I will defer to Pete for the transmission issues.

However, if you are after power, I would cut right to the chase and get a Dana 44. It's the rear end used in the manual cars.

The most common is the 3.43 rear gear, stock from 1992-1996. Also in the ZR1, 1990-1995.

It's a good gear and in an auto would really rock without any side effects...

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I will defer to Pete for the transmission issues.

However, if you are after power, I would cut right to the chase and get a Dana 44. It's the rear end used in the manual cars.

The most common is the 3.43 rear gear, stock from 1992-1996. Also in the ZR1, 1990-1995.

It's a good gear and in an auto would really rock without any side effects...

cool... I am going after power yet the street manners of a daily driver.... I know there are trade-offs, but I am sure there is a happy medium....

I plan to do the rear end upgrade, then the tranny upgrade, then the engine.... one question... headers or not? If so, they would probably need to be coated? would I need a different starter? Are headers problematic? I know with some there might be a problem with header leaks around the gaskets...

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I plan to do the rear end upgrade, then the tranny upgrade, then the engine.... one question... headers or not? If so, they would probably need to be coated? would I need a different starter? Are headers problematic? I know with some there might be a problem with header leaks around the gaskets...

I don't have personal experience with corvette headers but the general consensus is you get what you pay for. From what I've heard the "shorty" headers are a waste of money (someone correct me here) and yes the less expensive headers will have inferior coatings which will break down sooner than a better quality unit.

I believe the leaking issues with headers is generally caused by warping of the flange wh
ere the header bolts to the head. Again this is a problem with cheaper headers as they use thinner steel.

I had the header in my wifes car ceramic coated (turbo manifold) and it's held up great and has noticeably lowered under hood temps.

I've heard TPIS makes a good quality header. Others will chime in with their personal experiences.

I think with the kind of engine you're going to be putting in your ride the stock manifolds would be woefully restrictive.

Do you have emissions testing in your state? If o that might limit the options you have for headers but I'm sure there are good quality 50 state legal headers out there you just need to be sure if you need to be compliant the headers you invest in are legal in your state.

I will defer to Pete for the transmission issues.

However, if you are after power, I would cut right to the chase and get a Dana 44. It's the rear end used in the manual cars.

The most common is the 3.43 rear gear, stock from 1992-1996. Also in the ZR1, 1990-1995.

It's a good gear and in an auto would really rock without any side effects...

Need more info.


What sort of dyno curve are you expecting? (What shift points?)

Are you drag racing? (1/4 or 1/8?)

How much highway driving do you do?

Each has a specific gear ratio, having a little of each will force you to compromise.

You will probably want to change the torque converter. Try to buy the best unit you can. By running a lighter 9.5 inch unit, the trans will live longer. 14 pounds less hanging on the end of the crankshaft helps put more power to the road as well.

As far as internal trans mods, not a whole lot is needs. A few boost valve upgrades, shift kit (optional), sprag/lo-roller upgrade, beast reaction shell, h/d 3-4 clutch pack, and a trans cooler are recommended.
88-93 units are the pick of the litter for build ups.

That would depend on quite a few different variables.
How much stall are you willing to tolerate?
How much cam duration will you be running?
Stock vehicle weight?
How much heat can you accept and how well can it be managed with climate and trans cooler?
Etc.

Generally speaking 2800 or so is a decent compromise on a mild lt1 type combo.
3000-3200 is as far as I would like to go on my own car that is street driven. Most lt1 guys are in this range and seem to enjoy the performance vs drivability.

95*F plus isnt all that hot, gets alot hotter here in Australia, so youll be fine.

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That would depend on quite a few different variables.
How much stall are you willing to tolerate?
How much cam duration will you be running?
Stock vehicle weight?
How much heat can you accept and how well can it be managed with climate and trans cooler?
Etc.

Generally speaking 2800 or so is a decent compromise on a mild lt1 type combo.
3000-3200 is as far as I would like to go on my own car that is street driven. Most lt1 guys are in this range and seem to enjoy the performance vs drivability.

Since I have never driven a car with a high stall I have no point of reference..... what does it feel like? What I mean is this, in a stock configuration, you step on the gas and the car goes.... with a higher stall you step on the gas and______? What happens?

The weight of the vehicle is normal stock. I am not losing any weight. As for heat, that may be an issue, only because I am in Alabama, and our summers are hot... so there are weeks when the temp is 95+ and high humidity.

