transmition
A drain plug in the pan makes for much easier oil changes. Also available are oil coolers and outboard filters. I feel auto tranny life is lenghtened by regular fluid maintenece and cooling. A shift kit will reduce shift overlap which is wear moderate wear occurs. With the kit, ya get more pronounced shifts. Most guys actually like firmer shifts if they drive a Vette tho.
A good tranny shop will now what updates and mods to perform, but I would at least go with a kevlar band and upgrade the 3-4 clutches with a 9 clutch disk set up. Those cost less than $20.00 and make a big difference.
[Modified by mak567, 3:10 AM 2/4/2003]
I think that my torque converter helps it to be smooth, because it shifts below the stall speed.
A torque converter can really wake the car up, stock or non. I went with a 2600 stall, which flash stalls to 2950 rpm in my application. I was told that 2800 rpm stall was the top of the streetable number. Its not. My 2950 is still very streetable, if I had it to do again, I would go 3500 stall. I am not going to change it now, as I want to do a lot more motor work, and 3500 might not be right for some of the big mods I'm planning. But I think a stock car would react nicely to a 3,200 stall converter.
My moms 1995 Blazer S10 flash stalls to 3,200 rpms, so I could see an S-10 converter working well in a Vette. However, I don't know the price on that. I bought a cheap mostly-no-name converter for $208 from the transmission shop that rebuilt my transmission. Its a 12 inch converter, which means its big and heavy and a lot of rotating weight, but for the price it works ok, its not any heavier than stock. Preferably a smaller diameter converter is what you want, but they get pricey quick. Make sure you get a lock-up converter. They're heavier, but they are also the reason Corvettes get 30 mpg.
If you go to a higher stall converter, you are going to need a better transmission cooler than stock. Talk to your transmission shop and see what they recommend for the converter your choose. Bigger is not better if you go too big. Ultimately you should match the cooler to the stall, how its going to be driven, and the climate.
As for clutch packs, a 9-disc pack is a no-no on the street. They are ideal for racing, because of the surface area, but they are so thin that heat effects them. For a street transmission, a good quality 6-disc pack is what you want.











