The Benefits To Buying A Project Car With An Automatic Transmission #blogpost
I’m sure a lot of you love manual transmissions more than most things in life. Most of you couldn’t even imagine owning a fun car that doesn’t have a clutch pedal. However, I’ve discovered that in my current situation, getting a project car with an automatic transmission may not be so bad after all.
I’ll skip over the obvious benefits and talk about some of the hidden ones…
Closer Gear Ratios Than A Manual 4 Speed Truck Transmission
Almost all the cheap classic American stick shift vehicles on the market are pickup trucks. The 4 speed transmissions they have in them have very wide gear spreads. For example, in a M465 4 speed manual in a classic GM truck has gear ratios of 6.55, 3.58, 1.70 and 1.00 respectively. Meanwhile a Turbo 400 has gear ratios of 2.48, 1.48 and 1.00. Close gear ratios are better for acceleration, and both transmissions have a 1.000 final gear, so you get the same top speed with each transmission.
Price And Availability
This point rings true especially for muscle/pony cars. You can find cheap late 70’s Camaros and Firebirds with automatics all day, but doing the same thing with manual cars is another story. Opening your options to automatic cars also introduces big cruiser cars like Buick Wildcats and Cadillac Coupe DeVilles that only came with automatics. Although manual cars may be cheaper to buy brand new, it’s not the same story on the used market.
Comments
Great post as always, Chad.
My relative actually bought a Coupe De Ville in 2012-2016, it drove so well for such an old car and it had a feeling I think newer Cadillacs will never inherit.
New Cadillacs are too small..
Enter your comment…
This is my rule with transmissions.
More than 300 ft. ibs of torque?
Automatic
Less than 300 ft. ibs of torque?
Manual
why’s that
Try that rule in pre-05 ford trucks haha. (Fair rule for in general though)
I still love manuals, even though I’ll probably never get a manual nor drive one. These points ring true, and I can confirm them with my own searches online, too. Besides, if it’s cheaper and easier to get a Camaro automatic, and simply a Camaro is all I want (for example), then why would I go the distance to find a manual? I would love to, but I can’t afford neither the effort nor the time.(and most people can’t, either)
As much as I’d love a manual ‘68 Mustang fastback, autos are much easier to find. Honestly, I’d get an auto and swap to manual later on
Yea this is true but in alot of cars the auto box isn’t any good. In smaller engines you really need to go for a manual cause the auto is just gutless.. you can also run into alot of problems with high ks Autos with them either not engaging or slipping out of the gear. If this happens it’s alot harder to drive the car home if your stuck somewhere unlike a manual where you could skip a gear or just hold it in that gear. However, a manual box can go aswell and the clutch is another story.
The engines I’m looking for are V8’s so I think I should be good haha
Buy an auto and when the time comes, swap it for a Manual. What do you think? I guess a gnx with a Manual is great
actually if you put a manual in a gnx it will be slower because the auto keeps the turbo spooled better
Well I gotta buy an automatic for (almost) any Benz because they don’t make many manuals… swap it out tho
But, you must consider that, if your auto breaks, and it will, theres no way in heck you’re ever fixing that yourself. If you want reliable go with a manual. You can buy a rebuild kit and if you can pull the tranny out you can rebuild it in a day. If I may, I’d like to offer an example. In many late 90s-early 2000’s ford trucks, autos typically break/need a rebuild around 130-160k. Manuals in the same trucks will last well into the 300’s before needing a rebuild.