i have recently obtained this fantastic little 71 maverick. i had always been a chevy guy before, and had had very bad luck with the only ford id owned (a 64 thunderbird). but the body was in such fantastic condition i couldnt resist. it has the 3.3 in it, and im in love with the car. but and im looking for a automatic overdrive to swap this 3 spd auto with. like i said im not a ford guy so forgive me if i ask dumb question, but ive helped in a couple th350s/700r4 swaps, so im not completely blind here...just wondering whats trans i can use, clearance issues, length issues (like the 700r4 swap). thanks for your help in advance
DUCK!!! Prepare to be bombarded by Anti-"chevy parts in a ford" responses!!! I don't have the information you need, but for one, I am NOT opposed to using non-ford parts to make your Maverick run better.
Ford Overdrive transmissions will work fine. You can use the AOD or the 4R70W. If you go with the AOD...We have a member here (71 gold) Frank cooper, he makes an excellent AOD trans mount that allows the AOD to be a bolt in swap.
Question ain't about no FORD transmission... But seriously, tzayoh, the C4 is indestructible. Strictly Performance, who has the fastest 2012 mustang on the planet, pulled out the stock tranny and slapped in a C4 (slightly modified, but still a C4). So it must be a decent transmission. This ain't yo grandaddy's 64 Ford transmission. My dad was an Anti-Ford guy, and raised me to be one, based on a poor experience owning a 64 T-bird... It was the first car he had to sell, loaded with 90-weight oil to stop the smoking, and BEFORE he paid it off! He still harasses me for owning the maverick.
ha, sorry guys, i must have worded that weird, i meant i did 700r4 swaps in old chavys, i still wanted to keep a ford trans in my maverick. and scooper i dont have a problem with the c4 aside from i dont want to be at 3k rpms trying to keep up on the interstate...will the aod bolt up to my 3.3? and is it longer because of the OD, will i need to cut my drive shaft?
when i said "length issues (like the 700r4 swap). " i meant because the tail on a 700 is 3 inches longer then a 350
I'm using a stock length Mav driveshaft with my...700R4... same driveshaft I used with my...C-4...AOD and Earls T-5... ......
Well lesee, the 200(3.3) prior to the late '70s has a different bell bolt pattern than the V8s, so none of the late O/D trans will be a direct bolt up... The 4.1L(250) and big Ford I6(240 & 300) do share the small block/302/351W/351C pattern... The only real Ford O/D trans that isn't at least somewhat electronically controlled is the AOD, which has the above small block bolt pattern... I'll guess finding a flexplate to fit the 200 & bolt to a AOD converter will also be a challenge...
well at least it doesnt sound like length will be an issue......so i need a flex plate and a different trans mount for sure, and a locking tourque coverter, t.v. cable. when i did the other conversions we switched from column shift to floor, but this time i want to keep my column shift, is there anything that ill need to change on the column for it to shift right?
