Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

I was reading some of the post on here and another website, and noticed that there are a lot of automatic cars out there (both supercars and "reg." musclecars). I was curious as to what the general thinking is as to the value and desirability of each. Does a 4spd mean that much?

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

I really dont know if there is a dollar differance between a stick & an Auto. car. I can say that rowing a 4-speed at 6500 rpm is a blast. I have recently reinstalled the 4-speed in my 68 SS/RS 396 after after about 20 years of running a Turbo 400 in the car. Now it seems like I cant hardly stay out of the throttle [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif[/img]

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

On almost every collectible car the market values a 4 speed car higher. On the supercars this could be $50,000+ difference.

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

While I agree and it has been proven time and time again, a 4 speed always gets more money. With all due respect $50,000 is pushing it quite a bit. I would think 5 to 10 grand depending on the car! The exception there might be a ZL-1 car.
The same goes for paint. A hugger orange or Daytona yellow will get you at least 5 to 10 grand more than a green one. Of course there are always exceptions!
Peter

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

I think there is at least a $50K diference between 4 speeds and autos for both ZL-1's and some BMotion cars. Sales in the not to distant past have borne this out. '69 Yenko Camaros might not have a $50K difference, perhaps more in the $20K to $30K range. Of course for more run of the mill muscle cars it would be only be several thousand.

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

I would think it would make more difference on a car that is being bought to be driven. If its a show car that will rarely (or never) see street use, and only be driven in and out of a box trailer, it seems silly to pay 1000s and 1000s of dollars more for a 4 gear, now if you're buying a car to actually DRIVE, then yes, i could justify spending the extra cake for it. Personally, I prefer manual trannys, but I also know of some pretty bad assed automatic supercars, and don't consider them to be worth far less than if they were 4 speeds.

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

To me...the musclecar era was about powerful motors and 4-speeds...automatic euipped cars just don't have as much personality (my personal opinion). You can't match the feeling of slamming through the gears on a 4 speed (even though well built automatics can shift quite hard).... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

I'll bet there is more matching number "Super Cars" that are automatic than 4-speeds! Those old 4-speeds were a lot harder on parts. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif[/img]

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

As well as the inexperienced owners who tried shifting them.
[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/3gears.gif[/img]

Re: Feelings on 4spd vs. auto
 

I grew up shifting gears manually, and loved 4speeds with Hurst/comp shifters, but there was that Torquefite Trans. that was doing a job on 4speeds on the street and when GM Hooked up that M40 to it's solid/lifter engines--4speeds were getting beat in street races more often.--Plus you didn't break things as much as you would racing a 4speed.--Now all that said ,I still luv driving/shifting a good stick
JoeG