[TurboTerror]

So quick rundown. I have a 2003 AV6 6 Speed and a 2005 Acura TL Auto. I also have a J37A1 sitting in the garage that when I got it I was planning on scooping up an 8th gen 6speed and just dropping the whole thing into the Accord. But now I’m no longer sure which direction I want to take. One question I have not been able to find an answer to is are there any revised bell housing auto transmissions that will bolt onto the J37A1 that are also compatible with the 05 TL ECU with or without harness modifications? Or is the only option to build a J36 and rebuild the stock transmission.

So not so quick rundown. I bought my V6-6 2003 accord new. I had it for a couple of years before selling it to my sister and buying a 3G 6speed TL. I lost it in a divorce in 2013 (but I got the house so not too upset about it). The TL has been one of my favorite cars since then. In 2021 the clutch went out in the AV6 and my sister decided that she didn’t want to fix it. So she asked if I wanted to buy it back for $1000. Of course I jumped all over it, put a clutch/flywheel in it and have been using it as a DD ever since. I love driving it but it’s just soooooooo slow. So a couple of weeks ago I picked up a J37 and was just waiting to find an 8th gen trans for something decent.

Then one of my buddies who has been having a ton of issues (random misfire that he couldn’t figure out and the final straw was the trans started slipping) with his 05 TL asked me if I wanted it. At first I was like no I don’t have room (I already had 5 cars at the time) but then he was like the junk yard offered me $300 to come get it but I feel like I can get 6 or 700 on FB market place… oooooor I’ll sell it to you for 500. So now I have an 05 TL too lol.

At first I was like score! I’ll just take the J32 out of it build a j36. Then I don’t have to wait on an 8th gen trans. But on the drive home the wife was like, I actually REALLY like this car. It’s not ugly AND it’s automatic (she can kinda drive manual if it were an emergency but absolutely refuses to keep trying at it to get better). Why don’t you just fix this and sell the accord back to your sister (she’s been begging me to sell it back to her since 2-3 months after she sold back to me).

So… I love manuals… every car I’ve ever deliberately went and bought has been a manual if it was available in it. However, I actually agree that the 7th gen Accord isn’t a very good looking car. In my opinion it is one of the worst looking accords ever produced that can only be made not as ugly. I originally bought it because it was the first time you could get the accord with a V6-6speed, I loved the interior, and the fact that it had voice activated navigation had me sold (that was super futuristic tech back then). On the contrary I absolutely love the look, both inside and out, of the 3G TL. So much so that back in 2005, I immediately sold my two year old Accord with only 15k miles on it to buy one. Plus it’s a 4 door which would make it easier getting my 5 yo in and out. If it were a 6 speed the decision would already be made… BUT it’s an automatic.

So I’m torn… do I make the wife and sister happy, sell the accord back, and fix/build the TL? Or do I stick with the stick?

 

[J32AV6]

There’s no bunkbeds in a casket bro you only live once keep the accord and give the tl to your wife. 🤣

 

[TurboTerror]

There’s no bunkbeds in a casket bro you only live once keep the accord and give the tl to your wife. 🤣

TLDR Version:
I now have 6 cars with no place to put them all and I have to get rid of one (wife really wishes I would get rid of two). The TL and the Accord are the only ones I’m willing or able to part with.

Readers Digest Version:
The CB7 in the background is my first car. My parents bought it new in 1990 and I bought it from them when I turned 16 in 1999. It was “tricked out”, H22 swapped, turboed by 2003 and it’s only been maintained and driven since. I have a K24A2/6speed swap sitting in my dads garage that I’m eventually going to put in it when the H22 finally gives up the ghost. H Series parts are just getting too hard to come by for decent amounts of money. Anyway, there is a huge back story that I won’t get into but suffice to say I’m never selling that car. I’d get rid of everything else and drive that before I did. Hell I literally just drove it across the country from Camarillo CA to Jacksonville FL last February. It’s a 5 speed and she’s not allowed to drive it anyway… no one is.

Then I have my 2016 F150 that I bought brand new. It’s got just over 50k miles on it and it’s paid for so it’s not going anywhere. She will drive it but she hates parking it.

I have my 1952 Chevrolet 3100 AD Pickup. I built it from the ground up. Bought a 52 cab, a 54 bed, a 92 S10 (for the frame), and a 2002 2500 (for the LQ4/4L80 drivetrain) and combined them into a single truck. I could sell it but I would only do that for the right amount of money and I’d rather not at least at the moment. It’s currently in my dads garage because I don’t really have room for it here.

The wife’s daily is a Tesla Model S Performance. I think that’s all that needs to be said about “giving her the TL”.

That leaves the TL or the Accord and one has to go. Honestly, the only reason her being able to drive it even matters is because I would like to drive the Tesla more. So keeping the TL would take all her excuses for why she can’t really drive anything else.

 

[StorminMatt]

If you wish to go the J37 swap route, one thing to keep in mind is that you can mate up an older 6 speed manual to a newer engine if you get the bellhousing section for a revised bellhousing manual (say, a 2008+ Accord). I believe this piece costs around $400, which isn’t chump change. But if you are comfortable with tearing down transmissions, this is a good option for making an earlier six speed compatible with a later motor. It’s also going to be a cheaper and easier option than finding a whole revised bellhousing six speed.

 

[joneltmp2ebzq]

)^^^^^^)


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