I can't believe I actually started considering an automatic for my '65 build!
Here's the idea...it's going to be a shortbed flareside 4x4 with a 6.9 built up as much as I can. Lowering compression, studs everywhere, Moose IP and Misters, Turbo, Intercooler, blah blah blah...the list goes on. I'd like to shoot for 200 HP and see how much more I can go. I've yacked about the project before, so it's not news here...
The goal for the truck build will be for light-weight. I'll use a fiberglass flareside bed from a 92-96 F150, aluminum wheels, small tires, etc.
I found a good thread where a similar 1992 F150 flareside weighed 4,348 pounds. His signature was: 92 F150 XLT 5.0 regular cab, M5od, short box, 4x4, quad front shocks, factory skids, manual hubs, factory trailering option/front and rear stabilizers bars, 4.09/4.10LS.
So I'm aiming to keep my build around 4,800-5,000 pounds. After you add the extra weight for the 6.9 over the 302 and also some extra weight for the ZF5 or E4OD over the M5OD.

With that background, I started thinking an automatic would be sweeeet to just stuff the loud pedal and smoke the pretty boys in their 6.0's. I think it would be sweet to keep up with a D-Max...even sweeter to smoke one
I remember a post by Dave saying he can out-pull a loaded D-Max, but he can't catch an empty one. Imagine if his truck weighed a couple thousand pounds less and had an automatic...that's what this '65 would be like if I followed thru with a slushbox.

44 TTB up front and 9" out back to start. I'm looking for the TTB ride for the highway drives....but if it doesn't hold up to the 4-wheel drive truck pulls then I'll go with a 5-lug 44 monobeam.

The E4OD is a stout transmission as long as you keep up with the maintenance (fluid flushes and filter changes) and add a second cooler after the radiator cooler.Oh crap, come to think of it...the stock '65 radiator won't have a cooler built in...hmm...got some creative thinking to do...

Opinions anyone? The auto will really shine in the drag races...but I hate to give up my manual transmission for everything else. I think my left leg is gonna have clutch pedal withdrawl LOL<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

 

if you wanna use it to work, zf5, if you want to just cruise around then e4od. nothing better when hauling then being able to downshift and save your brakes

 

That's why I'm having a tough time going over to a 2-pedal truck...I like the safety factor when a brake line fails. It was a fun ride thru a 4-way intersection when the hydraulic line blew and the stupid e-brake cable snapped, luckily I was able to downshift and go thru a little slower. Of course, you could always drop the auto down into 2nd, then 1st.
Of course every other truck that I've worked in hauling heavy was an automatic and there was never a single hiccup.
Cross country with a truck camper and towing a camper trailer with my Dad's 03 7.3/4R100.
04 F350 super cab 4x4 dump truck with a 6.0/auto (5R100?) witht he dump bed full and towing a 20' equipment trailer with a tractor and mini skid steer on it. No hiccups, although it IS scary when the transmission is in tow/haul mobe (so it must be a feautre of a 5R100? truck is bone stock) and when we're going downhill, it will downshift itself and I about crapped my pants the first time when it dropped again and we rode down the hill at 3,500-3,800 RPM. We do that very often, a few times each week.
I'm still up in the air, 95% of the time I'd prefer the manual...but it's that 5% when it would really ROCK to just floor it and maintain boost thru the gears.
With my Dad's 03 7.3 PSD, you can floor it at an on-ramp and it will take off (about as fast as my N/A 6.9), but then the boost hits at around 3k RPM and then you get thrown into the seat and the thing will fly! It will go up to 3,300 then shift down to like 2,500 or 2,800 RPM and go thru the range again. It's sweet, because I know I wouldn't be able to shift a manual that fast....

 

nothing better than having a torque converter which multiplies torque,and will blow the doors off a zf5 truck.

 

I tend to try and avoid the while "which is better" argument when it comes to manual verses auto since there seem to be some strong opinions on both sides. (not unlike cummis verses IDI or chevy verses ford - etc)

The torque rating on the ZF5 is something I've wondered about even though many are able to put them through hell and back:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7216615

The E4OD in stock form will not last long behind a turbocharged IDI but you can upgrade them to rediculous levels if you have the time/knowledge/money in some form of complementary ratio.

The E4OD by far the heaviest transmission ever put behind an IDI so if weight is a concern, you may want to bear that in mind.

If top speed is a concern, the E4OD has a taller top gear ratio (D-max has a double overdrive allison if you are really intent on catching one - not that I would suggest that.............)

I wouldn't worry about the lack of a liquid cooler on the radiator. Just get a big aftermarket flat stack aluminum cooler and you should be more than enough to keep a light interceptor like that below the 200F mark for all but the most extreme situations.

For acceleration, Its hard to beat an auto that's been tricked out even lightly. Even with a trailer behind my truck I can usually leave traffic behind when pulling away from stoplights.