metromizer, thanks for the advice.
I did register at spyderchat.com and make a post
They all tell me to gut the precats, because they're notorious for blowing, and then sending ceramic dust into the engine which destroys the cylinder bore.
I expect to be putting at most 1500 miles a year on the car, at least for now, so the gear swap isn't so economically sound. What's that, 45 gallons of gas vs. 40 with the swap? I know I could go to a junkyard and find a M/T Corolla, but I think pulling the transmission would be a nontrivial task...it's just more time than it's worth.
LittleRocket wrote that you can undo 3 of the bolts so that the transmission drops down and hangs by the last one or something, and gives you access to the cover, but that doesn't solve the issue of needing a custom modified gear puller, and the fact that I have never worked with this stuff before. I don't have much time anyways, busy with school :/
Don't get me wrong, the 5th gear certainly bothers the hell out of me! When I drove it home the first time, I never went over 70mph and generally stayed at about 60mph because the engine was making such a racket spinning 3500rpm.
What I really want is a 6 speed, but those are quite expensive. 5th gear is perfect for 25-35mph streets where you can barely avoid bogging the engine. Anything higher a 6th gear would be really nice.
My "master plan" is to give this thing a built high rev Miller cycle 1NZ with an Eaton TVS charger. It would be a f***ton of work and not be any faster than a 2ZZ but it would make the nerd in my extremely happy. The day that happens I'll bring a 6 speed gearbox over. Or maybe Toyota can stop being cheap and bring a newer engine with 6 speed gearbox over to the US.
Oh and of course, I'm going to buy an OBDII scanner sometime so I can monitor fuel economy with my phone
And regarding the steering, yes I am aware that it's not hard to steer. I moved the car around on a slanted driveway without turning the ignition on, and it was not difficult at all, even when the car was not moving at all. When the ignition is on, the steering effort reduces but there wasn't much effort needed in the first place, so I'm not that concerned about the steering pump power consumption. The steering feels rubbery when the assist is fully off, which I don't like...I may try giving the motor some PWM regulation to give the steering a stiffer feel.