well, im a noob when it comes to auto trannys (i love teh manual tranny) but i got one and decided it would be better for what i want to do (ie wheelies and low ets). so, to the questions. the tranny is a '78 C4. ive been lookin around for what i want to do, and this is what ive come up with. transbrake valve body (fully manual), hurst quarterstick w/ pistol shift **** @ switch, 3000 (ish) stall converter, deep sump aluminum pan, and tranny cooler. sound good? any company suggestions? any other parts i need/should get? also, i know that you cant downshift an auto tranny, but can you if you have a fully manual valve body? thanks

 

I believe B&M sells a shift kit for $250.00 that will allow full control of downshifts with a auto tranny. Dont think for a second you need to explain yourself on buying a auto tranny, I would like to see all these fellas with manuals try to drive to work while eating spaghetti! Yes, its as hard as it sounds.

 

No no no... He's talking about a valve body.... Manual valve bodies are freaking sweet. Get one that also has the 'D' option so you can not have to mess with it if you're on the phone, etc.

God that tranny sounds AWESOME... May want to look into a rebuild while you already have it out of the car, esp. since you'll be making big #'s.

 

before you spend a bunch of money guessing on what you need, you need to consider a couple of questions first.
Do you plan to race in a class at the local track or just go on street nights or test and tunes?? reason I ask is only the fastest class of cars can use transbrakes and you usually have to be running quicker than 12 seconds to be in the faster classes.
Will your car be a street/strip one or strip only?? this will have a lot to do with the selection of a converter in addition to lots of other things like the cam, rear gear, engine torque and HP. etc. which a good converter place will want to know before they can select the best converter for your application.
How much money are you willing to spend?? you ain't gonna do wheelies and have low ET's unless you're willing to spend some bucks to upgrade the suspension, wheels, tires, etc.
Not trying to talk you out of anything, just bringing up a few things for you to think about is all!
I've got an Art Carr Performance Extreme AOD trans in my Stang with a full manual valve body and a 2,500 stall converter and it's a lot of fun at the strip but it did cost a few bucks! LOL

 

i dont plan on running in any classes, just want to have a sweet car for the track. btw, the suspension is already modded. 90/10s, 50/50s, 8 point roll cage, subframe connectors. this will be a street/strip car. i want the most strip i can with it being semi-streetable. im plannin on mickey t radials for traction.

 

well you'll need more suppension mods if you want to pull the wheel and it lives....roundy has bought up some good points..another is cost....sometimes you can get a tailor made trans cheaper from a good company than piecing it together and hoping for the best...most of the cars that pull the wheel have lower gear set ups in the trans big bucks if this is going to be street driven a fair amt then a 3ooo rpm stall is about all you want due to heat they make and we know heat and trannies don't mix. trans brake are cool as hell but I would never drive one without a driveshaft loop!

 

he's right about the driveshaft loop and those 90/10 front struts will definitely make it "semi" streetable for sure.
if you do decide to go with a trans brake, make damn sure you get a big tranny cooler or you will be asking for trouble as the heat build-up is definitely higher with a trans brake being used to launch the car off the line.

 

4 banger springs work great

 

so do you think i should just put in a manual valve body and high stall converter? it would save me a couple hundred bucks which could go towards nitrous or somethin like that. i plan on putting in a pretty big tranny cooler. summit sells some that im gonna check out.

btw i also have eibach drag springs