Manual to Auto, Killswitch, Drive shaft
 

Background Info:
So I currently have an mk3 (1988) toyota supra turbo shell, which was designed for 5spd. It does not have the transmission or engine. My plan is to buy a JDM 7mgte engine and auto tranny (for $1600 shipped), and drop it in. The reason I'm going auto (sad I know...) is because it will cost me much less, believe me I have already done the math. I'm pretty clueless about cars, but I'm trying my best to learn and complete my Supra project.

Here are my questions:

1. I only have one section of the drive shaft, so I'm going to get a new one. I know little to nothing about drive ("propeller") shafts.
A) Should I try to buy a 2 piece, or is it worth the extra money to buy a
1 piece?
B) Also, is there any specific drive shaft I will need to get for an auto transmission?

2. Will I need anything else to swap the new auto tranny and engine into the 5spd shell besides a new drive shaft? Someone told me that the 5spd ECU on my car would work on an Auto tranny... is this true?

3. Would it be possible to wire the clutch safety switch (the button under the clutch which needs to be depressed for the engine to turn on) and remove the button, but use the same lines to make an engine kill switch?

the 5 speed tranny is shorter? cant remember, but the shaft that connects to the tranny is different in length, than the auto. so if you had a speed before you need the auto trans. drive shaft.

as far as i know for drive shafts, a 2 piece is easier to dismantle and reinstall, and i guess you could get a lightweight one piece shaft, it would allow for less time to get to 6k rpms, also you would reduce car weight slightly, but its mostly about the weight in the drive train.

think of a saw blade, what gets to operating speeds faster a light blade or a heavy blade, which slows down faster??

which one spins longer..

good info
 

Ah okay. So I will need to get a new drive shaft... I might just stick with a 2 piece unless i can find a really good deal on a 1 piece then. Is there anything else that I will need? Would the killswitch idea work?

Im not sure if its this forum or Supramania that discussed one piece vs two piece driveshafts. What I remember from the discussion is that you really want to be careful because a slight imbalance on a one piece can cause bad vibration. There are some reputable places that handle that though.. I just need to find that forum.. lol

Ah... I did not know that. As I said I will probably go for a 2 piece after all, but if I find a really good one piece for a decent price then ill be sure to check it out or ask about any imbalances, thanks!

bump
 

So... any info on the killswitch..? or anything else I need to make the manual/auto switch?

Discovered my Supra had a cut down ford drive shaft. Sell it to you at discount like $50 plus shipping :)

idk off hand if it's only to wires at the clutch safety switch, but if it is you could attach them to a toggle switch and make that a kind of killswitch.

As for the ECU, I'm pretty sure it works the other way around (auto ECU with 5 spd transmission), but not the way you are trying to make it work. Also, the automatic transmission I believe has a separate computer that helps control shift points and diagnostics. You will need that for your setup as well as other parts, I'm sure