bb62

Then it's not the stock pairing as no Powerglides came with the top rated (i.e. "biggest baddest") engine available in any year.

As a side note, in virtually every Corvette generation (with some minor exceptions in the C3 generation), every top performance or solid lifter engine came ONLY with manual transmissions.

C1 - Fuelies (solid lifter variety) only available with M/Ts
C2 - All fuelies and solid lifter big blocks could only be matched with M/Ts
C3 - Only a few 69 and 71 big blocks were available with A/T
C4 - All ZR-1s were M/T 6 speeds
C5 - All Z06s were M/T
C6 - All Z06s and ZR1s are M/T only

Fawndeuce

And therein lies the difference... you older fellas go out in to your garages and look at your C1's or C2's and still see a sports car, a younger guy like me (love this forum, I'm younger ) goes out into his garage and sees a buggy sprung, solid axle, drum brake, king pin front-end, ladder frame antique.
Yes it's a hoot to drive, and yes the V8 can still kick when I stick my foot in it, but this ain't got nothin' to do with no sports car that I've ever driven!
I was actually looking for a '67 four speed roadster when I found my '62 PG (five years ago this month), liked the '62 so much that I bought it instead, PG and all...



Paul

MaineDoc

Sportsman Red didn't give it away? I have a 54 with three carbs, solid lifters, and a Powerglide-all original. My 235 was in fact the biggest engine offered, although I must admit that it was the only one as well.

C-1 Generation 2

I'd say for me I would only go with a manual on an early Corvette and on my 62 I went with an extra gear and love every minute of driving it.
That being said,when I ordered a new 2010 Grand Sport I purposely ordered a 6 speed auto just so the wife could drive it or should something happen to me she would be able to drive.
But my daily driver is a 5-speed in a HHR SS and just a hoot to drive.

bb62

Ah - well... then just call me a C2 geek not fluent in C1-speak (especially early C1).

Jalopy31

I think this is well-stated.

My wife and I looked for about three years to find the right mid-year roadster with a Powerglide so she could drive it. Given the rarity of Powerglides and the fact that many Powerglide cars were coupes, we were left with a very small pool of cars to choose from. Consequently, when we found the right car, we paid the guy's askinig price - which was not as severly discounted over the price of a 4-speed car as some have suggested here. We're happy with the car, and that's all that really matters anyway.

jim lockwood

Good one! I didn't pick up on the clue either and yet I also have a '54.

Jim

MikeM

Automatic transmission in a Corvette were a sought after option in the earlier years.

This taken from "Red Book National Market Reports, Inc. July, 1959:

1957 Corvette average retail $2520.00

Deduct standard transmission $100

Dan Hampton

If you paid the asking price, your conclusion that the small price spread between a manual and automatic becomes nothing more than a self-fullfilling prophecy.

CWerner

When I got my 64 back in 2006, it was my first classic muscle car since I was a kid (25 years earlier). I had become the middle aged guy that drove automatic BMW's.

When I narrowed my choices down, it was between a 66 4spd NOM or a 64 resto-mod 700R4 automatic. I went with the resto-mod, but wasn't even giving any thought or weight to the automatic.

Three years later, I'm a corvette guy now and I'm trading my daily driver BMW for a M6 - C6. I've wished for years now that my 64 was a 5 spd manual. I'm constantly running through the gears with the 700R4 as if it's a manual.

My wife made me get rid of the C6 this year because we needed a 2nd car with a back seat. Now I've got another BMW, but it's a rare bird. 650 coupe with a 6sp manual.

I want to swap out my 700R4 for a manual.

MarkL36

I know I will catch hell for this, but IMHO, if a able bodied wife cant drive a stick then she has no business in a c1 or c2. Mark

Dan Hampton

Mark:

Your comment sort of dovetails with the new Dr. Pepper ad.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/02/22/...nly-diet-soda/

32361ARTHUR

My Vette has an Art Carr 200R4 in it behind a 383 stroker. I wouldn't trade it for any stick and its not only easier to drive but most likely faster than if it had a stick shift trans. I'm 69 years old and also ride a 425 HP V8 powered Chopper, not a Boss Hoss. It's a ten second quarter mile bike that is ridden regularly around town and some hundred mile trips. It would be a 9 second bike if it had a slick for a rear tire. I also have a Boss Hoss with a 385 HP ZZ4 in it that although slower than the Chopper will smoke most muscle cars, it's my touring bike. In any event I don't agree with Parsons this time that if you have an automatic in your vette that makes you a girlie man. I also don't think any vette can be much of a status symbol. To me they're just a good looking fun car to drive especially if they're modified to make them that way. In reality they are a plastic car with a Chevrolet engine with an inflated value due to the hype about the desireability of matching numbers and TV auctions.

32361ARTHUR

They are overpriced and not because they are such great cars. They are priced so high because of their collectability not because of their driveability. I don't think you're wasting your time on the forum because the forum is fun,entertaining, and a wealth of information. Back in the day I teased the guys with automatics too. Todays automatics are a world ahead of those back in the day, especially the stock two speed powerglide, They now will outperform most any stick shift. When I was younger I loved to shift and use the clutch etc, today as long as I don't lose performance I am perfectly happy with an automatic. I have a Kenworth with an 18 speed trans, I wish it was an automatic.

Blk63Vette

I agree
I would not buy and automatic C1 or C2 it just doesn't make sense to me. I think of and auto as and ."old mans" car . However in a newer vette its more "acceptable"
I think people 40 plus years ago were more tough.... than today.. every new car needs power everything & a/c or most people will not buy the car period

bb62

Not on a road course they won't. There is simply no way for an automatic to anticipate the required RPM range necessary during a downshift. This is why Z06s and ZR1s today are still only available with manual transmissions.

DZAUTO

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, you won't catch hell from me!

Tom Parsons

32361ARTHUR

Today they have paddle shift automatics in high performance Ferrari cars. My almost antique Art Carr 200R4 will down shift down to any gear by moving the shifter to the selected gear position no matter what speed the car is going just like a stick but without the clutch. The driver is the one who anticipates the required RPM range necessary during a downshift and it works the same with my automatic as a stick. It will stay in first as long as it's left there and the same with second and the same with third until its finally put into overdrive (4th). I can go through four gears individually just like you however I don't have a clutch or I can start out in OD (4th) and punch it and let it go through the four speeds at pre selected adjustable shift points all by itself.

Fawndeuce

The Z06 and ZR1 only come with a manual, because GM doesn't have an automatic that can handle the torque of these engines.
The Corvette finally got a three speed automatic in '68, by '70 the automatics outsold the manuals and have for every year since by a large margin.
Two thirds of new Corvettes sold today come with slushboxes, you can bet your bottom dollar that GM would offer it in the Z's if they had it.
When you get into the European high end performance cars, true manuals are all but gone, a sad situation for all of us who prefer to do their own shifting.



Paul

DZAUTO

Ya, but can you push start any of these cars with an auto tranny? I don't know of any.
So why the hell would you EVER want to push start a car? Ever accidently leave a light or an accessory on, only to return to discover that the battery is so low that it can't turn over the starter? Or that the battery has just finally given up the ghost, or that the starter is on it's last leg and can't turn over the engine? Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry, there's probably no one here who has ever had to push start their Corvette-----------------or any other car. Any way, you can't do it with an auto tranny.
Auto trannys????? Nah, I'll pass!

Tom Parsons