AOD into my 1956 Fairlane Club Sedan possible?


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By ronsplace - 16 Years Ago
All the AOD swap info I've been able to find on this forum and elsewhere talk about putting one of these into Ford trucks.  I've got a C4 in my '56 Fairlane Club Sedan (behind a 312) and I love it.  But after making a recent 500 mile trip in the car, I know I would like an AOD a lot more.  Can someone who's done this swap into a '56 Fairlane give me some pointers as to difficulty, etc.  I'm hoping that it doesn't require any mods to the floor pan; that I can keep my shifter on the column, etc.  Many thanks, Ron
By Pete 55Tbird - 16 Years Ago
Ron I have not put an AOD in a 56 Ford but I do have AOD`s in a 63 Jag Mk2 and a 66 Ford Mustang. There is a lot of very good AOD info on click click racing forum. The better AODs are 1989 and later and the best , late 1990 to 1992 have stamped drums and the O/D band is 2 inch rather than 1 1/2 inch. To control the shift ( what gear) the AOD uses throttle pressure (TV PRESSURE) and this is VERY CRITICAL as in fried transmission in 1 or 2 miles. Read up on this as you can not wing it. Lockar and Sonax can fit the TV cable to your carb. Pete
By MoonShadow - 16 Years Ago
I have an AOD in my 56 Victoria. Easy swap with the kit from Benedtzens (?). Only mods were to grind away clearance for the high torque starter, shorten the drive shaft and fab a new tranny mount. I used a 57 up speedo cable and it works great. The Lokar shifter is recommended and with a little fiddling will get the shift pattern close enough to correct. I also installed a Lokar gas pedal and cable. This made detent cable adjustment simple too. Make sure you get the detent right! I finally used a pressure gauge off a port on the transmission (instructions online) to get it right then fine tuned it for shift points. The result! Great acceleration with the 380-1 gears and decent cruizing on the highway (about 2800 at 65MPH) 
By ronsplace - 16 Years Ago
Thank you, Pete!  Ron
By ronsplace - 16 Years Ago
Thank you, Moonshadow.  Your info is very encouraging.  I'm also weighing the possibility of a Gear Vendor overdrive on the back of the C4 now in my Fairlane.  Ron...
By HT32BSX115 - 16 Years Ago
MoonShadow (10/4/2009)
I have an AOD in my 56 Victoria. Easy swap with the kit from Benedtzens (?). Only mods were to grind away clearance for the high torque starter, shorten the drive shaftand fab a new tranny mount.




I'll second the Bendtsen adapter. It's not cheep though!



http://www.transmissionadapters.com/





Here's what mine looks like. It's not an AOD though, I used an E4OD.....same bolt pattern. I wanted it for the 0.71 OD too.....(And the parking brake!) I will have to use side-type engine mounts and I have to fab a trans mount...







Thank you, Moonshadow. Your info is very encouraging. I'm also weighing the possibility of a Gear Vendor overdrive on the back of the C4 now in my Fairlane. Ron...





That will also be pretty expensive, possibly more than using an AOD and adapter. Since yours is a car, you won't have to worry about engine mounts since yours are already on the side. You would have to install a cross mount for the transmount though...





Cheers,





Rick