Who has converted from 727 to a manual transmission and regretted it ?

[Kern Dog]

Fair question.
In the 90s, I had a 76 Camaro that was set up sort of like how my Red Charger is. Low, stiffly sprung, wide, low profile tires for better handling. It was a 350 automatic but I swapped in a 4 speed auto for the overdrive. Years later, I swapped in a 4 speed Saginaw trans. The car was more fun with the manual trans.
In 2008 I bought a derelict '74 Duster.

I fixed it up. Built a 360 and converted it to a 4 speed.

IT was fun as well. The Camaro swap was done in 1993 and almost everything came from wrecking yards. The Duster 833 was a used trans as was all the linkages and shifter, the flywheel and clutch were new.

Now I have the itch to convert my Red Charger from a 727 to a 5 speed. Things have changed a LOT though. None of the parts to do this swap can be found at any junkyard near me. There are vendors that offer complete swap kits and I have contacted them. The price is pretty stiff as you surely know. Sometimes the level of satisfaction from a project is directly proportional to how much was spent.

I don't need to do this swap but I would like to. I'd sure like to see some comments on how it worked out for you. I'm not so concerned about whether the manual trans made the car faster, just more fun to drive.

 

[69SportSatellite]

Interested in this too - considering the same for my 440/727 Sport Satellite. I have a lot of the necessary parts, but still need several ...

 

[Demonic]

I have heard, on more than one occasion, of our older brothers ( 70's ) in this hobby converting to automatic due to age, knee/hip/ankle/medical issues. Time marches on....

 

[Kern Dog]

I can see that.
At 54, I still feel great.

 

[Michael_]

I live in germany. Here still on to this day most people are driving stick. So the first cars i drove where all stick shift.

For me:
If the car is a toy only i would go stick shift for the fun.
If its a daily driver or multi purpose vehicle i would go automatic. As i did with my recently purchased 69 charger rt.

Cant beat automatic in stop and go traffic or traffic jam.

 

[66 Sat]

I got a quote for a A833 conversion kit earlier this week and it was pretty expensive. The international shipping would be on top, and obviously I would have to install it so overall it would be a pretty major operation in terms of both time (when I couldn't drive the car) and money.
I've driven the car 4 times this week and to be honest, it's very enjoyable to drive as an auto. I shift it manually at some point during every drive, usually dropping it to second to go WOT and it's a blast. When I want to cruise I can rest my arm on the window and burble along. There's plenty going on anyway just keeping it straight, it's certainly no car to be driving sipping a coffee, not with the slippery seats, lap belts and roly poly suspension. If it was a smaller car (A body), or was set up stiffer with more contoured bucket seats then a stick would make more sense, but maybe not for this car.
I've decided I would be better investing the money I would spend on the swap, and if it all goes well, I could buy a 4spd car down the track instead.

 

[Cojohnso1]

It wasn't that long ago manuals were far more sought. Thus worth the cost of conversion. They're still more desirable. But the gap has narrowed.

 

[Cornpatch MO]

Love a 4 speed with a high torque engine. Shift early and feel that torque. I don't think I would want a 5 speed unless 5th gear was overdrive for 65+ mph cruising. I would never again want a manual transmission for drag strip racing..................MO

 

[Kern Dog]

Lower freeway cruising rpms mean less noise, vibration and fatigue. Gas mileage is a plus.
I enjoyed the fun of slipping the clutch a bit whan starting off, a little wheelspin, maybe kick the tail over a bit in turns. The Camaro was fun to drive in the rain. U-turns were as tight as I wanted, it was just a matter of rear traction.

 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Fun YES, but for me just the WORK to convert (not just the cash layout) No thanks.... At 65 sometimes just the wrenching hurts.... neck/back/knees/ hip.... Getn' old sux. I have a brake job comin' up on a family vehicle........ I'll get it done , but it wont be quick, an I'll be bitchin' when I'm done

 

[Kern Dog]

I hear from older gents that mention achy knees or back. I wonder what sort of life they led that may have contributed to the condition.
I've known old timer Carpenters that were a wreck by the time they retire. Somehow, that fate escaped me because I have the 30 years to quit (To get my pension) I could stop working now. I still feel great. I should lose 20-25 lbs to be in better shape but I take no medications, have no conditions other than the occasional back strain from lifting transmissions by myself !