As for the mods, the goal is 400 rwhp, would that qualify as a mild modifications?

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That would depend on quite a few different variables.
How much stall are you willing to tolerate?
How much cam duration will you be running?
Stock vehicle weight?
How much heat can you accept and how well can it be managed with climate and trans cooler?
Etc.

Generally speaking 2800 or so is a decent compromise on a mild lt1 type combo.
3000-3200 is as far as I would like to go on my own car that is street driven. Most lt1 guys are in this range and seem to enjoy the performance vs drivability.

Since I have never driven a car with a high stall I have no point of reference..... what does it feel like? What I mean is this, in a stock configuration, you step on the gas and the car goes.... with a higher stall you step on the gas and______? What happens?

The weight of the vehicle is normal stock. I am not losing any weight. As for heat, that may be an issue, only because I am in Alabama, and our summers are hot... so there are weeks when the temp is 95+ and high humidity.

As for the mods, the goal is 400 rwhp, would that qualify as a mild modifications?

The stall speed of a converter is achieved when the stator is up to speed with the turbines in the shell.
Difficult to explain quickly, but the stall speed is not the speed that the vehicle starts to move. A looser than stock converter will have a "slushly" feel, if it is ineffecient or excessive. One 3000 stall converter may feel like stock, whaile another brand may feel like a sloppy mess. The key is to buy the correct converter, the first time. Ineffecient converters will make a ton of heat, suck to drive, and hurt the trans over time.
A good quality converter with 3000 or less, a cooler, and a deeper pan should be plenty for your needs. Expect to pay $550-$950 for a good converter. I used to sell nice ones for $525 + shipping and have never had a single quality complaint. 1 gentelman in ST Louis sent his back for a stall upgrade, but otherwise no issues.
400 hp in my eyes is a mild package.

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That would depend on quite a few different variables.
How much stall are you willing to tolerate?
How much cam duration will you be running?
Stock vehicle weight?
How much heat can you accept and how well can it be managed with climate and trans cooler?
Etc.

Generally speaking 2800 or so is a decent compromise on a mild lt1 type combo.
3000-3200 is as far as I would like to go on my own car that is street driven. Most lt1 guys are in this range and seem to enjoy the performance vs drivability.

Since I have never driven a car with a high stall I have no point of reference..... what does it feel like? What I mean is this, in a stock configuration, you step on the gas and the car goes.... with a higher stall you step on the gas and______? What happens?

The weight of the vehicle is normal stock. I am not losing any weight. As for heat, that may be an issue, only because I am in Alabama, and our summers are hot... so there are weeks when the temp is 95+ and high humidity.

As for the mods, the goal is 400 rwhp, would that qualify as a mild modifications?

The stall speed of a converter is achieved when the stator is up to speed with the turbines in the shell.
Difficult to explain quickly, but the stall speed is not the speed that the vehicle starts to move. A looser than stock converter will have a "slushly" feel, if it is ineffecient or excessive. One 3000 stall converter may feel like stock, whaile another brand may feel like a sloppy mess. The key is to buy the correct converter, the first time. Ineffecient converters will make a ton of heat, suck to drive, and hurt the trans over time.
A good quality converter with 3000 or less, a cooler, and a deeper pan should be plenty for your needs. Expect to pay $550-$950 for a good converter. I used to sell nice ones for $525 + shipping and have never had a single quality complaint. 1 gentelman in ST Louis sent his back for a stall upgrade, but otherwise no issues.
400 hp in my eyes is a mild package.

$550+ for a decent converter and some mild upgrades to the tranny will be sufficient to handle 400rwhp.... I read on another forum where you indicated that about 400 bucks would cover the necessary upgrades for the tranny..... is that correct?

The $400 figure I refered to was over and above the typical rebuild parts. And it was a parts only figure.
What the builder charges in labor for a high po build is up to him. I try to get an extra $100-$150 labor above a standard rebuild labor figure. The reason is I spend much more time blueprinting a performance build.

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The $400 figure I refered to was over and above the typical rebuild parts. And it was a parts only figure.
What the builder charges in labor for a high po build is up to him. I try to get an extra $100-$150 labor above a standard rebuild labor figure. The reason is I spend much more time blueprinting a performance build.

thanks for the clarification.... and for your patience, let me ask one more question.... would it be simpler just to have a tranny built than to upgrade the one that is in the car?

