...I've decided to put a chevy transmission behind my 390 in a '73 F100. I am determined to Stay FORD powerplant as i LOVE the Fe motors.

Before I get FLAMED here are my reasons;
1) I want better gas milage (don't we all?)
2) I want an overdrive transmission
3) I need one that will handle my engine (stout street/strip)
4) I don't want to spend a whole lot of $$$$

Also, availablity of aftermarket accessories was a factor.

I saw an article on it while browsing one day and it got me thinking. Here is the article.

700R4 Transmission / 390 Ford Engine Combo - Custom Rodder Magazine

Also, YES, YES, and YES...I have priced out other options...A built AOD is more than i want to spend and the Gear Vendors OD unit cost WAY too much.

I know my way around a shop pretty well so i can fab all the neccesarry parts and (10 years of construction experience, plus 2 years of metal shop)

Has anybody done this or thought of doing it as well? Not looking for support or anything just musing.

 

Sorry, but you ain't goin' to hell or much of anywhere else because you're
into automatic transmissions, you'll be broke down. ;)

But really now, wouldn't be fun as anything to watch this piece of crap roll
down a mountain...? ;)
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/hoist6a.jpg
...I think I'll try selling it on Craig's List first. ;)

Got a question for you...
How much does the FE adapter cost?

Only saw two prices so far, for FE adapters... $825 and $850. :/

---------------------------------

On another website a transmission rebuilder and a machinist are talking
about modifying a ZF so it'll bolt up to an FE bell housing. They claim it'll
be "easy". Maybe easy for them huh? LOL :)

Alvin in AZ

 

If gas mileage is what you're after as you're stating in #1, the transmission isn't your problem. It's the fact that you've got a 390 cubic inch engine in a refrigerator on wheels. Interesting project though.

 

A 700R4 is a pile of crap and so is its replacement, the 4L60E. Not that you'd put a trans brake on your truck but a transbrake is not even available for that transmission because the transmission can't even take it, so what does that tell you.
I'm running a AOD in my 1992 Mustang that puts 516hp to the tires. This AOD was originally built to go behind a 750 horse turbo LS1 Camaro. So a Chevy guy was ditching the transmission you are thinking of going to in favor of a Ford AOD. Here's the company that built it. www.CKPerformance.com It has a manual valve body, 4500 stall and trans brake.
An AOD is a much better transmission than a 700R4 could ever hope to be. Yes a stock AOD does have some weak cast parts stock but they can be replaced with 4R70W internals which are damn near bullet proof and super cheap. The 4R70W is regarded by most as the best automatic OD transmission on the planet and all it is, is an evolved AOD. The names 700R4 comes from 700 newton meter capacity, rear wheel drive 4 speed. 4R70W comes from 4 speed, rear wheel drive, 700 FOOT POUND capacity, wide ratio. Read here for some good 4R70W info. Baumann Electronic Controls Home Page Or you could also go with an E4OD or 4R100 which is made for heavy duty applications such as the 460, power stroke, V10 etc.
Also unless you are running a 4.10 gear I don't think OD will help the gas mileage all that much. My 93 Bronco had an injected 302 with overdrive, it only got 11-12 mpg. My brother has a carbed small 83 Ranger with a carbed 302 and C4, he gets 10, it's really not that much different.
My dad also has a 89 F-250 4x4, 5-speed, injected 302. It can get up to 14mpg running in 5th gear but actually gets 15mpg in 4th! It gets better mph with out the overdrive! It has a 3.55 rear gear and with the 235 85 16 tires its just too bogged down in overdrive at highway speed. Unless you have a low rear gear I wouldn't eve bother with OD. My 1977 F-150 as 33 inch tires, 4 speed manual and a 3.50 rear end. It only runs like 2100 rpm at 55mph, I wouldn't really want to run any lower than that.

 

chevy trannies are junk but then again so is the whole truck

 

i had a 700r4in a 90 suburban. it had 190,000 on it when i sold it and still worked great.it got 18 to 20 on the highway with a 350 and 373 gears.i also run a powerglide in my galaxie drag car.it weighs 4000 pounds and runs 10s with no problem.do the swap and keep us posted.

 

I also had 700R4's, but in two vehicles. Both have almost 300,000 miles, and both transmissions have been rebuilt twice. One was a '90 2wd Suburban; the other was in an '85 2wd 3/4 ton. I think a 390 would be too much for the 700R4.

