has anyone here ever did a smallblock ford c-6 swap ? does the tranny clear the trans tunnel ?just curious
Well, since no one is chiming in, I can tell you what I have seen posted on the issue. I have never done it myself to a Maverick... I have on Stang/Torinos though, so I am not totally ignorant on the subject. I have seen 1970 model owners post that the C6 will not clear the floorpan. Later years had a larger tranny tunnel. I have seen folks here with C6 converted Mavericks. I have never seen details on what it took to get the job done. Having done C4 to C6 swaps on other Fords, and having done C4 to Toploader swaps on Mavericks... I can guess what needed doing. Other Fords have easily adjusted crossmembers for swapping between C4,C6, and FMX. Most other Fords from the era were available with all 3 depending on how they were ordered from the factory. The one big exception was the Maverick. They were only ever available with a C4, or C4 compatible trannys. Period. No long tail manuals, no FMX, no C6. So the crossmember and tranny mounting is very C4 specific. In order to mount a C6, you will have to make your own crossmember. There was never a Maverick C6 crossmember. There is no adjustment to the crossmember either, like other Fords. Pure fabrication. You also must have a shorter driveshaft made. All this is still overlooking the fact that a C6 is VERY heavy, and has much higher parasitic loss compared to a C4. The C6 soaks up much more horsepower just to operate, then the extra weight your engine has to push down the road saps power. So if it weighs 100# more with a C6, you lose 10 horsepower just to carry the weight. Then there's the power you lose to spin the beast. I have heard it said that you lose more than 30 horsepower switching from a C4 to a C6... Don't know for sure, but it sounds right. Well, I told you what I know and gave you a bump to the top. Maybe someone will chime in with details on how to do the swap.
what about the aod i have on ebehind the 5.0 engine ita 91 thunderbird combo ,thinking of using it but no one had responded to the post yet on aod strength ,may just go this route
The AOD is heavier and has more parasitic loss compared to a C4, HOWEVER, I'd use that in a heartbeat over a C4 or C6! They are at least as strong as a C4 I'd imagine. I wouldn't hesitate myself. Just make sure it isn't an AODE... I don't believe they were in 91. I think the AOD went for a while getting a bad name in swaps because folks didn't realize how important the throttle valve cable was. They just swapped the tranny in and didn't concern themselves with proper install and adjustment of the TV cable. I know that'll destroy an AOD quick. The tranny uses this cable to monitor the throttle position at all times. The AODE does the same thing, but through the PCM, so it gets the "E" for "Electronic".
With my AOD, I use 71Gold's trans cross member (fit awesome) but I did have an issue with the transmission touching one of the floor cross members that is in the transmission tunnel (a little grinding helped) and I used the LOKAR TV cable, which does not work as well as a factory cable, the LOkar seems to lag a little in letting off, so the pressure stays high in the transmission, when it should be dropping off. I've talked to a few other guys that have them in their cars, and they all replaced their Lokar cables with stock Ford ones, with excellent results.
