Hey guys. OK, need your expert opinions. I put 3.80 gears in my Comet last Spring. I also built the motor. Have have the C-4 auto...needless to say, I need another gear or two. I don't have the top end I want. So here's my question: What transmission swap can I do that will be the most economic, easy to do, and give me more top end? Didn't Ford have a 4 speed auto that will bolt up to my 302? Any suggestions? Thanks.......D. Ray
http://www.gearvendors.com/hrford3s.html They are the best in overdrive/underdrive aftermarket applications. Highly recommended. The factory AOD is garbage in my opinion. Talking to several people in the ford world, they agree with me. You can rebuild it, but it will cost you as much as the GV unit. When I rebuilt my late model OD tranny for higher HP applications, it cost me $2500 (including converter) by the time it was all said and done, and I did the R&R myself. Besides, you can't beat to cool factor of the GV. The newer transmissions are getting better (still not good enough though), but are completely electronic. There is no mechanical actuation. It's all done with servos. So, you'll need to find a computer and a way to make it go. The old AODs you can find in the fox cars will work ok. Never great, but ok. If you only want to do a stock rebuild and you aren't going to beat on it, or don't mind rebuilding it, then I would go with a JY AOD and a fresh set of clutches.
Well, not quite. The late model AODE will bolt up to your 302. Performance Automatic ( www.performanceautomatic.com ) has everything necessary to beef the transmission for racing or performance use. Also, PA makes a manual valvebody that eliminates the electronic shifting. Plus, you get the added bonus of a lock-up torque converter. Activation is a simple "on/off" toggle switch with two wires. I've done a swap similar to this in my son's Fairmont Futura. His car uses a '97 Cobra engine so we had to use the 4R70W transmission. Works great. Overdrive and lock-up converter = Performance and mileage.
The aod can be a great street and strip trans if built and assembled rite. I have built them for street and strip Mustangs with very good results. The last one cost around 1000 dollars including the converter. It has made 50+ passes with no hint of problems. The old saying still holds true about costs HOW FAST DO YOU WANT TO GO ? They can be built to withstand 600+ horsepower probaly more with the correct parts. They are just a little more pickey about their assembly than the trusty ole C4. Hope this helps
i would just convert it to a manual transmission. then you could go with a 4 speed top loader or even get a t5 and then you would have 5 gears.
I was gonna do a AOD in my 69.5,,, The AOD is wider at the valve body and pan, The bellhousing is bigger so tight clearence on the exhaust. If you could drop the engne/transmission down about 2 inches so it sits lower in the car, you may have room without cutting the floorpan, the top of the tunnel looks like it would clear but its at the bottom where the floor pan meets the tunnel is where it is too narrowto fit the valve body part into the tunnel. I was looking atthe 88 t-bird tranny crossmember too,,,, all the mounts were,, had a wider frame bracket on the car, and was spaced back on the crossmember itself,,,, Would be an easy mounting job to adapt that crossmember to the maverick sub frame,,, just add the frame mount tabs where the mount is supposed to be, Its very very close to the same width as the original Maverick C4 crossmember,,, Chad
Are you selling the clutch pedal setup and related stuff? I would be interested in buying them or possibly swapping them for my automatic parts?
