Automatic or Standard tranny

[SirHamblett]

So I purchased my pig about a month ago now and have only driven it about 3 times. I've been busy on weekends trying to do my best to fix a few minor things like: choke cable, random wiring for lights, acquiring a parking brake, and working with rear window. One of things I had been concerned with from the start was the transmission. Now mind you there is nothing wrong with it currently. It works just like it's supposed to. It's just that I've never driven a stick. My first car was a Honda that I purchased when I started school back in 1999. Currently it's got 216K on it. My wife also drives a Honda that uses an automatic. So she will defiantly never drive it because she doesn't have the time to learn. Well anyway I'm curious how much a conversion to an auto will cost. And will it be worth my while. My real purchase of getting the pig was to use it as a daily driver and light duty off-road. I really prefer a nice ride versus off-road capability. Right now I live in Colorado Springs and Gold camp road is about the only place I've been so far with my brother-in-laws F250. I can't imagine where I’ll want to go at the moment that will be much rougher then one of the side roads off of that.

Does anyone have any ideas about cost, time, tranny recommendations?

 

[clemson55]

Do a search in the tech forum and you'll find everything you could want on the subject and more. In my opinion its not worth it, maybe I'm partial to sticks been driving one since I learned. You'll need an adapter, and an auto tranny, all the linkages, new column, and I'm sure lots of stuff I dont even know about. So it will get pricey if you go with all new stuff and it will take time. But like I said search youll find a ton of stuff.

 

[Pighead]

Dude,
It's a whole lot easier to learn to love your stick than it is to swap in an auto...

 

[3jvj]

As I suggested in my the other thread; find a donor 40 that already went under the knife and use it. It will be cheaper and easier in the long run. The conversion on mine came to $7,000. I'm guessing 2-3k of it was labor. The previous owner did everything you could to it though (msd,guages, stainless headers...yatta, yatta). If you were going low buck- junkyard donors I'm sure it could be done MUCH cheaper.

 

[Elyse LC]

Driving a stick is just like anything else with a learning curve - surfing, playing a musical instrument, hell even riding a bike - you're a dork for awhile and then one day - you just do it without even thinking about it.

I live in LA and if ever there was a place that you wanted to have an auto tranny, this is probably it. But in my humble opinion, stick with the stick. Driving, again in my opinion, should be an interactive experience. You and the machine.

Especially true if you own a pig.

just my .02

-
ELC

 

[cardinal fang]

If you have a stock drive train, an auto is a mute point. You can't connect a chevy automatic to a stock engine. Marks in aussie may make something for that, but it ain't cheap. I know of someone saying a plate adapter can connect a 700r4 to a stock engine, but I don't know the pariculars about it. I can say this, from my own experience, getting a chevy automatic to work is a pain in the ass! I have been screwing around with the 700r4 in my TBI350 pig now for years Now that it is finally working, I do really like, but I would have been down with the whole mess years ago if I had just went with a manual tranny. Of course this is all my own experience, which may not be yours, but mine will be more frustrating than yours;p