Either transmission can be used with a 351W, but if you go with a C6, you'll have to watch the bellhousing bolt pattern when you're shopping. They have an integral bellhousing and they were produced with at least 4 different configurations. You'd need one with the small block Ford bellhousing. They can be found behind 351W's, a few 302's, and the 300 I-6 in trucks. The AOD was only produced with the smallblock bell pattern, so any will work behind your 351. Me personally? I'd find an '88-'92 AOD and never look back. The overdrive gear is well worth the effort of familiarizing yourself with the minor oddities and quirks of the AOD. I won't run a C6 in anything. They are tough and reliable, but they're also big, bulky, and HEAVY. They're great for a working truck that does a lot of towing and heavy hauling, but overkill for a cruiser or driver. For that kind of duty behind a small block, the C4 is a much lighter and much more compact choice and it's easy and inexpensive to beef them up to handle a lot of power.

 

Yep there were C6s that bolted up to 351W - Torinos and Mustangs. It's a great drive train combo with a 9" rear geared at 2:80-1.

But like BOR noted, the C6 was made in different variants for different engine types.

Heres a link to some info on that:

Automatic Transmission Identification Guide - FORDification.com

 

Jeff,

Most of the C6's I remember were on the old FE blocks like the 390 and I I know that the 351W, 302 and 300 six were all the same bell housing bolt pattern. If there was a C6 for the 351 it would have to have a different case casting to fit because the case and bell housing was all one piece.

Later Man...

 

Thanks for the input!
It helps to keep from making bad choices. I will start to look for an AOD and if that doesn't pan out then C4. I just met a guy local here that had a tranny shop for 15 years. he closed the shop, but he still does them on the side. I will talk to him about the cost to rebuild if needed.
I did my own C6 in a 78 Bronco about ten years ago. I missed "success" by having two bolts in the valve body reversed. one was longer than the other it blocked an oil passage. I took it to a shop, explained it to them, they said we can't assume its correct gotta go through the whole tranny!
When they called me and said it was done I was scared! figured they would rake me over the coals! But they were cool, only 50 bucks. so it was a great learning experience for me. and I only spent like 200 total to do it myself. Don't honestly remember the cost now, but it was cheap and it gave me such a sense of accomplishment! Not sure if I will try that again!

 

Can you go into more detail about "minor oddities and quirks" ?
I think the AOD might be easier to find than the C4. I got friends in low places kinda...the salvage yard guys are gettin to know me by first name.
I stop there sometimes when I don't need anything and shoot the crap. Bought them all sodas once, gonna take doughnuts down next time.
They are treatin me right, I try to return it. LOL they are a bunch of freaky lookin dudes at first, but they are all just workin for a living...and I think those kinda people just get looked down at by others too much.
And now when I call down there and need something, they are more willing to help me find it and the price is good too!

 

jeff if i'm not here when you get down , give me a ring . i'll put you in touch with my cuz billy , he worked at all trans for 17 plus before becoming cokes shop / transportation manager . he was their ford guy . he got the 5.0 and aod i had out of the 91 . he is taking the first and second gear assemblies out of a burned up 4r70w { like my 95 has } and putting them and a whole slew of tricks he's learned to make 'em snap and perform .the first and second gears outta the 4r70w are much better and closer ratios he says ........ he does a little sidework still . he's got another 53 , in a kazillion peices , althought the frame is done now and the 347 is just about done too ............. the parts are in the trunk of the 95 in a box , doors are open , you have to open the console lid and you'll see the remote opener button for the trunk . brenda will be here also . prolly just preoccupied . 52 is unlocked and the keys are in the glove box if ya want to hear it . i should be there though . it's saturday i don't drag my behind as much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hey Jeff,

Right after my post I see you found an expert on the C6's. I was partially right in therms of finding the right bolt pattern but I never had a C6 with anything other than an FE block so I didn't know for sure.

