Rick,
While I agree with the advice here about a loss in performance, I don't think you will see any accelerated clutch wear. I have seen your car and it is a real beauty. You don't race it, you don't autocross it, and you don't have any plans on pumping up the engine. From what I gather, you really enjoy taking it out on the road and letting the wind blow through your hair and soak up that awesome Florida west coast sunshine.
In the long run, you may come out far ahead with the 3.08 for improved fuel economy, lower revs on the highway, and less wear and tear on the motor (spins lower RPM at all times).
When you go with the more aggressive rear end units, you gain acceleration potential, lose fuel mileage, and raise the revs on the highway to where it makes you feel like you need a fifth gear all the time at 70 mph.
So, this is really up to you and your driving style. You are only going to kill the clutch faster with a 3.08 if you are racing the car on a regular basis and trying to get the same take off power as a fellow in a like kind and quality car that is running 3.7 or 4.1 gears.
Barb,
It is common for the big block cars to have that gear. The big block makes so much torque at low rpm, that it does not use spinning it faster. You can accelerate stronger and faster from say, 1,500 rpm than any equally equiped small block. Therefore, no need to gear it out of site. Plus, it keeps your fuel economy (yah, right--with a 454) as high as possible without loosing overall performance. Again, unless you are abusing the car and trying to hole shot it at every red light, this is NOT going to kill your clutch any faster than anything else out there.
Hey, people kill clutches, gears don't!:eek Or is the guns? :crazy
