what do u guys think of gear vendors under/overdrive kits...they dont sell one specifically for the maverick, but they sell one for the mustang for my year, with the same transmission...so i figure it should work...any thoughts on it? i have an aod...idk how hard it is to put it in though and i see the under overdrive more appealing b/c u can split each gear...would be nice with my 200 for acceleration...lol. any thoughts? or suggestions?
The O/UD units are expensive (even if they are worth it) and not for performance use. Spliting each gear is kind of a lie. the difference between 1 and second under is very little as is the difference between 2 and 3 under. The reverse is true for the over drive units. You realy only gain 1 gear. There are six speed transmissions available for the Ford small blocks - they are expensive too.
what about the aod...what do u think about that? would it bed to difficult for my 200 to turn...idky, i just think it would bog my little 200 down
The AOD is a modernized version of the FMX with an overdrive added. (it is a completely different case etc but it is based on the same gear train). It is a lot of transmission for a small tranny to get any performance out of but there are four cylinders running the XAOD (transaxle version of the same tranny). The problem is that you need a late 89 or later AOD and a way to fit it to your six cylinder. I don't believe they ever made a case that would fit so you would have to find a way to adapt it to the small six. Maybe TransDapt has something?
yea your going to need some kind of an adapter plate to run an aod. they have a V8 bell housing bolt pattern. theyd match up with a 250, not any other 6 though from what i hear more people are going to AOD's for economy reasons since it has overdirve and will save you some gas on the highway. if you want performance i think new gears out back would probably be your best bet. youve probably only got 2.79's in there stock
Most of the 200 sixes had a 3 to 3.5 rear gear and that is not a low enough gear to support an overdrive and make it useful but if you went with a 3.89 rear gear and an AOD (adapted some how) then you would get better performance (because of the low gearing) and the benefit of the overdrive for a higher final drive ratio. It is a lot of work to go through for a small six. There are ways to mill the intake log flat and then open the hole in the log for bigger carbs. With the addition of a 208 SAE duration cam the small six can get a reasonable boost in power without sacrificing mileage to any great extent. You also have the option of installing the larger displacement 250 small six in place of the 200 but it would require some mods to the transmission . It would give you 25% more torque and the possibility of a big HP boost with the same mods to the intake log, carburetor and cam. You could go to a 214 SAE duration cam with the larger engine and gain even more HP without sacrificing idle or mileage.
