not so, you can tune the shift kit and make it shift exactly where and how hard you want it to. I know I am in the minority but when looking for mine I was looking for an auto. 71 454 wih a turbo 400 and stage 3 + shift kit, hope the rear shafts can take the abuse

 

I was joking...(use to run a car with a B&M hydro many years ago...)

Just wanted to see reactions...

 

You...trouble...maker...

 

Again...personal preferance. But to me a Vette (or any sports car for that matter) is just not a Vette/sportscar unless your shifting it. Thats "driving" the car as someone else said. I have no clue why a vette is even made in an automatic. But thats just me. I would never own one unless the wife wants one. Then I would have to buy one since she can't drive stick. Then again...maybe...just MAYBE she can learn...

There is that 73 BB auto car that is still for sale close by here. Nice car for the buck...but the automatic just turns me off. If it was a 4 speed it would already be in the garage.

 

Hmm...tell me more about the '73 BB.

 

Soda? Where the heck do you put that? There is absolutly nothing like roasting the 18's through second gear! But mine is for fun,not a daily driver, not a quarter mile freakin drag car, not a trailer queen, FUN....And I can smoke while shifting

 

My vette is practically my primary driver right now. I needa sacrifice my Ninja for a Buick or something so I can save money on the bastid.

 

probably a T-56 out of a camaro

 

This thread is quite informative, after reading this I went for a spin in the Vette. So you are supposed to shift the 4 speed No wonder my top end was only 35MPH.

 

I suppose a standard isnt for you (Although I dont think you should make the decision after driving only ONE standard)
You can NOT compare a V8 with a Honda...I dont care how much power it has...... two totally different animals

Myself, I would never even consider a Corvette with an Automatic... To me, it takes the thrill out of the entire driving experience.

Again, it all comes down to personal choice
Do what you feel is right for you.

ps I have owned T-5,s and they feel no different than the Muncie/Borg warner
The T-5 linkage is internal which may make it seem a little smoother but the feeling of bieng 100% "Hooked up" with the engine is still the same

 

 

hmmm i have a 4-speed and can do all of the above... at the same time... guess some people just have it!!

 

I guess your probably as good at steering with your left knee as I am
I do it all the time

 

After reading this thread I thought of this:
If manuals are for drivers, and automatics are for riders. What if your significant other drives the manual, and you are riding, would that then make the vehicle automatic equiped?
Or does that mean she is getting more practice handeling a stick?

 

I'll PM you

 

I have a body off restored car that I enjoy. I would enjoy it more with a 4 speed. It came from the factory with the TH400. It costed more to order one of these in '68 (with exception to the M22). I am not going to change the originality of my car. Auto's are not bad---back in the day they set many drag racing records, especially the th400 in the LS6 Chevelle. BUT, their are not any auto trannies used in nascar. So they are both good in many ways. Shelby sold an almost even 50/50 auto/manual mustangs in 1968--was he performance minded?? I think so. The fact still remains, today the 4 speed equipped '68 will garner more money than the exact same equipped car with an auto tranny. But I will keep my car with an auto.

Gonzo

 

You have a new PM too, thanks.

 

Dean,
I kid you not! A mate is a mechanic at a local garage & a few years back an old lady brought in a new, low mileage car complaining about a noisy engine & lack of power. They went over everything & couldn't find a thing wrong with it (bet you can see what's coming!). Eventually my mate asked her to take him for a drive in it & tell him what the noise was. So she stuck it in first gear & off they went up to the 30mph limit. And she stayed in 1st, didn't realise that there were higher gears to use At first it's funny, but imbeciles on the road are what cause accidents.

Never driven a manual Vette & my Vette is the 1st auto I've ever owned. Advantages of an auto are that drag starts take no skill whatsoever (lights change, press right foot down, point it in the right direction, drink coffee, puff on cig/look at scenery) and, er, can't think of anything else. Disadvantages are the way they can sometimes change up/down right on the apex of a bend (can be dodgy) & they automatically change down under heavy throttle (this can be an advantage, but it's a pita if you like listening to the sound of the exhaust when the engine is at low revs under heavy throttle in a tunnel or climbing a steep hill). Changing down from "top" when trying to gently accelerate on a highway can also be a pita, particularly with loud pipes when a cop is following (that's not good, not good at all ).
Can't believe that GM fitted a cranky old g/box in their sportscar (maybe they did? I've not driven one), but some of the older, more worn cars I've had (rusty old wrecks to be honest ), had awful gearchanges. Quite often this was simply due to wear in the linkage from the stick to the g/box, especially in ones that used a lot of rubber to isolate vibration from the gearstick. Another one had horrible gearchanges which turned out to be due to worn out baulk rings in the synchromesh (or whatever the name is for those rings). And then clutch problems can show up as g/box propblems, especially if it's dragging due to a warped plate, etc. I'd get a test ride in another manual & see if it feels the same, it could be that the one you drove had some "issues". Personally, I'd prefer a manual (if I want to run at 5000rpm in 2nd, or 2000rpm in 4th under heavy throttle then I can), but they're thin on the ground here & prices reflect that (plus stick shifts have generally had a harder life due to people running at 5000rpm in 2nd, or 2000rpm in 4th under WOT ).

 

On a regular cruise, either would be fine for me. Get caught in 5 miles of bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic that takes an hour to get through with 500 stops; I'll take the automatic.

 

That happened to me once when I was in a big manual truck with a heavy clutch. man I couldn't walk right for a week...