can I keep my column shifter with an aod? and whart rear gears are reccomended for street use? thanks
not sure about the column shifter. It mioght work but would probably need to modify the bends and maybe legthen the rod. If its pushing when it should be pulling you just drop the valve body and rotate the gear selector shaft 180 degrees and put it back togethor. I would say you dont need an AOD unless you are going with diferent gears. Anything smaller than a 3.50:1 ratio I'd say you don't need it. The typical mustang gear used when they were using the AOD is 3.27, the upgrades are 3.55 and 3.73. I think you can get a 3.50 for the 8 inch. That would be a good mild gear and really take advantage of the OD. If you want a quicker launch go with 3.89, thats what I have, but it revs a little high still.
Lokar makes a universal shifter cable for column shifters http://www.summitracing.com/parts/LOK-ACA-1805/ would also be great for people with headers that want a column shift
If you are using EFI you can run just about any gear you want - as long as the ECU is programmed for the gear ratio but if you are running a carb then you need steep gears - believe it or not 4.11:1 is ideal for the AOD. Any gear higher than 3.89:1 is not going to help with fuel economy as much as the 4.11s. Why? you ask - I get asked this quite a bit and it has to do with the carb. Until you engine is turning above 1500-1800 rpm the carb thinks you are either idling or in transition from idle to cruise. The idle mixture for a carb is about 13.5:1 (very rich) because the velocity through the ports is so slow that the mixture has to be rich to get enough fuel to keep the engine running. Off-idle mixture is almost as rich as the idle mixture and sometimes even richer. This means that idling down the freeway in your car may be easier on the engine but it uses a bunch more fuel. To make matters worse when you push on the gas pedal to go up a small grade (remember that at an idle your engine doesn't make much power) the engine is turning so slow that the manifold vacuum drops enough to open your power valve. That makes the engine run even richer. You are dumping raw gas into your engine trying to just keep your speed (which is at or just over idle). Most people who have stock engines (or mildly enhanced) and run a 2.72 - 3.50 rear gear ratio end up wondering why they don't get better gas mileage. Well, now you know - idling your engine uses more fuel than running it at 2500 rpm. The column shifter should work providing it is adjusted for the transmission and the AD had a column shift in the donor car. Otherwise you may need a cable or a ne manual lever for the transmission. Good luck with the swap - it is a great choice when the rear gears being used require it.
That makes total sense. Ive heard something like that before and totally forgot about that logic. With my 3.89 gears i am usually right aruond 2000 rpm at cruise speed around town. Probably just about perfect. If it goes into OD when I am going slow it does feel pretty weak, like on a 30mph neighborhood street.
Umm... Pretty awesome. good cruising rpm with the 3.89 gears, and good punch when it kicks down on acceleration.
