Shipping heavy car parts

[Qube]

I may have located the parts I need for my manual tranny swap. Those parts are the transmission, diff, pedal assembly and all the other miscellaneous parts.

What's the most sensible way to ship this stuff from Califonia to Toronto?

Approximately what is all this going to weigh? The tranny's the 5-speed unit from the 535.

Thanks.

Jay, I want to see this project of yours after the swap

I just had a Basslink shipped from the States. It cost me nothing, but retail was ~$200 USD. UPS dinged about $88 USD in fees and taxes (not including shipping). I shipped to a post office box under a very rarely used middle name. If they manage to find me, I'll pay their outrageous fee... maybe.

[gale]

My tranny weighed exactly 80 lbs. bare. Lately I've been using DHL ground for heavy stuff, they're much cheaper than UPS or FedEx. Don't know how they handle international/customs issues. Last time I bought something from Canada to US, anything less than $200 Cd bypassed customs.

[Kalevera]

they are cheap new but you have to wait for Germany. The hardest part is messing with the steering column.

Phst, that's easy

[Jay 535i]

Thanks guys.

To answer the questions:

Dan, I don't have the parts yet, but I have a few leads. For now, suffice to say the red announcement in my signature helps a lot.

Qube, you bet. Transmission shame is the only reason I haven't made a greater effort to meet you already

Bruno will be doing the work, thank goodness.

80lbs sounds great. Shipping's turning out to be not as expensive as I thought. That means I still have some options...

[Qube]

Thanks guys.

To answer the questions:

Dan, I don't have the parts yet, but I have a few leads. For now, suffice to say the red announcement in my signature helps a lot.

Qube, you bet. Transmission shame is the only reason I haven't made a greater effort to meet you already

Bruno will be doing the work, thank goodness.

80lbs sounds great. Shipping's turning out to be not as expensive as I thought. That means I still have some options...

Hey, if you set a firm date to meet with Bruno, let me know. I'd love to come by.

[Scott H]

I have an excuse for the little bit of hairloss on top of my head now.......it was from standing on my head in the touring doing the manual pedal/box/steering column work......

My favorite part was the headless bolt that connects the two parts together

Phst, that's easy

[Jay 535i]

Hey, if you set a firm date to meet with Bruno, let me know. I'd love to come by.

Will do.

Love the wedding countdown, BTW. You'll make a beautiful bride.

[HDhandyman]

Dan or somebody was asking for leads. I have had really good experience with these guys...

http://www.theeurodepot.com/

Ask for Joel, he's a very cool cat and extremely knowledgeable. This place is the Source for conversion trannys made easy. They are highly respected amoung top notch euro Indys. It cost a bit more with them, but they will ship absolutely everything nessecary, provide instructions and free tech support via email, IM, and phone, until the job is finished. They also ship via UPS and charge nothing for shipping other than true cost. In a standard conversion there are two packages shipped---you pay 150 American for the first, and they cover the cost of the second.

If you call these guys, please tell em you got the name from Don Gale's website...

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_41.htm

Cheers,

Stephen

[Jay 535i]

I've drooled over The Euro Depot's website many times. If price were no object, I would go that route. But I'm trying to save money by being a little more creative.

I can buy a whole parts car for what Euro Depot charges for a transmission (~$2200).

[Kalevera]

I've drooled over The Euro Depot's website many times. If price were no object, I would go that route. But I'm trying to save money by being a little more creative.

I can buy a whole parts car for what Euro Depot charges for a transmission (~$2200).

Huh?

ED sells the M30 5speed kit, with new soft parts, for $1995. I can't remember if that includes shipping, I haven't talked with them in a year.

Jay, if you're looking to save money, you should buy a parts car. You'd not only have everything you need on hand, but you'd also have something of value to offset the cost of buying the parts car and whatever new parts you'd need. Now, if space is an issue, maybe you could work a deal with Bruno wherein he keeps the rest of the car and that offsets some of the install cost.

These are hot items. E30 guys want them, E34 guys want them, E32 735 guys haven't figured out that they should want them. There are deals out there (Fritz's 5 speed came from a $400 undamaged '90 535), but they're hard to come by -- it took me 6 months, and I do this for a living.

Oh, and the other thing is, it makes a lot of sense to get a 265 out of a late E28 535. It's a stronger transmission. You'll need a custom driveshaft (and probably a custom shift console -- someone on the board's done this swap, I know). Beyer would do a stunning job and install replaceable joints. But E28 535s are everywhere -- heck, we have one -- so the parts are cheaper.

best, whit