Which 260 gearbox for a 1974 e9

GRKOALA said:
Thanks to all for your feedback on my 265 getrag conversion question. I'm thinking twice about the conversion, it may be more suitable to convert it to a factory 4 speed as I don't think I will be driving my e9 on long trips and I haven't heard bad feedback on the 4 speed box (especially if not travelling at high speeds)... One of the local "boutique" BMW mechanic workshops who work on the older bmw's quoted me AUS$10,000 (US$7200) for a 265 conversion ! He said it was very labour intensive.. From my research I had allot smaller figure in mind.

Other BMW enthusiasts have told me that once you have all the parts the conversion is pretty straight forward. Does anyone know how long the conversion should take a mechanic?
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I imagine you will be paying the same for the conversion no matter if it is going to 4spd or 5spd. The main difference would be the price of the transmission. You may be able to pick up a 4spd cheap as quite a few have been discarded for the 5spd. If the difference in price is negligible though, go with the 5spd. Having the extra gear is great when you need it and apparently I am the only one with the back luck to have noisy/notchy transmissions.

$7200 sounds steep especially if it is just for labor, but it has been a while (2010) since I had one installed. I believe I paid between $3500 to $5000 for the swap from auto to 5spd which included the parts.
 
VSR did my 5-speed from 4-speed swap in the winter of 2014-2015 I supplied the transmission, they supplied the bell housing and all necessary shift platform parts, slave cylinder etc. sent out my drive shaft to be shortened, new clutch and flywheel it was about $4200 USD.
 
rant warning

Where do you guys get, and why do you spend, that kinda money for a trans swap?

I consider myself moderately capable. My tools are nothing that wouldn't be found in anybody's garage: Craftsman ratchets, metric sockets and combination wrenches, a Costco jack, NAPA jackstands from my brother (thanks Henry). A two-car garage with nice flat smooth concrete floor, the wife's car in the other spot, though I can move hers onto the street if I need extra room (for just a little while). Carl Nelson's write-up for the Bavaria. An electrical diagram to figger out how the neutral safety switch works. I'm not majorly invested here yet, am I?

To do the four-speed swap I went 50-50 on the purchase of a wrecked '80 528i. My share was $600, which looking back was too much, but I did it. I had some stuff lying around from my 2002 days. I bought a dshaft for $75, and a few other things like shift platform mounts for pocket change (and I'm a frugal dude). So the four-speed cost me, say, about $700.

A few years later it was brought to my attention my a local indie that there was an estate sale about to take place, in which two non-running 528i cars were to be disposed of. I got one of them for $300. This time I bought a clutch kit for maybe $250 or whatever it was, re-used the dshaft from the auto trans. The clutch disc was almost gone when I opened up the four-speed, so good thing I got that part. Okay, I'm in for maybe another $700.

In both cases, I did all the work myself, including jacking up the car on stands, removing exhaust, whichever trans, full installation and back down to the garage floor. I took my time, and each time it took several days, but on none of those days did I put in more than a few hours. Maybe I put in say 10 hours each time. A pro had jolly well ought to do it in five.

So if my experience is any guide, 10 hours times (what's your local labor rate?) $120/hour is $1200, plus $700 in parts including the trans, is under $2000. Neither trans ever gave my any trouble. Y'all need to get into doing this sorta stuff, it's of considerable value to anyone with an older car. Friends who may be knowledgeable are useful too. Or heck, just pay the guy and think "now I know it was done right". Uh-huh.
 
Honolulu said:
Where do you guys get, and why do you spend, that kinda money for a trans swap? .....I consider myself moderately capable.....tools...Craftsman ratchets, metric sockets and combination wrenches, a Costco jack, NAPA jackstands....A two-car garage with nice flat smooth concrete floor...wife's car in the other spot...wrecked '80 528i....some stuff lying around from my 2002 days..... dshaft for $75...four-speed cost me, say, about $700....A few years later, two non-running 528i cars....clutch kit for maybe $250...I did all the work myself...took several days...
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I think you answered your own question. Not all of us have the time, tools, facilities, ability, or sometimes even desire to do it ourselves. I've paid guys like Carl and Don money to do transmission swaps for me not because I can't figure it out and do it myself, but because the convinience of them doing it right and when I am ready for them to do it is worth the premium for me. I travel a lot and when I'm back I want to enjoy driving my coupes, not having to source parts and getting to know the car from underneath. Not knocking those that do at all (I hope to be in a position to do this one day), just saying everybody's circumstances are not the same.
 
I greatly appreciate master mechanics and restoration shops who know these cars inside and out working on my cars. They know exactly what to do and how to do it. I learned a long time ago to pay for expertise. I'm willing and able to afford it, so paying for that for that knowledge is money well spent in my book.
 
FWIW, when I did my trans swaps it wasn't in the 80's. It has been a while... but probably in the early 2000s.

I'm okay with an owner not doing their own work, but it can sure make owning an older car a pain in the pocketbook. Fortunately our coupes, once moderately sorted, tend to remain so. I had an older Corolla for the kids that just kept kicking my azz, repair wise. Finally sold it; later learned that the next thing on the list was the water pump, unknown to me at time of sale or the new owner, and that was that, off to the junkyard.

Perhaps the moral, if there is one, is that I don't value my own efforts much. I should probably see a pro about that.
 
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