I had way more fun with my Chevelle running low 12's with a 454 and 4speed than I did with a 540 and a reverse pattern auto running low 10's , although its true that you have to be prepared to smash the driveline to bits to get the best out it. But dropping the clutch at 4500 rpm is the best
You're not wrong terry, I had four engines , three transmissions and two axles on that car , I even shattered the pinion yoke one day in the days when santa pod were a bit less safety conscious than they are now and I was wearing a t shirt and shorts, my mate was laughing as I rolled to about 300 ft feet and helped the safety crew pick up bits of my diff dressed like I was going to the beach ....
TW71 wrote:Nothing to me sounds as good as a manual with a race v8 swapping gears, especially on the over run. Comes at a cost with big torque though, forget dragging it much!
You are not wrong there.
Petty Roadrunner 416 Stroker 4 Speed
*MMA-609*
"Built to be driven!"
Here is a video of my car (think it was done when Simon owned it) You can hear the gear changes luuvely sound and before it had the edelbrock rpm heads on by the looks of it.
Petty Roadrunner 416 Stroker 4 Speed
*MMA-609*
"Built to be driven!"
I would go for it, does look nice.....just know the limitations at the track with stock parts if staying 4 speed.
Maybe some of you will remember the "Ratfink"...Camaro, a quick car in those days.....10.0's + stick shift+ big slicks = prop coming out into the car!!!!.....how well the rearend was beefed up I don't know?
You just don't get that lovely over run burble when you change gear with an automatic
It was in my list of must haves. It HAD to be a manual, I feel it adds to the driving experiance.
Those V8s make such a sweet noise..I want to be in charge of when it changes..not the gearbox, it's nice just to hold it at those higher RPMS for little longer sometimes.
Don't get me started on the tunnels, and mine hasn't even got a decent exhaust yet!
V8 Sam wrote:You just don't get that lovely over run burble when you change gear with an automatic
It was in my list of must haves. It HAD to be a manual, I feel it adds to the driving experiance.
Those V8s make such a sweet noise..I want to be in charge of when it changes..not the gearbox, it's nice just to hold it at those higher RPMS for little longer sometimes.
Don't get me started on the tunnels, and mine hasn't even got a decent exhaust yet!
No argument from me, but the reason it had to be auto was the fact that i grew up watching 70's/80's american car films (hence the love) and they were nearly all auto's. There is no way you can't tell an stock auto being gunned, from step down to (mostly) seemless changes. Being an auto was a big thing for me getting an American car.
Saying that if my Dart had been manual, you better believe i'd still have bought it!!!! Changin the box is easier and cheaper than the colour!!!!!
Dave Tildesley.....MMA-081
72 Dodge Dart
73 Plymouth Duster - SOLD
I wanna go so FAST i think i'm going to DIE!..........Then i'll shift into second!
"My Car is a work in progress, Probably never gonna get finished, never gonna have the money to Bananarama!!"
Take no notice of them auto-wusses- Once you've tried a 4-speed there's no going back
For street use, stock/ mild motor, the stock clutch with a decent friction plate is fine. Mine chucks out 400-ish hp and with semi-slicks on the road the clutch never let go.
On the track... well that was a very different story
Rev limiter, top end rebuild and jolly expensive clutch are in the pipeline
had a 4 speed 67 camaro many moons ago as my only car and used it to and from work in rush hour every day and it was a killer on your leg!
BUT it was Bananarama! great to nail it around in the evenings/weekends when the roads were clear and no damn camera's
i started this poll a while back to see what the ratio of four speeds were to autos as i was quite suprised at how many four speed cars there actually are. i was under the impression that the four speed is quite rare but it seems not that rare.
my day job allows me to drive many high horsepower cars (that some weigh about 900kgs) all with manual gearboxes. so i'm used to heavy snatcy clutches. i think four speeds make for a more interesting car but then i am never going to see a drag strip in the Barracuda. i prefer the curcuit type of thrashing around where you come up to a corner at 100mph+ and four wheel drift through the apex (just me then?)
