Transmission
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 251
Likes: 1
From: Windsor Connecticut
Transmission
I may be getting bored I am having thoughts of replacing my automatic transmission in my 84 vet with a standard transmission like to make it seem like a real sports car has anyone ever converted their 84 automatic to a standard.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 251
Likes: 1
From: Windsor Connecticut
Re transmission
You are probably right, would like a brand spanking new one ,just not in the budget right now But I do really like this 84 been with me for 34 years be hard to part with it.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,363
Likes: 3,255
From: Hartford WI
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 1,384
Likes: 339
From: Simi Valley CA
I was planning on converting my 89 to a 6 speed and found it is just not worth it. The autos came with a dana 36 rear and 2.59 gears. The manuals came with a dana 44 and 3.07s and up depending on year. You're looking at about 1000-1500 just for a dana 44. Dana 36s aren't worth much. Then the trans. You're looking at about 1000-1500 for a 4+3 or 6 speed that is rebuilt with bellhousing. Then a few hundred for the misc lines, linkage, slave/clutch cyl., pedals, drive shaft, c beam, etc. You're already at 3k+ just in parts.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,698
Likes: 1,667
From: moraga ca
That's funny. Years ago I converted my 84 with the 4+3 to an auto for drag racing. These cars tend to want to stay with you.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,363
Likes: 3,255
From: Hartford WI
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
10 Most Common Corvette Problems of the Last 20 Years!
Joe Kucinski
5 MOST and 5 LEAST Popular Corvette Model Years in History!
Joe Kucinski
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,451
Likes: 336
From: Greater Cincinnati Area.
Why not get a performance automatic? I love mine and wouldn't want a stick shift.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,451
Likes: 336
From: Greater Cincinnati Area.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,363
Likes: 3,255
From: Hartford WI
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 3,451
Likes: 336
From: Greater Cincinnati Area.
If I was out to make a fashion statement or drop a hint about personal wealth, or whatever.. I probably wouldn't own a C4 in the first place.
I agree with Tom when he says it's a "Driver's car" You have to be a car guy to truly appreciate them. Stick or auto, some other people think they're old junk, and that's fine.. I guess I'm not socially conscious enough to care?
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,363
Likes: 3,255
From: Hartford WI
Kinda how I feel about it.
If I was out to make a fashion statement or drop a hint about personal wealth, or whatever.. I probably wouldn't own a C4 in the first place.
I agree with Tom when he says it's a "Driver's car" You have to be a car guy to truly appreciate them. Stick or auto, some other people think they're old junk, and that's fine.. I guess I'm not socially conscious enough to care?
If I was out to make a fashion statement or drop a hint about personal wealth, or whatever.. I probably wouldn't own a C4 in the first place.
I agree with Tom when he says it's a "Driver's car" You have to be a car guy to truly appreciate them. Stick or auto, some other people think they're old junk, and that's fine.. I guess I'm not socially conscious enough to care?
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 20,974
Likes: 261
Buy another '84 for 2-5k and sell yours.
My car is auto, but it has a pretty serious stall for the street, shift kit, and weights have been changed. shifting is the least of my concern anymore, although when it was stock it was boring as hell.
Sounds stupid, but with enough power and gear they behave very differently. OTOH you can buy a built c6 for what I put in my c4 to make it fun. lol
Back to square one. Buy a cheap stick car and run it, unless you like projects. 6spd is a much better experience.
My car is auto, but it has a pretty serious stall for the street, shift kit, and weights have been changed. shifting is the least of my concern anymore, although when it was stock it was boring as hell.
Sounds stupid, but with enough power and gear they behave very differently. OTOH you can buy a built c6 for what I put in my c4 to make it fun. lol
Back to square one. Buy a cheap stick car and run it, unless you like projects. 6spd is a much better experience.
Last edited by pologreen1; Sep 10, 2018 at 01:11 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 4,426
Likes: 229
From: Pennsylvania
You could swap out the automatic for a manual transmission if you want to. It's been done. But, it's very expensive and takes a good bit of skill. It's up to you. It will definitely be a lot cheaper to just buy another manual transmission C4 instead of all the costs and headaches to swap yours out. I understand that you are attached to yours for owning it for such a long time. It happens to REAL Corvette enthusiasts. Instead of putting in all that money and effort to swap trannies, keep it for what it is and just pick up another one with the manual transmission. They certainly are priced right and you'll still have your original C4 the way it was built.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,616
Likes: 111
I have a new steel FW for the conversion if you are serious. It's custom made for the 2 piece rear main seal for the 84-85. It's on the FS section with pics.