My Midlands transmission died and rather than buy all the parts to put the 6-speed in, I've been doing some parts matching and I "think" the Getrag would be and easier conversion. But, the Getrag's are crazy expensive in comparison. A 5-speed used Midlands from a junkyard or CL is like $400. Same for a gGtrag 6-speed. Yet, when I find Getrag 5-speeds, they're in the $1500-$2000 range. Kinda hard to drop that much coin on a car that only cost $3k. I get that it's a shorter year model. I get that the Getrag is much better, but I can't imagine the demand is any higher than it is for a Midlands. Junkyards don't think they're interchangeable with earlier cars. I'm not 100% sure they are and, if they aren't, a 6-speed would probably be a better option. Is there something magical about them that drives the price up? Should I just give up and stick a 6-speed and all the associated bits in one instead?

-Rob

 

I’d go with a 6 speed. Why are they expensive? Who knows? Someone on here will have an opinion in n that though; guaranteed!

 

To the best of my knowledge, the Getrag5 and Getrag6 are essentially the same in what parts you need to make the swap. I'd go with the 6 speed as it is a much better unit and you can sick a LSD in it and when on the highway, you will more than likely see a jump in your MPG.

 

Having recently gone from a getrag 5sp to a getrag 6sp, I can say that the parts are not the same between the two transmissions. The midlands may also have a different set of parts, but the 5 sp shift cables would, at least, still be the same.

I have some of the 5 speed parts still laying round in the garage, I could take a few photos if you wanted to compare/contrast the midland parts to the getrag 5 speed parts. If all of the parts are the same, I would expect final cost on the 6 speed swap to be a little less than buying the 5 speed.

 

I concur with MINI_Jason, having done the same swap in an '05 R50, there are no parts that are the same between the two. I had to go so far as to swap out the shift cables too as the Getrag 5 speed cables were nearly 8 inches too long to be reused.

When I did my swap, I discovered the same thing regarding the pricing. It cost me $1100 for a junkyard "kit" to swap in the 6 speed. It was a minimum of $1500 for just the 5 speed trans. I was able to resell some of the parts from my 5 speed and recoup my costs. Afterwards, I think my total out of pocket (not counting my time chasing small parts) was around $500.