ok already listed this in the tranny forum...cricket...cricket over there so i'll put it here too:

'73 F100 w/ 390. Wanting to put a AOD behind it but everyone tells me the FE block has a funky bolt pattern that keeps this from being possible. Well what i don't understand is if a AOD will bolt up behind a 4.9 300 inline 6 in a 94 F150 and a C6 will to, why can't that same AOD fit behind my 390? Do i not have any options besides a $600 kit from adv. adapters? thanks

 

thats the only way to bolt it up. the only other way I know to get an overdrive is to go with a gearvenders setup.

 

''Well what i don't understand is if a AOD will bolt up behind a 4.9 300 inline 6 in a 94 F150 and a C6 will to, why can't that same AOD fit behind my 390?''


whats so hard to understand???????????????????????????????????

 

so...anyone got any ideas?

 

No. The bellhousings are different. The C6's came in a few different bellhousing configurations, too. The only way to get around this is an adapter. The good news is, it's only $600.

Honestly, if you're putting an AOD behind anything but a bone stock FE, you'll probably tear it up. Plan on building it up a bit so it'll hold together.

Here's another adapter selection:
http://www.transmissionadapters.com/Pricing.htm

That one's $700 though.

 

i know i'll probably have starter mounting probs but am i way out in left field here?

 

ok there's my answer...thanks once again rusty..thats enough to shut me up till later

 

It is not the starter, it is the physical bolt pattern from the AOD to the block that is the problem. It will not physically bolt to the FE block without an adapter.

 

there are several folks that make the A0D adapter. But as kurt mentioned, you'll want to beef up the A0D to handle the FE Troque. Plan on spending $3000 to get it all done right.

Gear vendors or US gear OD adapters for the C6 will cost about $2500 plus install.

So, there really is no cheap way to get an OD Auto behind an FE. Save the money for gas :-)

 

I have to agree here Greg. It just isn't worth it unless you plan to drive it for a LOOOOOONG time.

Although, would an AOD be more efficient than a C6? I mean, would it transmit a higher percentage of engine power to the rear wheels? That might help make it worth it.

 

I plan to put an AOD in my truck. I think that $600 for the adapter kit isn't that bad. In my case I've put 4.1 gears in the truck. Around town it's no problem but I'd like to be able hit the interstate and the overdrive reduces engine RPM big time. It makes the truck a better everyday driver without giving up the low end that the 4.1 gears provide. You can rebuild an AOD for similar costs compared to rebuilding the C6 and it's also easy to do the right performance things to get the AOD to hold up. I believe I'll be under $1000 counting adapter, AOD, and rebuild. I don't like the gear vendors OD because of the initial cost and because of how long the C6 is after it has the OD on it. I haven't tried to see how long it would take to recoup the front money in gas savings...I'm sure that the return on investment isn't good on gas savings alone. I really want it more for reduced engine RPM at highway speeds.

Tracy


Tracy

 

AOD links for info on making it stronger & adapting to other engines, etc.

http://www.transmissioncenter.net/AOD.htm

http://www.baumannengineering.com/aodcat.htm

http://ckperformance.com/ford_aod.html

http://www.tciauto.com/ford/ford_aod.htm

 

Here's another good link.

http://www.lincolnsonline.com/article111.html

Not exactly an FE topic but this thread has gotten me reinterested in the AOD's.

Tracy

 

what exaclty needs beefing up in the aod's? forwards clutchs? just use better material? i rebuilt my c6 myself for $75 for the kit and kept the converter. i think i could get a kit for an aod unless we're talking some race kit or something that i have to use.

 

I remember running this question though my own mind some time ago. I wanted the ability to lower the rpm's on the highway. The easiest route seemed to be aod. Or even the (i believe) th400 (chevys version of aod) which from my searches, I believe was a lot stronger tranny as far as the torque you could put in front of it.
The main conclusion was simply the torque specs of an AOD equipted vehicle or the torque that an AOD could handle (from the factory); was a bit lower than even a stock 390. Then add a little performance to that FE and the ratio starts to increase quickly.
There was a gentleman here who had posted that he had an AOD from TCI and it had quit on him. I'm sure he has gotten that fixed by now, but am unsure if he is still using the same tranny.
I intend on installing the nv4500 in the future. ceetwarrior has done this relatively simple transfer and appears to like it.

Robert P.