The Path of Most Resistance....

Football coaches and architects, construction workers and military strategists talk about taking "The Path of least resistance." In other words, the easiest way to do something. Sometimes I think car guys are the opposite-they want something to be hard-like it's somehow better if it was difficult to do. Here's a few examples of this type that left me scratching my head. Genius #1. Had a 1979 Pontiac Trans-Am with the 403 Olds / TH350 powertrain. He asked me what would be the best way to convert it to a 4-speed stick. I said sell the car and use the money to buy a disco era T/A or Formula Firebird that had the 400 Pontiac / 4-speed powertrain from the factory. "No,Really?" he asked. "No, Really." I replied. "1st off-converting a car from automatic to stick is a big pain in the ass." "You'll have to buy the pedals and clutch linkage,the disc,pressure plate and throw-out bearing, a stick flywheel, the bellhousing,and the shift linkage." "And that's if your doing an apples to apples conversion like a small-block Chevy." "The 403 Olds was never offered with a manual trans in any GM body." "So no one like Scheifer or Hays makes a flywheel for them." "A 350 Olds Flywheel may interchange-I'll have to do some research." "But even if a 350 Olds flywheel will work-Olds didn't offer a stick in a 350 V8 Cutlass or Omega or anything else after 1974." "So the chance of you finding a usable 41 year old flywheel in a junkyard or at a swap meet is almost nil" "You have a better chance of being struck by lightning on the golf course." "403 Firebirds can be made to really run-the main thing would be swap the 2.56:1 rear end gears for some 3.23:1s or 3.42:1s, and add headers and dual exhausts and maybe an Edelbrock Performer intake." "Those easy mods would give those smug 400 Pontiac owners a surprise they'd never forget." "I know because I had one back in the '80's. " "But if you "Gotta Have" a 4-speed T/A-honestly-the best way is sell your car and buy one." He wouldn't give up. "There's got to be a way." he said. "I just told you the way and how hard it would be." "Yeah it's possible-we know manned space flight is possible-but it's not exactly easy or cost-effective is it?"  Genius # 2. Was considering buying his neighbors '89 Mustang that the neighbor had since new and had kept garaged, put very few miles on, etc. Yeah it was a diamond. But it was a 4-cylinder model. He wanted to know how much trouble it would be to put a V8 in it. "More trouble than it's worth." I said. "Plus '87-93 "5.0" models are the proverbial dime a dozen." "I've seen rough, but running examples as low as $800 and anything over two grand is usually pretty decent." "Anything over 3 or 4 grand is usually really nice". "If you can't find a good deal on an 80's or 90's "5.0" Mustang then you aren't looking past the end of your nose." I might as well have been talking to the wall. "But what would it entail?" "More trouble than it's worth, like I said."  "You'd have to find a 302 V8 complete out of a '79-93 Mustang, and get the wiring harness, you'd need the bellhousing and the transmission-the 4-banger tranny won't hold up behind a V8." "If you didn't get a complete assembly out of a Fox Mustang-your really in trouble. "You'd need a different starter, alternator, fuel pump, water pump, power steering pump,all the brackets and pulleys, a different oil pan, and  all the tin." "By the time you were done-you'll have spent enough money-where you could have just bought a decent "5.0" from an individual or off a used car lot."  "And that's not including what your paying for the 4-banger model." He would not give up. "Ford made a Turbo 4-cylinder model in the '80s, right?" "How about putting a Turbo on it?"  Ugh. "Same deal." "Nothing interchanges." "Just look for an '84-'86 SVO in the want ads and buy that." "But there's not many of them-they didn't sell when they were new because the V8 models were both faster and several thousand dollars cheaper."  "You want a 5.0 liter Mustang go buy one for God's sake!!". "But trying to convert a 4-banger is a nightmare and that's if your a Master Ford Technichian." "Your not."  Genius # 3. Wanted to put a 572 GMPP Rat motor in his '85 IROC-Z Camaro. Do-able-Hooker offers motor mounts and headers to put Big-Block Chevys in '82-92 F-Bodies. I told him he'd have to invest in a TH400 conversion kit and get a custom driveshaft and a 9 inch rear end from Currie enterprises. He asked-dead serious-why couldn't he just use the T5 5-speed stick and the rear end that was in the car?  "Because" I said-"1st off-the bellhousing won't even bolt up to a Rat motor, and the T5 was only offered with 305s because it only has a 300 lb ft torque rating." "Thats why L98 350 IROC's and T/A's were all automatics-GM didn't think it would hold up to the 350's 340 lbs ft of torque." "If it won't hold up to 240 hp and 340 lbs of torque from a low-compression 350, how is it going to live behind 620 hp and 650 lbs of torque a 572 inch Rat makes?" "A TH400 is the easiest,cheapest and best way to go." "If you "gotta have" a stick-then you need to find an old-school '70s Camaro / Chevelle bellhousing, modify the floor pan for clearance, then find an M21 or M22 Muncie 4-speed or you need to invest in a Tremec or Richmond 5 or 6-speed and a custom driveshaft." "The 7.5 inch ring gear rear end in those cars break behind 305s." "How are they going to stand up to a 572?"  Then he says-"What if I didn't get on it too hard?"  AAAUUUGGGHHHHH!!!!  "Let me get this straight-your going to spend $15,000 on a 600 hp engine, and then not get on it hard enough to break the drivetrain of a 30 year old 190 hp Camaro?"  "What would be the purpose in that?"  I hate to be such a know-it-all bastard all the time-but guys-when a pro with 35+ years of experience tells you soemthing isn't feasible or cost-effective, do you think maybe you should listen?  Mastermind