jcoby

first off, horsepower means nothing when choosing a transmission. you need to know the torque rating. 400hp at 3500rpm is a completely different ballgame from 400hp at 6500rpm. A T5 is good for 280-300lbs if you don't abuse it and run an aftermarket shifter with adjustable stops. there are also some upgrades that you can do to improve the transmission's resilience. it should be a little more reliable in a 1st gen than a fox body because of the weight difference.

but if you're going to drag race the car, run an auto. you'll turn better times and won't break stuff nearly as easily. the AOD and AODe are good transmissions and can be built to handle the load.

eZ

The AOD is not a true lockup unless you are changing to a one piece input shaft. 1-2 shift is non-lockup which uses the inner shaft. 2-3 is like 60-40 and only OD is lockup which is why your rpms drop so much from 3-4. If your going to run a decent amount of horsepower make sure you get a hardened inner shaft.

1971mach1

If you're intent is to "save money" like you say, you're barking up the wrong tree.
You will spend far more converting to a 5-speed than you will ever save in gas.
Even converting to an AOD auto, you won't see return on investment for a long long time (unless your current c4 is broken anyway).
I think you maybe better off (money wise) buying a old Honda for the daily commute.
The cheepest way to get better mileage in the Mustang is to change the rear gear to 2.70 or so.

Now if you're converting to 5-sp to make the car fun to drive, with a little gas mileage benefit,
that's another story.

jcoby

why do you say that? you can pick up an AOD/AODe/4R70W for around $75 now.

1971mach1

Sorry, I was thinking new or rebuilt. If you have tons of time and energy, you might get lucky sorting thru the used tranny pile. To convert all the linkage to AOD you're going to spend,,,, alot more than $75.

Not to mention, I doubt you'll see alot better gas milage savings, unless you drive like a grandpa, and mostly on the highway. In the real world, with the typical lead foot driving we do, 1/2 on the hwy, I be really surprised if you
got more than 1 or 2 mpg better. What's that save? maybe $100-$200 a year, if you drive it daily. You're kidding yourself if you're doing this to save gas.

built67

hey guys, sorry it took me a while to get back to you...schools been killin me so i havent had much time for anything else lately...as for what motor is going into the car it is either going to be a 351w or 331 stroker (havent decided yet)...ive been playing around with desktop dyno and im looking at about 450hp 470ft/lbs and ill be making power to 6000rpms... i am kinda leaning way from tko's although they are strong bc i dont want to modify my trans tunnel at all...i just want a bolt in trans. im going to request a quote from modern driveline asap...

my only concern is that they will want an insane amount of money to build a t5 to hold that much power as well as having to give me all the parts for my conversion. i know im looking into an expensive option, but im trying to figure out if its worth it. i can get an aod built to 500hp and all the components for the conversion for around 3000. do you guys think its worth it to go t5 over aod? even if its more money?

opie_803

i am running an AOD and am very pleased with it. i can run 70-75 mph @ 2000-2200 rpm with 3.55 gears. i dont abuse my car thou. i am good for the occasional "lighting them up" from a red light but not much more than that. the design of the AOD allows you to run a high stall if you want but in OD it is locked up and the stall doesnt matter, good for hwy cruising.

my swap over was easy and much less expensive than a t5 swap. i can see where the t5 would be a little more fun to play with but the auto is more relaxing and leaves a free hand to beat the kids if needed. lol.

rmodel65

4r70w out of a v6 99-04 stang buy the controller and short d/s etc and be done with it!