and ‘Which transmission would be best for my application?’. If someone with more insight (or better yet first hand experience with this swap) could help me out with these questions, I’d greatly appreciate it!

emLEX

A W58 would likely be the cheapest, followed by the R154 and then the CD009. I'm basing this on used transmission prices I've found where I live while researching this for myself.

The final cost will depend a lot on your resourcefulness and ability to do the work your self, or with help from soemone who won't charge you labor. Finding good deals on parts is key to saving money on a project like this. For instance, if you find someone parting out a manual SC300 and are able to buy the trans, clutch pedal, clutch master, drive shaft...

You should budget a minimum of $2k for parts and it can easily spring to $3k.

PhantomCS

I don't have first hand experience with the cost and difficulty of swapping the transmission on a 1UZ, but another thing to consider is compatibility. The KA/SR/CD009 transmissions don't measure speed in the same way that the R154 and W58 transmissions do, so if you want to use one of the nissan boxes, you'll need to find a way to get a speed signal to your dash.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

^^ On the W58, R154 and V160 (and all other W and R series gearboxes) the speed signal is measured via a three-wire VSS sensor driven by a gear inside the transmission. On very old versions of the W58 and R154 it's mechanical cable driven but those can be easily converted with an inexpensive Marlin Crawler VSS screw-on convertor.

The CD009 at least does not have a speed sensor built onto the transmission so it does require another source of acquiring a speedometer signal reading. I believe people often use a GPS-based solution for those. Not sure if the same is the case for the 5-speed manual gearboxes from Nissan KA24DE engines.

mr913

I have a 5 speed sc400 with a KA trans, and I used a GPS speedometer to get my speedometer to work.

UZ1

I’ve taken quite a bit more consideration into all of this and I’m leaning towards a W58 swap. With the manual sc300 having a W58, I feel like the whole process will probably require less work than all the other options (not to say that it’s going to be easy). I feel like it will keep the car looking nearly OEM, which is fairly important since I don’t want my daily to be a full on race car, or to look the part. Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I also think that the W58 should be substantial enough to fit the needs of my stock 1UZ. If anyone has any input, please be sure to let me know! I’ve still got plenty of time to save money and make a decision, so if I’m mislead in my current thinking, tell me!

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

UZ1, for a mostly daily driven SC400 manual swap I think a W58 will be just fine unless your aim is to beat the living hell out of that transmission by slamming it hard all the time going sideways all day long. For the early 1UZ-FE's 260 ft-lbs of torque that is perfectly fine to go with that transmission since the SC300's output was not that much less at 210 ft-lbs of torque. Pretty common.

To be clear, I am speaking only of the two versions of the W58 that came from the 92-94 SC300 and 95-97 SC300 and also from the 93-97 Supra non-turbo. Regardless of being top-loader or tripod type these versions came with the stronger steel center sandwich plates. They also mount up like stock with the SC300 transmission crossmember and SC/MKIV W58 stock trans mount. And the VSS speed sensor is already built in.

For a stock early 1UZ-FE it's a very good match. I'm not sure if Collins Adapters or another company is the best one to use these days but there should be a couple of adapter options.

If you were going with a supercharger on your 1UZ then I would say look into beefier transmission options from the R154 to the CD009 to anything else that is better than the W58 at handling sudden shock loading of torque to the gears that comes with a supercharger or turbocharger. Other than that they are not designed to hold tremendous torque anyway that is the thing that tends to kill W58's once boost is added to the equation.

Bolted to a stock 2JZ-GE or stock 1UZ-FE non-vvt-i with naturally aspirated power it is fine all day long. Just make sure you find a good SC/MKIV W58 that hasn't been abused and worn out (although you can get them rebuilt if needed just like any other gearbox).

emLEX

I agree with Kahn, and I do so simply based on my own research as I have not done this swap, but want to.

The 1uz/W58 is pretty common and supported, relatively speaking, and with your goals in mind it should do just fine.

UZ1

Amazing, thanks for all the info and input guys! As of right now, I’ll be planning on saving up for the W58 swap. Anyone got tips for sourcing a tranny? I’ve tried looking online but can’t really find any for sale currently. Of course, I’ll always be keeping my eye out for local listings, but what’s the best way to go about finding a transmission (online or locally)? I try keeping up on Facebook marketplace, along with searching craigslist even though it’s hardly used in my area. I’m looking for the SC300 or MK4 W58 as suggested by KahnBB6. Sourcing a manual SC300 parts car would be amazing if given the opportunity for a fairly inexpensive price. Again, thanks for all the help, you guys are awesome!

mr913

Use craiglist and facebook marketplace.

I personally went for the KA trans bc its the cheapest one in my area, and abundant. bought 2 transmissions for $350 total.