Anyway, I wanted to respond to your comments about the guys who work the yards. I think you are quite right. It's unfortunate that if you don't happen to be a pretty boy and or have a PHD in this society you are branded a fool and an idiot. In my 65 years I have found that in a lot of cases some of the least formally educated people are way more intelligent than people give them credit for. I have also observed many degree holding people can't do much of anything and have little or no aptitude for figuring things out. It's a real shame considering it amounts to a real waste of knowledge. But hey, what can you do??? That's just the way things are...

Later...

 

hi there i am a newbie on this site so i hope you can get this message, i am searching for a rear brake drum for a 51 f3 and i am told you may have one or two. one of mine is damaged, do you know the measurements of the drum and if so how much $ are you looking for?

thanx

Trevor Wolf

 

hi i am looking for rear drums for 51 f3 do you have

 

Hi wolfpak, welcome to FTE! I sent ya a private message after you login, look in the upper right corner under your name. U should see a notification. Let us know if not. I have the F3 axle and would like to see the whole axle go. I was asking where you are, if you are close enough you could pick up the whole axle. don't know what they are worth but I hate to see it torn apart into pieces. Anyone have any input on that? Are these hard to find? should I part it or keep it complete?

 

Jeff, Sorry man.
I didn't mean to leave ya hanging like that.

I was out of town thursday afternoon through Sunday late and Didn't have any cell coverage. well a little bit hit and miss. Thats Rural BFE Utah for ya!
anyway, I think I pm'd ya earl;ier today about my asking price of $400 which includes the fenders but looks like you already found one real close to ya so no worries. Travel costs do add up fast.
So far I have only Met (in person) one other FTE'r and that was Stu (Truckdog) so I would definitly love to meet any others if any one comes out this way? Or if Stu ever comes back through this way I owe him and his wife a nice dinner or something. (maybe I need to find some MH hulks somewhere out in the west desert mining districts to lure him back)
I also attempt to go to Bonneville for speedweek at least for one day every year, and I think I have my 5 and 7 yr old hooked on it now too

A few years ago I drove to Washington state to pick up an F-1 bed that was made into a trailer for $375, which made it super easy to just hook onto it and go, plus I had family about 5 miles away from there and got to visit so it made it a lot easier to justify going.

Don't know anything about C-6's other than I had one in my 74 Ranchero, I really loved that car/truck the drivetrain at least.... wish I had kept the 351 and c-6 out of it. ran great just looked like crap, I think it had more bondo in it than steel



Cheers

Josh

 

Jeff,

The biggest thing that you need to know about an AOD in advance is that it does not use a "kickdown" for passing gear like most old tech transmissions. It instead has a throttle valve. The lever is in the same place as the old kick downs and looks basically the same, but its function is completely different. Rather than just being applied at full throttle like a kickdown, a throttle valve tracks the position of the throttle through its entire range and directly varies the line pressure within the transmission based on throttle position. It requires a proper cable or linkage and also proper initial setup to operate correctly. If it isn't hooked up at all or the initial adjustment isn't correct, line pressure will be too low and you can expect to completely torch the clutches in just a couple miles. Many an unsuspecting swapper has burned up their AOD because they didn't understand this. With all that said, Lokar makes cable kits for just about any EFI or carb setup you might want to run and the adjustment procedure is not rocket science. Google "AOD throttle valve adjustment" and you'll be reading until your eyes get heavy. This wasn't just a crazy Ford thing, either. GM used the same setup on many of their overdrive automatics.

Besides that, there are some other things that may become an issue depending upon the power level you are looking at and how you treat it. The OD band is easy to burn up if it is often subjected to a combination of stupid amounts of power and full throttle 3rd to OD shifts. The AOD also has a unique concentric input shaft arrangement to provide for torque converter lockup in overdrive. The inner direct input shaft can snap from the same abuse that can tear up the OD band. Neither of these are really cause for concern, though. The serious drag racers are the ones that normally find these weaknesses. If you find an '88 or newer unit (they have all the factory revisions and upgrades), don't push the power level over 300 horses, and don't hammer it from every stoplight, an AOD will last well over 100K miles in stock form. If any of the above severe duty factors are going to come into play, there are a number of mods and upgrades that can be done to pretty much bullet proof it.

The AOD is a great tranny, but it's just like anything else, I guess. It will break if you try to do something with it that it wasn't intended for.