The engine in both automatic and manual 659cc copen are the same, so I'd assume it is possible to swap the gearbox. However there are some electronic differences, such as, gear lever, and gear display in gauge cluster.
thanks, the one i just bought has been overheated as told my previous owner. Trying to figure how to test if anything wrong with the gasket. May need to replace the engine and there is not Manual engine around.
Ok, I'd start with a compression test & full mechanical inspection by someone who knows Daihatsus, ideally Copens, on the engine you have. If it's just a head gasket, that would be a much better outcome than a replacement engine. But the Copen engine can go from 'a bit hot' to 'screwed' very quickly. That's why I use a real-time engine temp sensor & digital display. For AUD$200 just get one. So yours is manual & you're looking at buying an engine from an auto? Are you looking at a half-cut from Japan? If not, check that option. Then you get everything up front ready to just drop in. If so, maybe hang in for a manual half-cut, although I wouldn't want to miss a good engine either, but you're increasing the level of difficulty & cost quite a lot unless you want an auto Copen (really?) I've only used "Nengun Performance" but there would be lots due to the long model run. Ask them what bits & pieces you need & get it all together. AFRON knows more than I do but I'd agree - the Copen was originally designed to primarily be a manual, the auto was a very small minority [Edit: To my horror, this may not be so, but as I'm too lazy to look it up I'll go with AFRON] & was a Japan only model AFAIK, so I'd guess it isn't a major conversion, but you will probably need some parts from Japan, eg gaskets, whatever.
I mis-understood your first message Steven, please see my (totally different) reply mate. PS Stay safe in Hong Kong, Steven.
I hate to be that guy but the Copen was actually originally designed to be automatic (shocking I know) I have a picture from the 1999 Tokyo Motorshow when the Copen was just a concept car, and at the bottom you can see in the picture that it was an auto, also the low resolution text says it had a "sport shift controlled with a button on the steering wheel" Also I read somewhere that roughly 50% of Copens sold in Japan were autos. Edit: MT:AT sales ratio is 4:6 according to this site 生産10年間で大きな変化は2つだけ？！初代コペン、中古で「買い」と言えるモデルはどれか？ CarMe - ニュースパス So slightly more were sold with the auto anyway, more relevant to this thread, you may want to be careful with Japanese spec Copens sold from 2002 and 2003 (L880K-000064 ~ L880K-014267, May 31, 2002 ~ July 31, 2003) because there was a recall due to a possible coolant leak caused by a pipe melting from the heat and then pouring coolant all over the place. ミラ・ネイキッド・オプティ・コペン・ムーヴ・マックス・ハイゼット・ハイゼットデッキバン・アトレー・アトレーワゴン・テリオスキッドのサービスキャンペーンについて｜サービスキャンペーン情報｜リコール等情報｜軽自動車・エコカー・低燃費車【ダイハツ】 And Copens from October 7, 2005 to October 21, 2005 (L880K-0029637 ~ L880K-0029929) had a recall because "In the prime mover, the positions of the holes for fixing the transmission to the cylinder block are improper, so some of the prime mover and the transmission have been misaligned when assembled. Therefore, if you continue to use it as it is, the clutch disc of the manual transmission or the drive plate of the automatic transmission may be damaged, and in the worst case, you may be unable to drive." ムーヴ・コペンのリコールについて｜リコール・改善対策情報｜リコール等情報｜軽自動車・エコカー・低燃費車【ダイハツ】 This one only affected 206 cars
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Say it ain't so, Joe!" I would never have thought autos were anything but a small percentage! I mean, what's the point? I don't get it, unless it was traffic. Maybe my view is biased by the fact that here in Australia we got two choices: a white manual or a silver manual. Rumours of a few yellow ones, but I've never seen one in the wild. Ours were pure Japanese cars, complete with cute but strict Japanese girl who haunts the car... As for the "Steer Shift" buttons on the steering wheel, I'd say they, like so much of the Copen interior, were from the Daihatsu parts bin. I had 2 fantastic Sirion GTvis with the Steer Shift buttons on the wheel. Problem is, they aren't very useful, as it's hard to keep track of where they are when you're cornering. Anyway, I'd go with the info above, as AFRON's info, as usual, seems to come from a pretty reliable source. Except that I think that the Japanese 2002-2003 models would have been recalled & fixed. Copen owners are/were pretty good with taking care of their little cars. When the Copen lobbed onto the market here about that time the problem had been solved. Mine's a March 2003 & coolant pipes aren't an issue.
