How many Auto trans in GT's?

[dpoe001]

How many have seen opel gt with auot trans in them (how rare or common are they)?

[BQS4]

There were far more manual trans Gts, than there were automatic GTs. Just hazarding a guess and some of our overseas members may correct me, but, I think the automatic GT was more a US thing than European.
JMTCW
Gene

[GTJIM]

A lot less GTs had auto transmissions - they were/are seen a "Ladys Cars" but with a uprated motor and a built trans they can be excellent around town cars.
My 1972 GT came with an auto and I am keeping it like that because so many people have torn the auto out and retrofitted a manual so they are a lot less common now than when produced. I would guess that 5% to 10% of GTs may have originally been autos - a lot less now.

PS: Upgraded to an Impulse 4-speed OD auto and a 135-150 HP 2.2L motor with 3.9 Impulse diff gears, eventually, my GT should fly and be quicker than most around town!

[opelnut10]

Originally Posted by BQS4 There were far more manual trans Gts, than there were automatic GTs. Just hazarding a guess and some of our overseas members may correct me, but, I think the automatic GT was more a US thing than European. JMTCW Gene

Most if not all European GT's were stick shift as were the rest of the Kadetts and 50 series cars. Luxury models such as the Diplomat, Senator were almost all equipped with Automatics. A GT with an automatic transmission is only exceeded by a GT with a automatic transmission AND A/C for being the biggest PITA to work on of any Opel imported to the US. A 73 GT with automatic and A/C will actually slow down 10mph at highway speed by just turning on the A/C, 80HP with the added weight of the automatic and A/C is so slow it is that Lance Armstrong could put one up a good battle for 1/8 mile on his bike

[jvandyke]

as I've been GT shopping I swear it's close to 40% autos, at least as far as the one's I've looked at and saw on ebay, I was surprised and annoyed by how many auto's there were as I wanted a stick, most sellers claim them as "rare" but they're not nearly as "rare" as all that. IMHO

[73Manta72gt]

I saw 3 GTs in a junkyard yesterday 1 of them was an auto....before I bought my GT I ran across a lot of them that were auto and passed on buying them too.

[PROPEL]

Originally Posted by jvandyke as I've been GT shopping I swear it's close to 40% autos, at least as far as the one's I've looked at and saw on ebay, I was surprised and annoyed by how many auto's there were as I wanted a stick, most sellers claim them as "rare" but they're not nearly as "rare" as all that. IMHO

My guess has always been that auto trans GTs had a better survival rate than their stickshift counterparts. Less "boy-racers" driving them into the ground, and more grandmothers hardly racking up any mileage. 15 years ago, I bought my auto GT with less than 40k miles from one such little old lady.

[blancojp]

with the right setup, the 78HP gutless wonder will move quite well with an automatic. Just get a good TCI converter and upgrade the tranny internals with TH200M components and you will se a difference.

And if you have A/C on your vehicle, replace the anchor style compressor with a Mitsubishi rotary unit and you will notice the difference big time.

My GT has a TH350 with a TCI converter and a dual stage shift kit.

[Anonymous D]

It's impossible to get data on this, from anyone other than Buick archives (and I doubt they kept a record).

It's also an unreliable idea, to try to guess or extrapolate, from transmissions in existing GT's.

In the Southwest, for example, a combination of heat and poor maintenance (like, not repairing leaks at the dipstick tube) prematurely killed a lot of auto trans-equipped GT's back by the 1980's. It didn't help, that the auto trans throttle linkage was sprung to prevent quick acceleration, and that the slush box cooler lines caused the radiator and the engine to run hotter.

But I'd guess it was more like 35% of the GT's were originally sold with automatics, based on the "forensic" data of seeing a lot of wrecked GT's 20years ago.

All you need, is a solid 150psi engine, a good Weber, someone who knew how to adjust the linkage, and a steady fluid level, and you'd have a GT that's quick and fun to drive.

FYI: Complete parts lists, on what parts you need to convert a 4speed to an auto trans (and parts you need to convert an auto trans to a 4 speed), were in the March 1995 OMC Blitz.