and I assume you can use used parts right?How much would it cost to change a 80's model Camaro from auto to manual?Man, stop watching ricer movies. Stick shifts are slower than autos in a drag race.
98% of drag racers run and recommend an auto trans, not a stick shift.
I'm one of them. I'm 27 years old, been drag racing at track since I was 15 (yes back then a 15 year could race a car)
Right now I run a 1988 camaro in NHRA D.O.T tire class. I have a 355, old combo had 505 HP, ran 11.40's @ 118 mph in 1/4 mile, 1.60's 60' times pulling front wheels on launch. New combo should have 590 HP and make it well into the 10's
Wanna guess what transmission I run? Th-400 auto, transgo reprograming kit, 9.5%26quot; 3500 stall torque converter, B%26amp;M govenor recal kit, shift points set for 6400 rpm
Stick shifts will be slower in a drag race due to amount of time it takes to shift gears, clutch slippage, and alot harder to launch w/o wheel spin and to launch same way every pass, after pass, after pass.
Dont help much if you pull out a 11.20 on this pass, make it to next round and launch 200 rpm higher, spin the tires for 15 feet and run a 11.25.. Your going home
Also on anything with real power, everything happens too quick to think about shifting.. Sure I know, I know you can do it, or atleast you think you can.
Let me share alittle info from my data logger with you as far as how quick stuff happens.
I have my trans set up to shift at 6400 rpm which is where I need it to shift.
Foot break, against converter, 2800 rpm launch to shift point in 1.786 seconds and at that time I'm already at 45.55 mph and 70 feet down the track.
0-60mph in 2.874 seonds and 156 feet down the track at that point.
My 2-3 gear shift happens at 3.766 seconds after launch, I'm at 70.38 mph and 242 feet out. (thats only 1.98 seconds after I make the 1-2 shift)
And keep in mind thats spinning engine up to 6400 rpm on shifts
Heck I go from 60 feet to 70 feet out in 0.153 seconds and in that same spae rpm goes from 6118 to 6400..
Point being, miss a shift even by 2/10th of 1 second and you could wrap the tach, and drive right over your crank and rods thats now laying on the track
Plus most auto transmissions are stronger than man. trans and clutches.
The third gen camaros had a brog warner T5, 5 speed man transmission.. Do alittle search on those lmao. Stock 160 HP 305's are breaking third gen in those weak toys of a transmission
If you want a stick shift that can hold up to drag racing, your looking at $2500 for the trans, clutch and bell.
Run an auto and save the money to go toward a good rear end cause you WILL break your stock ones. The stock ones are weak and I have went through two of them myself, untill I spent out the 2 grand for a ford 9%26quot; rearHow much would it cost to change a 80's model Camaro from auto to manual?I would think not counting the transmission about $100 for parts and $200 for labor. But the automatics are faster in the faster classes.How much would it cost to change a 80's model Camaro from auto to manual?well to be honest if ur gonna drag race it i would recomend u leave it automatic i have been drag racing for years and have ran both manualy and autos i prefer the auto for racing for a few reasons for 1 consistancy u are way more consistant with very minamul mistakes but with a manual its very easy to mess up u can also run a trans brake wich will give u a much better start and its safer and easier on the car and parts them selves but if ur down and determned to run a manual i have converted a 84 camaro all i did was went to the junkyard and bout a factory 5 speed camaro for $150 it didnt have a motor or any drive train really and just swapped everything out from it into mine then sold what parts i didnt use back to the junk yard just do it 1 piece at a time then u know how it goes back together and it doesnt matter if its a v6 or v8 the clutch setup is the same hope this helpsHow much would it cost to change a 80's model Camaro from auto to manual?Not too bad, depending where ya go, maybe a couple hundred. But in drag strips, automatics are favored because if you're serious, you can't shift fast enough to win....especially if you're up against a big bad guy next to ya. Manuals are better for cruisin around town showin off, but the drag strip? Automatic......save your money.How much would it cost to change a 80's model Camaro from auto to manual?I'll be the fourth person talking you out of it - keep the automatic, and add the appropriate performance parts. You will net a lot more consistency on the track with an automatic - however, be aware that the automatics in the early to mid-third gen camaros are weak dogs, and will need some performance innards to get them to not vomit their bits on the track. Do that and install the transbrake, and you're ready to rock.
You can use used parts if you do still want to move to a stick - the best thing to do is find a trashed stick shift third gen car, and obtain the pedal assembly, trans, center console and the associated parts. Most of your cost will be in the junkyard cost of these parts, which shouldn't set you much under 600-800 bucks (we're talking usable trans - makes the price go up a little!). While you may not be able to do the trans work yourself, you can most certainly do the pedal assembly transplant in a driveway in an afternoon.
