Transmission choice

[Longroof79]

Mark,
I'm glad to hear that you've come to the conclusion of sticking with the stick. I think it helps keep the car unique. Why didn't anyone of us think about changing the rear end gear ratio?
I'm sure it will make all the difference pulling your boat. Good for you.

 

[ssn696]

Dare to KEEP being different!

 

[Bonnewagon]

Thanks Jack. I also was surprised to see that the increased rpm's at highway speeds was not as detrimental as I had figured. My calculations were about 2, maybe 3 hundred rpm increase at 60 mph. But I worried that any higher it would get out of hand. You know that in NYC if you do the speed limit they will blow you right off the road. So the other day I was shooting down the Cross Island Parkway and of course traffic was doing 75mph and better. Well, I kept up and I saw I was cruising at around 3k. Normally with a traditional long stroke Pontiac V-8, you would gear yourself to cruise at a much lower rpm. The torque peak for a 3.750 stroke motor is around 3400. But then I remembered that the 301 is a short stroke motor at 3.00. It ate those rpms's right up and asked for more! This was something new for me as most 301's came with granny gears and a bad reputation. What a pleasant surprise to see it just wanted the opportunity to rev a little. Now let's see if it can drag that boat up a slippery ramp.

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Glad you're happy for now Mark....also glad I read the whole thread. When I read early on that you had some 3:23 gears....my first thought was why not throw those in and give it a try. Alot quicker and less work than swapping out a trans/shifter etc. I don't doubt it scoots around real nice...

You've been on the boat launch for how long now with the stick anyway...I'm sure you've got it figured....

 

[Bonnewagon]

Thanks OD. You know I figured I may need to change gears even with the automatic. So why not do that first and see how it works. So far so good.