So ummm, I've thought about this a while, and decided I wanted an automatic. That's what my car is right now, but I had to decide between an '82 manual, and an '88 auto, and I went with the auto.
But my question is is it worth it to drop alot of money into it and build a new engine for this auto, or is it more of a lost cause as anybody with the same horsepower as me, with a manual is going to get more power to the rear wheels. Or should I just not worry about that, as an auto will probably beat it in the long run as it shifts much quicker?
Me and my dad are rebuilding a 350 .30 over and it's gonna be pretty modestly powerful.....

and btw, the reasons I wanted an auto are, for one, having a remote start, once you have one, you realize how much they really really help. And two, as it is a car I'll drive alot, I just wanted to sit back and press the gas, but I do admit a manual can be more fun.....

anyways, maybe this is a dumb question, but thanks for any help

 

I'd go manual, but thats just my opinion because the GTA is the fun car. I have a winter car that i can drive around in and move crap with.

As far as automatics go? They aren't that hard to build up if you have a little knowledge and a decent budget. Experience still pays, but you can build a tranny that will take the abuse a modifed 350TPI puts out without too much money or hassle.

However, if you really want to build something strong, just buy a Pro-built tranny, or equivelent. You get what you pay for, and they are great trannies.

 

Well, I really like my 700R4 in my '87 IROCZ. The tranny is pretty solid and shifts great, hard & quick, spinning the tires going into 2nd gear. Also, at the dragstrip, the burnout is easy and launches are much better. It is easier to get the auto to run well at the dragstrip in a consistent manner and you load up the gears when you power brake it. This saves on the rear gears and the axles.

I have an M6 in my '99 SS.. It is much harder to get it right at the dragstrip. I have to work on my launch technique alot more here.

 

You can build up a 700R4 pretty strong! You can even build it so you can manually shift when you want without worry of hurting it. So lazy when you wanna be, or shifting when you wanna be