Hi Gabriel, welcome the the ZTH Toyota Community =)
I'm no sifu or expert, but I'll try to answer your questions to my best. FYI, my car has recently undergone a Blacktop conversion as well so that actually makes me a newbie.:rolleyes:
Like sifu cuscostrutbrace has said, most of the chopshops in KL should have BT halfcuts. It's a matter of calling them up to ask, or going to search for them. There are many chopshops within traveling distance from PJ, especially in Subang, Sunway and Puchong. Here's something that should help:
List of chop shops
What information do you need about Blacktop? There's way too much to tell.
Actually, I think you'll find pretty much what you're looking for about Blacktop in the forums because many of the Toyota taikors and sifu's here are using the same engine, so just look through the thread and use the search button. =)
5 speed or 6 speed better? It depends on what you consider "better". Speaking from my experience, 6 speed is definitely fun to drive because you have more gears to choose from
, and technically speaking, 6 speed should be faster because of its shorter gear ratios. Then of course, in terms of halfcut price and gearbox price, 6 speed is rather more expensive compared to 5 speed. Apparently, the 6 speed gearbox is more fragile than the 5 speed gearbox as well, so you'll have to shift with care.
About the condition of the halfcut, I can't tell you much because I'm no mechanic myself, but basically it involves looking for a halfcut that actually looks decent (not one that has so much dirt and cobwebs you can't even see the engine cover wordings) and with reasonable mileage, of course the lower the better. You'll also have to ask the chopshop start the engine in the halfcut. I'd recommend you bring your foreman/mechanic along with you to test start the halfcut because he will be better equipped to judge its condition.
The price of the halfcuts is a very difficult question to answer. It really depends on the package you're getting (ie. with or without bodyparts, fuel tank/pump, rear disc brakes, rear absorbers etc), condition of halfcut, the chopshop you're getting the halfcut from, and of course, it also depends on your luck. When I was searching for a halfcut back in May, the price of BT 5 speed halfcut quoted ranged from 3.8k-5k, while BT 6 speed quoted price ranged from 5k-6.5k.
Hope that answers all your questions. =) I'm just trying to help out here because just like you, I also had loads of similar questions when I first started my project, and I was very lucky I could turn to my Corona sifu's for help. All the above is based on my experience and knowledge, so please don't shoot me if I'm wrong, kay :shot:
If you need more info, please do not hesitate to ask the Toyota sifu's in this forum, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help out. The ZTH Toyota owners are really nice people =)
