I bought a L48 turbo/350 combo and the lack of overdrive and 3500 RPM at hiway speeds caused me to replace the drive train with roller cam moto/700R4 trans. Now my vette hauls *** and that's what I want in a Vette.

 

Only if you don't want an L-48 auto car. My 74 coupe was an L-48 auto and I drove it everywhere I wanted to go for years and years.

 

Even then... it is only a short term issue... in the long run an L48 auto can be upgraded to more power than an L82 and more gears than an old Muncie or T10.

 

Some well taken points so far. I have the lowest HP L-48 ever made in my 75', I still love driving it. And for me that is what I wanted, driving it, down the road if I change my mind I can add a 5 or 6 speed manual trans and warm up my engine to what suits ME. In the mean time I am driving a great/fun car and if I never change anything I am having fun right now. Mike

 

Yeah, but probably worth it given you are typically going to get superior gear ratios out of a 5 speed (lower 1st, overdrive 5th) compared to an old Muncie, Saginaw or T10 four speed.

 

The L48/auto is close to my house I'm just going to take it for a ride when i get home this weekend and see how it feels.

 

 

There is a lot more to think about than if one has a stick and a L-82 or a automatic and a L-48 when buying a used Corvette.
How's the paint? The frame and the birdcage. The interior, gauges all work? How long the last person owned it and are there any maintenance records? Deluxe interior, power windows, air conditioned and does it work?
What are your future plans?

 

As of right now I need a new weekend project, I've been working on my jeep for 9 years and want a change. As far as my original question i was mainly referring to the power difference of the two combos. More then likely this will just be a sunny day cruiser. Probably start with suspension and minor engine upgrades and go from there.

 

From a guy, with a '74, L48, factory four speed car: Get the stick. I just pulled mine in, it's had 95% of the internals replaced or rebuilt. It is a fun car. It also never stops asking for parts or work, that's the way they are, but with your experience, shouldn't be a problem.

And you can build up, even an L48 to be plenty friggin' healthy, with a smattering of parts, not that much either. L98 aluminum heads with the little 58cc chambers can be had for $500-$600 and that is a good bump up on the compression, without even touching the pistons (if they don't need replacing, mine lasted almost two years, before we had to redo the whole shebang!), Later on, you can build up something even faster.

I'm running a Lunati Voodoo cam, 282 grind, that's for an RV/Marine/4x4 and while it's not a high revver, it will pull hard through all the gears, lay 100 feet of rubber and just be a blast to drive. About 14.6 seconds is what I get in the 1/4 mile at 94 mph.

The stick shift is always a special experience for me, driving my Sassy girl. Working the clutch, listening to the chik-click of the shifter (sounds just like a shotgun, being pumped) and feeling the direct hookup, from the pedal of the foot, to the seat of the ***, is a good thing. Nothing wrong with auto's. A well built auto is a blast! It's just the stick has that tradition and knowledge of using it, that makes it just a wee bit cooler, even if they aren't as fast on the strip anymore.