Good job on the tranny work. I blew two tranny's after upgrading before I got one built by a pro that can handle 600rwhp+, then again I had a 700R4. You can see in my sig what rearend I have. Have fun. :thumbright:

Think of it this way... take a nicely built 400hp, lowish compression 383 and put a super charger on it. BAM! 600hp and all day streetability.

hmmmmm see now you have me thinking of the possibilities.... let me ask, what's the down side of having a supercharger? easy to fix? how problematic?

yea, CFI nails it... $$$. Buckets of money.

To upgrade the car and engine, add in the supercharger, you are into $20k. Or pretty damned close to it.

Figure, a quality forged short block, good heads and tune will be $6k, then a transmission, another $1500. Add in the rear end - you will need the D44 - $2k... then comes the SC kit, a new one isn't cheap... $6k?

Add all that up... and toss in labour for what you can't or won't do.

golen builds a motor ready for a supercharger for 8500.00, the supercharger 5000.00, 2k for the rear, and 1500 for the tranny... about 16k.... then the labor 2k? maybe 3?

A few things to consider... Doing these mods will potentially damage the cars resale value, no matter what you do.

There is no denying that the C5/6 chassis is much better, tho, for handling and ride quality. Overall, the car is better built, but it isn't without issues.

The C5/C6 has known problems with the rear diff and both transmissions. Add power, they become even more prone to exploding.

They also have electrical gremlins. I know of at least one car with traction control related failures, how many more are there?

Finally, it's the hidden costs, what happens to your auto insurance? Unless you declare an agreed value coverage, your rates won't go up one inch with the mods. I don't know how Alabama works, but here in CA (and many other states), your annual renewal is based on the book value.

Let's do some math... you find a nice C5 for $25k that is the way you want it... first you have to asses - IS it the way you want it? Lets say it was done right... You sell your 93 for, say, $10k (tops) and you are STILL into this one for $15k and you are still not 100% sure it's been done right.

The Golan supercharger motor looks sweet. It really does, and for the $$, it looks like one helluva deal. Do the mods, and you now have a car that you know was done right.

Keep all reciepts, get the car assessed, and then find out what an agreed policy would cost. But that's optional.

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golen builds a motor ready for a supercharger for 8500.00, the supercharger 5000.00, 2k for the rear, and 1500 for the tranny... about 16k.... then the labor 2k? maybe 3?

I didn't say it wasn't worth it, but for a guy that is considering spending $500.00 to $1000.00 for a 383 kit and another thousand or two to put it all together, the blower route requires many, many, more rectangular dollars.

Come to think of it. I have most of the stuff you listed, the main exception being the supercharger. Hmmm.

RACE ON!!!

thanks for indulging me and my brainstorming I really appreciate it.... here in bama the insurance is based on the book value (I think), because before I added my son to my policy the total insurance for the two cars I have was about 1200/yr. So the insurance is cheap...

You bring up the issues I am most concerned about... there is no guarantee that a C5 or C6 is set up like it should be, and the ones that are guys are asking top dollar.... so for the money, it's safer for me to build what I have since I know the car. I also like the idea of having a sleeper..... lol

If you start sinking a lot of money on upgrades/restoration in a C4, you should look into an agreed upon collector car insurance policy if you qualify and can live with the limitations.

With normal insurance you'll pay more in premiums and get screwed if you have a total loss.

I have my car insured with Sneed. You can get an online quote here:

http://sneedinsurance.com/sneed_collect.htm

my pleasure! These kinds of discussions are very valuable, because they help everyone who is in this debate.

All auto insurance is based, at some point, on a cars book value. Other states allow credit ratings to come into play, too. Get your son to bring his grades up! State Farm offers 25% discounts for good grades! My wife and I pay about $1500 a year for 2 cars, our rental ins, personal property (2 laptops and my Rolex) and my life insurance. All with State Farm.

My concern is with registration cost. My 92 is cheap here in CA the registration is based on the book value of the car. Mine is about 80.00 a year. But a new Vette can be $500.00+ a year!

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If you start sinking a lot of money on upgrades/restoration in a C4, you should look into an agreed upon collector car insurance policy if you qualify and can live with the limitations.

With normal insurance you'll pay more in premiums and get screwed if you have a total loss.

I have my car insured with Sneed. You can get an online quote here:

http://sneedinsurance.com/sneed_collect.htm

the mileage limitation is not acceptable for me.... I drive the vette to work every day.... about 100 miles a day... don't plan on stopping anytime soon....

some companies don't have mileage limitations.

it might be worth talking to your regular insurance company.