I’ll be looking forward to what you measure. I am convinced the 6R80 is the best option for me as long as it fits without hacking up the chassis. The AOD can be built to work well and handle abuse but that drives the overall project cost up. Getting a stock 6R80/Converter is fairly easy with plenty of used parts out there. I had an AOD with a 3.27 TracLok back in 1996. Had the poochy 2V 4.6L. Overall I wasn’t impressed with how the transmission worked. It seems some transmission shops are wanting to focus less on AOD.
AOD is usually the simple solution as it requires no electronics. Plus it bolts up to a small block. For about 6 years I ran an AOD behind a 460 in a 70 Cougar. It was a primary daily driver and performed well. Got about 18.6 mpg on the highway. A few mods were done to the trans, the additional in parts certainly cost less than a US shift controller. However, that was in the late 90"s till about 2004. The 6 speed is simply more sophisticated and offers more. Since you have to run an adaptor behind the FE might as well go with the current best offering.
I agree. If I were to fixate on a 6 speed a built C4 with a Gear Vendors overdrive out back would be a very efficient solution. Very high cost however. It will be a big effort for any retrofit. So might as well get the best technology possible. I am partial to an electronic transmission as the vacuum signal on my old 390 isn’t the best. Hoping to get a few more years out of it before a rebuild. I wasn’t so luck with the transmission but limped it around for this season.
Interested to follow along. Been talking about an AOD conversion for my dads mustang, this could be a nice alternative to that.
I have the 6R80 now. Here’s the side by sides with a C6 off my 390 FE. I’ll start a new thread if the project moves forward. Monday I will see how it fits and go from there.
Link to the next stage.
https://cccforum.discoursehosting.net/t/6-speed-automatic-6r80-retrofit-onto-a-fe/13416/1