amdscooter: I'm a rookie with FEs, C6s and the mid/late-60s Ford muscle vibe, but went through the whole performance rigmarole with my small block El Camino (former 16-sec car now running mid-12s). My experience, in the context of your orig post and my earlier experience, is distilled below:
1 - be brutally honest with yourself about what you want to do with the car. Is it truly 99% street cruising and an occasional throttle stab, or are you going to feel the need to put a whuppin' on young guys with LS-powered Camaros and mod-motored Mustangs? I only say this because it's real easy to spend hard-earned cash on shiny parts pushed by the performance magazines and end up with a crappy highway cruiser that's uncompetitive with late-model muscle.
2 - to wake things up without dropping the transmission, think about a numerically higher rear gear ratio. Nothing wild -- do the tire diameter/gear ratio calcs to figure out what RPM you'll be doing at highway speeds and keep it reasonable. It's an install of not much more complexity for about the same money with -- dare I say it -- a more satisfying seat-of-the-pants feel than a high(er)-stall converter on a street car.
3 - IMHO, and dollar for dollar, the three best enhancements to an automatic transmission intended for enthusiastic street use are: (1) a shift kit installed by a reputable shop (unless you feel confident doing it yourself); (2) a high-capacity deep pan with a drain plug (TCI makes a nice one for the C6), and (3) a trans temp guage plumbed into the pan. Then consider going to a quality synthetic trans fluid and change it at least annually.
Of course, there are those who will point out that if you do have the trans out to do the things described at #3 it's an ideal opportunity to swap the converter. Undeniably true. But unless you plan to terrorize punks at the local strip (or do some serious trailer towing) I'd advise putting your $$$ into a rear gear.
Best regards,
Michael
