We’re there any Series 2 (2003 onwards) LW200 with manual transmission?

[Admiral Beez]

I remember in 2003 or 2004 sitting in a LW200 with the new facelift at the Toronto car show that had a five speed manual. I recall thinking that S-class compacts aside, no one in 21st century North America is going to buy a Saturn station wagon with a manual transmission.

So, did they sell any? Would they be worth more today, since I assume one could put on a turbo or other mods that the automatic may not work well with.

[pierrot]

Originally Posted by Admiral Beez

I remember in 2003 or 2004 sitting in a LW200 with the new facelift at the Toronto car show that had a five speed manual. I recall thinking that S-class compacts aside, no one in 21st century North America is going to buy a Saturn station wagon with a manual transmission.

So, did they sell any? Would they be worth more today, since I assume one could put on a turbo or other mods that the automatic may not work well with.

M.Y. 2003 was the last year that an L-Series car was avialable from the factory with a manual transmission. Sales of L-Series cars with the manual transmission were poor so it's not easy to find them out there for sale even in wrecking yards. In terms of upgrading a transmission to handle greater torque and horse power it would be more useful and far simpler to swap out the 4T40-E transmission with a 4T45-E. The latter transmission was used with the 3.0L V6 that was available in our cars and also another GM 3.5L V6 found in the Aura.

I suspect that one would need to find some other bracketing for the clutch pedal (a third pedal at the floor) and perhaps opening a new hole in the firewall to connect it to the transmission. As to how much more value one might add to an LW200 by swapping out an automatic for a manual transmission it would hardly be noticeable. Look up that type of information on KBB.com (Kelly Blue Book) for used car prices. If there was some increase in the value of the car after performing such a swap I wouldn't expect it to be equal to the cost in parts and time to do the necessary work. Nevertheless, if one really wants to do it then one certainly can!