trying to decide, talked to a few guys and it seems to be 50 50 so far. auto or manual? and which kind.

mostly trail rig maybe some rock racing.

I would go with a built th400. But I hate holding a clutch on a hill.

I would do whats in your price range and will suit your needs best and only you can answer that. Manuals were the only way to go a few years back now the tables are turning.

I look at it like this.... manuals will or atleast shouldnt ever leave you stranded as long as you can find a gear and you can also push/tow start them also, and water will not mess it up, atleast not immediatly and if you get bound up a manual is alot harder on drivetrain. and a 5spd manual is not a cheap transmission but if you plan to drive it on the highway then i would assume you would want a 5spd. also they are as long or longer than some autos.

Auto's make technical driving so much easier and the torque converter is soo much easier on parts over the positive engagement of a clutch. Auto's will tend to generate alot of heat due to the torque converter but with a LARGE trans-cooler (seperate unit and a must) will not be a problem. any auto trans you get can and should be gone through with the exception that alot of people have pulled c-6 and th400 from the wrecking yards and ran them with no problems. Some cases length could be an issue also. some people say that you lose engine breaking but thats just not true when you consider 4low and deep axles gears.

I really think you should get out there and drive some comparable rigs to what your building and try an auto and a manual and then make a decision. anyhow just my .02 cents and i could go on for days......
oh ya and i don't care who you are.... you can't shift faster and more flawlessly than an automatic...lol

price wise i think you will be into them about the same considering everything involved.....

I have no personal experiance wheeling an Auto so I can't give you my opinion on it from 1st hand experience. I CAN however tell you that everyone I know that used to wheel with a Manual and switched to an Auto, says they will never go back to a manual.........

My next rig? Going to be an Auto all the way............

Except for me. Ran sticks tried an auto and went back to a stick. For a trail rig stick all the way. Plus they are super cheap, and don't require a ton of stuff to make it work. On a Cruiser you can use the stock slave and master cylinder and easily adapt it to work with the gm release arm.

By the way stabbed a 350, turbo 400, and 205 in a Cruiser a few years. Fit great.

I love jiMMys set up 350/sm420, Dana 300. Anyone can get in his rig and drive it no problem.

except for me too I hated my th400 and it was plenty strong and supposed to be built up all good. of course this is all done for my personal driving style.

putting a 465 back in the rig. 4.56 in the axles, 5.0 i the case... and it'll go down the hwy like o/d and go down the trail ultra slow.

th 400 starts at 2.84:1 and ends at 1:1. 465 starts at 6.5ish and ends at 1.1. yeah yeah torque converter doubles your crawl supposedly. I don't feel it. maybe I needed more motor.

a good motor, soft complient suspension, and the right gearing I think an auto would shine in a crawler. in a race car where you're not finnessing much and just beating it and bouncing off stuff.. makes a ton of sense. short of that there's something to be said for putting it in crawl, letting the clutch out.. then touching none of the pedals

I think the 400 has the highest 1st gear ratio too.....but you can buy and install a lower one.

Posted By mikeb on 16th Jan 11 at 7:06pm

 

I love jiMMys set up 350/sm420, Dana 300. Anyone can get in his rig and drive it no problem.

If someone can't drive an auto i don't want them anywhere close to my rig....lmao

CAN'T STALL AN AUTO.....

I've been running an auto for quite some time now. 10+ yrs. Ive had a few problems along the way, but nothing because of Trans failure where it left me stranded. Cross member was not correct which caused the case to crack, secondarys open on the road and 2nd gear clutches were slipping a little. I had it rebuilt by Jeremy @ Raz auto in Rio Linda for a few hundred and havn't had a problem since.
I would go with the C6 any day of the week. The tranny has held up to the big block really well. I understand the whole, water in the tranny not sure how it could get in there? unless I completely swamped it, but then I would have several other problems .. hehe... like sinking to the bottom...

Autos are cool and you definetely don't break nearly as much, shafts, joints, drivelines... much more forgiving... make sure you run a BIG cooler like Rob said, have the option of turning on the fan as well,
I run a doubler with 4.88 in the axles, and it finally works great!.

Autos are really cool for sand hill climbs, mud pits, and not spilling your beer....

If he is running a 22re like his sig says, why would you put an auto behind that? If he is running 8 cylinders then sure an auto but otherwise run the manual side stepping the clutch gives you instant wheel turning and no waiting for the torque converter.

Posted By Alotakids! on 17th Jan 11 at 11:38am

 

If he is running a 22re like his sig says, why would you put an auto behind that? If he is running 8 cylinders then sure an auto but otherwise run the manual side stepping the clutch gives you instant wheel turning and no waiting for the torque converter.

Nope this is a new build. 72 Land cruiser TBI 350 14 bolt rear 60 front 4 link front/rear. Sold the toyota on saturday to fund the new build.

Posted By kodizzle on 17th Jan 11 at 1:25pm

 

Posted By Alotakids! on 17th Jan 11 at 11:38am

 

If he is running a 22re like his sig says, why would you put an auto behind that? If he is running 8 cylinders then sure an auto but otherwise run the manual side stepping the clutch gives you instant wheel turning and no waiting for the torque converter.

Nope this is a new build. 72 Land cruiser TBI 350 14 bolt rear 60 front 4 link front/rear. Sold the toyota on saturday to fund the new build.

Finally stepping up in life I see....

Posted By VERTIGO on 17th Jan 11 at 10:31pm

 

Finally stepping up in life I see....

yup time to step it up. wanted a new challenge so i decided to come up with a few.

1 - build a rig from the from frame up
2 - figure out what to do with 4 extra cylinders
3 - figure out how to wheel again with so many differences coming from the new rig from the yota

should be fun

42's, 1-tons, V8, low gears, Auto, and linked...lol you are building the basic dummy wheeler..... your going to laugh how much easier it is to walk through areas that used to give your toy troubles....

minus the auto, i think rob just called me a dummy

Posted By jiMMythejerk on 18th Jan 11 at 11:34pm

 

minus the auto, i think rob just called me a dummy

If the shoe fits.........

Or

If it looks like a dummy, walks like a dummy, talks like a dummy and wheels like a dummy.........then it must be Jimmy!


JK Jimmy!

Posted By jiMMythejerk on 18th Jan 11 at 11:34pm

 

minus the auto, i think rob just called me a dummy

I'm in the clear!!!

Posted By BigRob on 18th Jan 11 at 10:55pm

 

42's, 1-tons, V8, low gears, Auto, and linked...lol you are building the basic dummy wheeler..... your going to laugh how much easier it is to walk through areas that used to give your toy troubles....

haha nice, well i didnt say it would be harder, just have to figure out how to do it and not look like a dummy.

Posted By jiMMythejerk on 18th Jan 11 at 11:34pm

 

minus the auto, i think rob just called me a dummy

I think he was talking about me.... Jerk

Going back to a manual......auto just ran to hot for me. C6 is tough but they swallow a lot of horsepower.but for go fast stuff id run an auto.

hahahaa .... you guys are picking on me again...lol

no "dummies" in our group!!