yes, i am going to an automatic tranny. my original decision was to go to a built tremec with a high hp clutch. why the change in plans, you ask?
the hardcore50 site came back up, and i started lurking on there ... and i came across a guy (eric fischer) who has a 418 in a fox body with a 4R70W from a 2003 v6 that bolts right up to his 351. and he is using a 1995 computer to control it. his car runs 10.69 in the 1/4, and he has made 60 passes on that tranny. that got me thinking ...
i drive most of my time in the city and in neighborhoods, and the thought of a stiff clutch in those situations did not excite me. i think you know me well enough to know that if there is something about my car that bugs me, over time i will not want to drive the car. knowing my intended usage for this car, i am confident that the right automatic transmission will make me happy.
i came to learn that the 4R70W is a good tranny that is capable of handling 700 hp.
so i called prestigemustang to see how much they cost, and they had 2 (from v6's) they were selling for $400 with $150 shipping ... one of the has only 13,000 miles on it. so i jumped on it.
and ... the tremec i was going to get cost $1200 and the clutch was $600, so i am saving about $700 after i get the converter.
poke, i was led to believe that a t5 won't last very long with the kind of torque we will be putting out. just something to investigate.