Good ole GM 4 speed auto. Put it in second gear and it could take you from a stand still to over 90 mph in that one gear.

The 4l80 series transmission is one of strongest and most widely used transmissions used. Even Rolls Royce, Bentley, Jaguar and Aston Martin to name a few. What it lacks in gear count, it makes up for in strength.

plenty of toque, gears cover the same range. later madels only made 1-2mpg more when the 2 extra gears were added, the GM 4speed auto was able to handle the power. plus its a automatic, shifts for you. and mainly GM did not have a trans with any more gears for the application at the time.

Then again, an engine making that much torque over a broad rpm spread probably doesn’t need more than four gears, practically speaking.

And remember that GM made two speed automatics for years....and three speeds for even longer. The engines had torque curves that started below sea level and were long and flat...no need to keep the revs up for torque.

america is weird, most of our cars had 4-speed autos until ‘05ish.

GM didn’t put a “more speed” automatic in their trucks until 2008. The good news is the old 4 speed is mostly reliable, and rebuilds are cheap, sub $1000 for a quality one.

The crying is coming from people who have no clue what they’re doing. They’re terrified because they wouldn’t have the foggiest clue how to fix a car based on looking at it. I would bet that at least half of the most vocal don’t even have drivers licenses.

I think one merits that criticism when the price asked could obtain a newer, better example of the same car. I feel confident I could obtain a mid 2000s XJ in decent shape for that price or less. For me at least, compromising originality in the name of reliability makes sense, but you're still compromising…

Absolutely. If an engine swap is done properly, I see nothing but advantages and smiles all round. Engine swaps on cars of this type allow us to keep them as daily drivers with minimal maintenance costs while still enjoying the car as was intended.

I think you’re right, actually. He’s this: “Yes, I’m a spiffy driver but I don’t mind, really”, but also isn’t the “We did a lot of sports” guy, either.

Break out the blacklight!

Interior missing? Non-factory seats? Carpet rolled up? Someone was killed in this car.

The engine kills it. It if were a neat VR6/GTI swap then 3K would be reasonable.

[A batch of MGAs being prepared for dispatch to the United States. Only complete cars are sent to this important market, and the method of packing illustrated here makes the best use of the cargo space. (1957.)]

seriously, just close your office door or make a cardboard fort and enjoy this.

I need to visit this some time in my life....