 

Did someone just say to put an AOD in the thing????? Wholy crap we must be on a Ford site where people are so blinded by brand loyalty that the miss the obvious shortcomings of how sh&%y those trannies really are.

In my best simpson's "comic book guy voice" ---> Worst tranny ever!

Yes with upgraded parts they MAY live for 5 seconds, but who wants to spend that much $$ on an AOD????

Even ask NumberDummy - as a Ford parts guy for many years he got to see the shortcomings of these trannies and will also tell you how much of a POS those things are.

Blown331 does bring up the E4OD which is pretty much a c6 with an overdrive. This requires a stand alone computer to run in your truck though.


Still - I won't mock/flame you for using a Chebby tranny as I would rather have a TH400 than a c6 behind my 351w in the F-100 due to the ability to be built stronger/better for off road racing. So yeah - no blinded by brand loyalty here

 

wow, such anti-Chevy angst. I run a 700R4 in my Blazer mud bog truck and it hasn't let me down yet.

I run a C6 in my Bronco mud bog truck and it hasn't let me down either.

I would be interested in seeing the outcome of this conversion. I'm ont sure I would attempt it but interested none the less

 

Not sure it is the worst tranny ever, but that is fine. I run an AOD in my '76 F100 and haven't had any problems with it. I pulled it out of an '88 Crown Vic in the junkyard, changed the fluid and filters and stabbed it in. No problems at all.

 

I completely disagree. Like I stated above, in stock for they have their short comings thats for sure, I'm sure this is what you are familiar with, yes they barley hold up to a stock 5.0 Mustang with 225hp. But they are very cheap and very easy to make completely awesome. You don't have to be on a Ford board to read this. If a Chevy guy wants an auto trans with OD and a transbrake what do you think they use? Thats right AOD. My AOD had an LS1 Chevy Bell housing on it when I got it. I still have the bell housing also.
An evolved version of the AOD is still used today, its the 4R70W, Ford has all the AOD short comings adressed in this transmission. With just a midshaft swap a stock 4R70W can handle massive power. This means you can pick up a 4R70W in a junk yard for $100, throw the guts in an AOD and have awesome transmission.
Just think of a power glide. A bone stock power glide is huge POS, but look what they can be built into. Coincodently an AOD and glide both use a Raveneoux (sp) gear train layout. Unlike the C6, C4, TH400, TH350 etc which use a simpson gear train.

Check out the Lentech AOD page and the forum below. http://www.lentechautomatics.com/aodhome.html
Click Click Racing Forums

 

The Chevy overdrives arent bad at all compared to a Ford AOD (both in stock form of course), but they say to stay away from the early 700r4's, from like 84 and 85 I believe. Those years is why they got a bad rap. I learned that the 87-89 700r4's were interchangable between being vacume or electronically controlled, the valve bodies could unbolt or something like that. The later the year of the trans, the better it will be. You can also build them up using 5 gear planitarys and other parts from a Corvette. I can't remember ALL the specifics, but I can tell you where I saw it. Was like a 4 page tech write up in Hot Rod magazine about 2 or 3 yrs ago. It told of every interchangability issue that could ever arise and had what to do to fix it, part #s and all. Very good article, I'm sure if you searched the magazines website you could find the archive.

 

Did you bump your head? I think a 6800lb mud truck on 39.5 boggers pushing 700+ hp is alot more than your 351w will be able to dish out. Whats behind it? A C6. 200ft pit. And yes he went airborne at the end.

YouTube - MOV00743

 

Heres another vid of the truck.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid253.photobucket.com/albums/hh63/STGFordCrazy04/MVI_1064.flv">

 

Redneck mud romping and desert racing are 2 different things Cheeto. That "airborn" was what - 6" of air under the tires - MAYBE!

I never said the 351w will dish out enough power to really eat my trannies, but desert racing does numbers on them = lots of rebuilding.
I've had the #1 builder of trannies for these 800+ HP monsters tell me personally that the th400 will save $$ in the long run because it is stronger for what we do and will need to be rebuilt less.

That is from his countless years of experience building trannies for things that do this...

YouTube - Herman Motorsports Trophy Truck test footage

YouTube - ROBBY GORDON test for BAJA1000 08