You're right about one thing. The better you hook up the more strain you put on the drivetrain. I've grenaded a transmission on my Impala SS for that reason, and I've got friends in double digit auto trans failure. I have a spare in storage for that next occaision.
It will be the weak link. The manual transmission will probably hold up better, and cost less to repair.
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 Black 03 PT Turbo & Black 94 Impala SS
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