Hi Guys,
Kind of at an impasse on a build and I've read a ton on this but still want to get opinions of people out printing slips.

The car:

'66 Chevy II- 4link rear/coil over front/ lot of fiberglass 2700ish lbs depending on who's driving
has mild 406" street strip engine now- will have heavy-effort 393" built over the winter.
currently 5.14 gears with 31x14x15 rears

I think we were really leaning toward the Gforce G101A clutch-assisted trans. There's been occasional thoughts too of running a 'glide instead. This car wont be a bracket car, it will be run primarily at events down at the Grove, and maybe in the Midwest Gassers. In reality, it will probably see the track 6-10 times a year and will also put in some limited street time. Just crunching numbers, the auto route with good converter should come in a touch cheaper, and less room built in for driving errors. But, I'm really worried about the automatic really limiting the chances of breaking into the 8s with this combo. Then there's the balancing act of I don't want a #$% ton of maintenance to do either over the long haul.
More than anything, just gauging opinions here of Guys who have taken both routes in the same car and what your experiences were/are.

I posted this on Yellowbullet as well. I know its a Bowtie, but I've learned from a ton from many of you on here reading over the years and the timing clocks don't care what brand it is.

Thanks

The manual will take a bit more setup and maintenance but man it would be a blast. My big question you mention in your post is how streetable is a true race clutch? I heard you can't really slip them at all - it is "in or out". That could be tough on the street.

A Glide is definitely the "Easy Button". If you have never had a dedicated stick car that you drag race, there is a learning curve, and you need to realize, what works for an automatic, doesn't translate to a stick always. As for street driving with a race clutch, it can be done, but you can't lay into the throttle, like a normal clutch.

Stick car would be way more fun. Pro Stick races are cool. And those guys will be helpful as well.

Car set up is different. Manual car will require better parts, better shocks, etc. Clutchless is a better option if you have the budget. Not streetable easily though.

The old, parts breaking "light switch" clutches are old school. Now it's controlled slippage and management of the tires in the bellhousing. Get it right and it's not high maintenance, relatively speaking.

Good points, the fastest stick car I ever had was a high 11 car, but I could drive that one to work every day if i wanted.

3400#. G-Force GF2000. Low to mid 9s. Low 1.30 60'. Repeats like a dragster on tracks other guys can't get down. Will go into the 1.20s in 60' if he gets after it in the bellhousing. Pretty low maintenance. Car has good stuff in it.

A Racepak is almost a necessity to making that happen.

It sure makes life easier.

It quickly pays for itself.

Every glide I have ever run needed at least a 5200 stall to work properly on the strip. My RED ran 7.8 and needed 5600 stall. Don’t think it that much stall will be street friendly. You will be generating a lot of trans heat.

Have you had a car like this with stick tranny and a manual clutch?
If not maybe do some more research on the maintenance and costs to run one.
I tried racing a 4 sped hemi 1970 Cuda in NHRA stock class years ago, lots of maintenance, lots and lots
With todays clutches it may not be that bad but the glide is way easier to race and maintain, my S/P car has one and it is great, way better than a heavy 4 or 5 speed to race and maintain.
Don't get me wrong, I love 4 speed cars, I have one now, original 1969 Dart GTS 383 4 speed car that I don't drive very often due to worrying about someone running into it on the streets or someone scratching leaning over it or rubbing on it while trying to talk about a car they use to have like it

I haven'h had a manual in the single digits, but you're right...everything I've researched gives me a good idea of how much setup and maintenance is involved, not to mention the increased chance of breakage.

I have been thinking going to a manual also. Like you I run 6-10 times a year my car runs high 9s. For me the cost is a bit much. I have a basic RMVB 904 that I built for $800 plus $700 for conv.I called Gforce and a G101A clutch-assisted trans with shifter is $5K. Then clutch,bell and driveshaft then getting it into the car.
I still might do it in the future.