700R4, 4r70W, Ford AOD or C4?

Doing a ground up build and don't have a transmission yet. Have been given a good deal on a C4 (needs rebuild) but don't want to regret it later that I didn't step it up a bit and go with a better trans. I plan on using my Bronco around town, highway trips and on moderate offroad trails. My budget in this department is roughly $2000. What is everyone having good luck with out there?

Did you check out this info yet?: http://classicbroncos.com/tech/category/transmission ----------Hans

also check this tread out you may still have some time

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170107&highlight=4r70w

C4, simple 3-speed. No lock up converter. Simpliest and easiest to put in. Worst gearing.

AOD, antiquated technology. Pre '88 known for bad oiling. Converter is partially locked in 3rd gear. Strange lockup plan to split power into the planetary partially through the converter and partially not. Then fully locked in 4th. Lots of upgrades available to fix a ton of shortcomings. Many of the upgrades come from the 4R70W. By the time you upgrade, you spent more then just doing a 4R70W and still can't do what a 4R70W can do.

4R70W is the best. Lower 1st gear. OD is a touch less (.70 instead of .667). The electronic shifts are the greatest. You can fix a single shift point without screwing up the rest. Then the lock up converter is like adding another gear. There are many times where I could simply lean on the throttle a little at highway speeds, unlock the converter, gain a few RPMs for a little more power without resorting to a downshift into 3rd. Just like any new truck would do. Has all the upgrades the AOD needs to have and some that the AOD can never get. Pretty much bulletproof out of the box, little more then a shift kit and if you really want a good set of frictions is all it will need.

The 700R4 has to be built. The early ones were a total POS. Later got tons of upgrades. Aftermarket makes even more upgrades. Almost every part is upgradable, for a price. Some claim it is the must have due to the lowest 1st gear ratio. But do a little math, divide the first gear by the overdrive and get the spread of ratios. 700R4 (3.06/.75=) 4.08 while the 4R70W (2.84/.70=)4.06. You get the same spread of gear ratios. For the same cruising RPM on the highway you will get the same crawl ratio on the trail. For all this you now have spent tons of money on speciality adaptors for the engine as well as spent big bucks of some sort of transfer case replacment/adaption. If you have to have a built trans and have lots of spare cash it is an option but isn't going to be better then a 4R70W 99% of the time.

So with that break down, 4R70W is what I would suggest. Best control over the gears, bolts right to the small block ford, matches the best spread of gear ratios.

4r70w without a doubt

Now, is there a difference between a 4r70W from a mustang and one from a F150? One for sale locally for $400 that came from a late model mustang. That should bolt right up to a 351 right?

Here is the link to the one for sale. Will this work?

http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/pts/1987161702.html

I don't think that trans is the right one, unless it's from a V6?

Are you in Vegas? I have a 96' 4R that came out of a V6 Mustang(same bell housing as the 5.0) with 7500 miles on it sitting at my parents house in Prescott, AZ. The only difference is 2 clutch disks and 2 steels. You have to rebuild it to add the adapter anyways, so easy fix. If your interested PM me and I'll let you know more... It would likely be worth the trip.

I don't think that one will work. It's from a modular V8 (GT) and uses a 3 bolt starter, the one you need is 2 bolt which will bolt up to windsors. Mine is out of a 98 v6 mustang and it uses the 2 bolt starter setup.