FORD Automatic overdrive behind 440

[ozmercury]

Hi there,I have a 72 roadrunner have had it for 2 years bought it form salt lake city Utah,had it shipped to Brisbane Australia.i also have a 1968 mercury cougar has 331 and 4 speed AOD transmission.I am building a 493 stroker RB and was looking at the 727 with gear vendors overdrive unit,the cost of the 727 with steel drum and GV OD was quite a lot,so I researched cutting the bell housing off and bolting a JW BB Mopar to powerglide Bellhousing redrilledon cnc to fit the AOD FB transmissions in NY supplied this to me.most mopar people will not know much about the AOD it was 1980-1992 mustang trans the OD is .67 so with 3.7 gears engine 1900 rpm t0 do 100kph(65mph)stock AOD can only handle about 300hp with direct drive lock up ,but the AOD can be retrofitted with the geartrain from a late model 4R70W with Constant pressure manual Valve body and extra clutch plates in forward and direct drums can be built to handle 700hp 650ftlb.the overdrive is just a cruising gear no full throttle shifts from 3-4 as the OD band will burn out.Bell housing with modified trans pump $895,1000ftlb 9.5 converter $995,300m input shaft and steel drum $650,flexplate and adapter $340 expensive but cheaper than 727 GV OD .here are the pics so far of the conversion.Gerard Brisbane Australia

 

[Photon440]

What is the physical size of the Ford AOD? The reason more people don't use the Mopar 518 is because some tunnels need to be modified, otherwise it works well. But why go to OD in the first place, is it to save gas? I doubt your 493 stroker will be a daily driver, so you will never, ever recoup the cost in fuel savings.

 

[ozmercury]

I did a bit of research on the 518 there is no trans case that will fit the BB 518 have a very low pan on them,and they definitely will not handle 600hp without major planetary modifications and billet steel drums.I don't need 400 hp or 500ftlb of torque at 3000rpm to cruise at 65mph,cost of gas here is $7USD gallon but that's not the reason for the overdrive ,many car shows here in Queensland are 2-3 hours drive.the only extra cost is the JW bellhousing on what I would have spent on the 727,GV OD $2800 ,this trans will be building for $4000USD.the AOD fits snuggly in the tunnel no modification needed except cross member which I making today .as you may see from the photo under the car I have rack and pinion steering this is a copy of the Altercation unit except it is not made out of ugly box section .this will cost me about $3000 with the wildwood 13" brake kit.a mate of mine had one in a challenger that he was working on so I copied all the geometry and measurements.the steering rack is AGR mustang 2000-2003 cobra R 15:1 ratio ,the spindles are Mustang ii with the arms cut off new made and welded on the bottom.viking performance springs and shocks.the reason I have gone from steering box and torsion bars is cause I can!

 

[Photon440]

Okay, makes sense. I didn't know that the 518 deep pan was going to be a problem - they're often used on the 727 for more capacity. I do know there's no BB case, but like your mod you can put on a new bell from Ultra Bell with the correct spacing. And of course you'd still need to beef up the internals.

Looks like you have your engineering skills well in hand.

 

[cordoba-rick]

I would search for a 200R4, 4 speed od automatic...cheap, can be built for 500hp,...but and this is it,..it is compact with no floor modifications...this is gonna end up in my Cordoba with a 400 and 355 gears. ebay, 800 bucks, with a warranty. The path is clear..

 

[Meep-Meep]

I have heard about the 200R4 conversion not needing any floor mods. Good to know.

AOD might not be bad either depending how it all goes together. Good luck with the swap and the front end fab work.

 

[Photon440]

Of course, for $7,000+ you can always go six speed automatic.

 

[ozmercury]

More info about the AOD,it has a compound planetary gear set that will handle 700 ft lb ,it has needle roller bearings in the outer planetary gears there are only 3 gears.the transmission has only 3 forward gears and overdrive is on a switch to a solenoid in the VB ,because this is manual valve body and constant pressure 200psi line pressure all the time there is no need for throttle valve cable to carb.so any 3 speed shifter will fit ,I will be using the hurst promatic 2.when constant pressure is utilised for a street driven car you need Teflon sealing rings on the forward clutch drum/front pump stator,I make my own solid 1 piece sealing rings machined from virgin Teflon.there are aftermarket Teflon rings available but they are scarf cut which leak a lot.if you use an early model AOD output shaft with provisions for a governor you can have full Auto shifts but this output shaft limited to 500 ft lb,I use the 1998 onwards 4R70W output shaft .forward clutch has 6 frictions intermediate has 4 ,direct has 7-8 and overdrive is commanded by a band .here are some pics of the trans parts

 

[Kern Dog]

I would search for a 200R4, 4 speed od automatic...cheap, can be built for 500hp,...but and this is it,..it is compact with no floor modifications...this is gonna end up in my Cordoba with a 400 and 355 gears. ebay, 800 bucks, with a warranty. The path is clear..

The Ford AOD trans has a nickname here in the States: DOA. Here that stands for Dead on Arrival. They are not a performance transmission by any means. The 5.0L engines were not 600 ft/lb torque engines like the 493 will be. The GM 200-4R is a much better choice. GM did make some good transmissions. Don't forget, Ford spelled backwards is DROF, that stands for Driver Returns On Foot.

 

[AMX364]

The 700r could also be used however it might require some tunnel clearance to fit.

The only Ford transmissions that I have heard used in Mopars were the Top loader transmissions. However the Hemi 18 spline 833 was installed behind about every major brand car until the aftermarket stepped in.

 

[benno440]

In Brissy itself mate? if you havent already you should put up a post on your project looks really interesting

 

[Powerflite]

The 700r could also be used however it might require some tunnel clearance to fit.
The only Ford transmissions that I have heard used in Mopars were the Top loader transmissions. However the Hemi 18 spline 833 was installed behind about every major brand car until the aftermarket stepped in.

Actually, in a '71-up B body or E-body, the 700R4 trans will fit with no floor or crossmember mods at all. Just a slight dent in the right front to clear the governor. I even put one into a '70 B-body without mods which has about 1.5" less length to the crossmember.

 

[Bigal75]

Nothing wrong with an AOD - Letech used to build some killer AODs!

 

[bbcharger71]

Another option is the 4L60E from around 98 up. they have removable bellhousings, which makes it easy to switch over. I have one behind a 400 big block in my charger. They fit very well with no cutting. You just have to make a crossmember.