 

[1 Wild R/T]

No doubt 4 Spd is more fun... But if your gonna do it spend the extra to get a clutch that hooks but doesn't require 300+ pounds of pressure on the clutch pedal to operate....

I know to many guys who still run an old Borg & Beck three finger 3600# clutch.. If you just do short drives or your on the freeway & never have to shift/slow down thats fine... But when you hit traffic & have to keep stopping & starting gets old pretty quick... The old style muscle car clutch's ain't like the clutch in your wifes Toyota...

 

[Sahara]

I’m currently converting my ‘70 Coronet from auto to four speed. Because of my location it’s very expensive; I’ll be right at CAN$10k just for parts, so around $7,500 in U.S. greenbacks.
My reasoning is this, and forgive me if I ramble:
As someone mentioned, there’s nothing like a standard with a high torque engine; especially second gear from a slow roll.
The pistol grip shifter is a work of art. And that’s why wife and I are building this car in the first place. It is an artistic statement. Every component is selected by us to represent our vision of a muscle car. Every colour, option etc. In our case we went with B5 blue paint, white top, white bucket interior, white C stripe. Done 440, pistol grip four speed, magnum or road wheels. Other then the colour and top none of these items are on the fender tag. We don’t care.
We could have bought a built one for half of what we’ll have in this, but there’s a few things to consider. We live in the freakin’ arctic. There are no built ones here to buy. We are not interested in any other combination of features, so to buy a red or green one and paint it brings the price up to where we’ll be.
A hassle to convert? Oh yeah! Expensive? Sure. But we’re at that late stage of life where we can afford to do it. Money we have, time we don’t. If we could go to the local Dodge dealer and buy a new one we would, with these exact options only. We can’t, so we’ll build one. Fender tag douchebags will sneer. We don’t care. It’s a nice car, our car.
So forgive me for being long winded. You’ve seen me be long winded before Kern. I guess what I’m trying to say is this: if you’d be happy with a standard, do it. Be happy.
I love your red Charger, by the way.

 

[Cojohnso1]

I believe you miss some of the experience of these cars of the past with an automatic. I bought my GTX to replace one I had long ago. This, like the one before? 4 speed. Personally? I wouldn't buy an automatic muscle car. But thats me. And of course JMO.

 

[diesel_lv]

54 yrs old. 270k on my Cummins Ram w 6 spd. Not an issue of hard/difficult. I just like having my lady sit next to me w my arm around her instead of shifting gears. My '67 Coronet has 383/496 w 727. Wouldn't change it for anything.

 

[myk r sanchez]

Go for the manual transmission. To me, it's almost like a man being born without a penis (car with an automatic) and being given a chance to have a penis (car with a manual). The choice, for men, is obvious...

 

[Photon440]

I swapped the 727 for a four speed in my road runner way back around 1980. I got the whole swap for about $400 out of another wrecked road runner (mine was a '70, the donor was a '69 so had the 11" clutch). Yes, I had fun with it, especially since I did the 383 to 440 swap at the same time.

Now however, a 727 is back in place. I sold the whole 4-speed set up - pedals, torque shaft, clutch, tranny and linkage - to a member on here for $900 (Canadian) a few years ago. I still like manuals on zippy small engined cars, like a neon, but I don't feel the need to row down the road with the torque of the 440.

 

[diesel_lv]

Go for the manual transmission. To me, it's almost like a man being born without a penis (car with an automatic) and being given a chance to have a penis (car with a manual). The choice, for men, is obvious...

That's the answer of a boy without a penis trying to have the most power thinking it'll make it grow.

 

[hammond472]

I think that down the road an automatic might possibly be a huge selling point. Most kids these days have never seen a stick shift let alone know how to drive a one. They will be tomorrows buyers.
What's the third brake pedal for? One's for the brakes on the left side of the car and the other is for the right side.
Also down the road a common engine swap will be switching to electric motors too. They are going to butcher a lot of cars. I hope that I'm long gone before it happens. I'm still on the fence between a four speed or a gear vendors overdrive.

 

[Cojohnso1]

54 yrs old. 270k on my Cummins Ram w 6 spd. Not an issue of hard/difficult. I just like having my lady sit next to me w my arm around her instead of shifting gears. My '67 Coronet has 383/496 w 727. Wouldn't change it for anything.

My 07 Cummins Ram has 203k on 6 speed manual. You know none of the big three make a full size truck with a manual transmission anymore?