3-speed standard to AOD swap in a '68

This may get me in trouble on the new site, but go to classicbroncos.com (join if you need too) ask in the forum there or just search. I can tell you the depth of knowledge of Gen 1 broncos is unmatched. They are just as friendly there as here! I have an old 3 speed manual, but moved it to the floor, so I am no help for that.

i did go thru their site in detail, thx for the recommendation Remos69. they do have sections on quite a few transmission swaps. seems like the more YT videos and the more parts sellers and the more forums i look at the more unique, on-off items seem to pop up. so maybe my list, as near-complete as it is now, will be good enough for me to post somewhere for future persons who do the swap.

FLYWHEEL/STARTER ? yes...has to be for a c-4/AOD...ask me how I know. You can use a 2wd Trans.....but you will need the Advance Adapter housing and out put shaft to mate with the Dana 20 ...FOR starters
https://www.advanceadapters.com/pro...ford-bronco-dana-20-transfer-caseadapter-kit/

thx tasker. i'm ordering a 164 tooth flywheel for the AOD. i have a torque converter coming with the tranny. looks like i have a 4x4 tranny so i'm getting the dana 20 adapter for that. what most sites didn't mention is the backing plate where the starter mounts up. so i got that pinned down. and of course a starter. then, i settled on a shift kit, and one or two cables from lokar for the P, R, N, D, etc and the TV cable for the shifting whilest driving. and of course a new cross member, and two locally made, custom driveshafts, and a dip stick and tube. and then a neutral safety switch and a back-up light switch. I should have just bought a 1974 with a C4 in it but I guess I'm in the soup now and I am getting the OD with the AOD. in case anyone is curious - without misc. nuts and bolts, threadlocker, lubes, greases, some tools like a tranny jack - $3,000 minimum. and i probably have to have the dana 20 rebuilt cause there's oil all over the case.

*Make sure the new front driveshaft is a smaller diameter than the original. The driveshaft comes very close to the AOD pan and make sure there are no weights attached to the shaft by the pan.
*If you use a floor shifter, most are cable Operated and you can mount it where you want.
*You can use an auto column as well.
*Make sure the new flex plate is correct balance for your motor.(2 options)
*I would recommend upgrading the starter to a high torque mini style. It’s a simple upgrade, inexpensive and well worth it.
* The AOD has to come apart to replace output shaft with the new one from Advanced Adaptors.(included in the kit)
***Very important to set the TV pressure correctly. If you know someone that has experience with this, it would be wise to get them involved and assist with adjustment.
***If you haven’t purchased the AOD yet, you may reconsider. The 4R70W is a great option. It does require a controller from US Shift, which is an additional cost but does not require tricky TV cable adjustment and has several internal improvements over the AOD. You also have a lot of control over shift points, etc..

I originally had a C4. Upgraded to a AOD, when it went out, I talked to several people and done a lot of research. I made the decision to upgraded to the 4R70W. It works great and I have no complaints.

Hope this helps.
Good luck.

Joe Bronco

thx tasker. i'm ordering a 164 tooth flywheel for the AOD. i have a torque converter coming with the tranny. looks like i have a 4x4 tranny so i'm getting the dana 20 adapter for that. what most sites didn't mention is the backing plate where the starter mounts up. so i got that pinned down. and of course a starter. then, i settled on a shift kit, and one or two cables from lokar for the P, R, N, D, etc and the TV cable for the shifting whilest driving. and of course a new cross member, and two locally made, custom driveshafts, and a dip stick and tube. and then a neutral safety switch and a back-up light switch. I should have just bought a 1974 with a C4 in it but I guess I'm in the soup now and I am getting the OD with the AOD. in case anyone is curious - without misc. nuts and bolts, threadlocker, lubes, greases, some tools like a tranny jack - $3,000 minimum. and i probably have to have the dana 20 rebuilt cause there's oil all over the case.

Joe, don't hesitate to reach out....are you comfy doing this your self? A real Bronco Brother and super nice guy has a transmission shop in CT and could do it all....Basal's Transmissions in Glastonbury, CT.

glad u asked. no, i'm not too comfortable but i already have the body up quite high off the frame. so moving this truck now would require me to put it back down. i have the 1" body lift kit to go in. am hoping to por 15 the frame and hit the underbody with some paint while the body is up high. i have a neighbor who has done quite few car rebuilds so he agreed to look over the harder parts with me. like lining up the torque converter with the flywheel as i move the new tranny to the engine. also have a local transmission shop to do the adapter, etc. they repaired the NP 205 on my Gen I Blazer. so if it gets hairy though - will have to put down the steel tools and use the check book tool :(.

shobronco

*Make sure the new front driveshaft is a smaller diameter than the original. The driveshaft comes very close to the AOD pan and make sure there are no weights attached to the shaft by the pan.
*If you use a floor shifter, most are cable Operated and you can mount it where you want.
*You can use an auto column as well.
*Make sure the new flex plate is correct balance for your motor.(2 options)
*I would recommend upgrading the starter to a high torque mini style. It’s a simple upgrade, inexpensive and well worth it.
* The AOD has to come apart to replace output shaft with the new one from Advanced Adaptors.(included in the kit)
***Very important to set the TV pressure correctly. If you know someone that has experience with this, it would be wise to get them involved and assist with adjustment.
***If you haven’t purchased the AOD yet, you may reconsider. The 4R70W is a great option. It does require a controller from US Shift, which is an additional cost but does not require tricky TV cable adjustment and has several internal improvements over the AOD. You also have a lot of control over shift points, etc..

I originally had a C4. Upgraded to a AOD, when it went out, I talked to several people and done a lot of research. I made the decision to upgraded to the 4R70W. It works great and I have no complaints.

Hope this helps.
Good luck.

so i just looked into the 4r70w - seems there are more of these available, and they look a little less expensive. do u know if the controller will work with the original autolite 2bbl carb or do i have to swap out the carb?

There is no connection to the carb.
No kick-down
No TV cable

If you decide to go with the 4R70W you may want to call US Shift and get there input on what to look for. The newer versions have more upgrades. They should be able to give you specifics.

shobronco

There is no connection to the carb.
No kick-down
No TV cable

If you decide to go with the 4R70W you may want to call US Shift and get there input on what to look for. The newer versions have more upgrades. They should be able to give you specifics.

well, my timeline is in good shape so i'm gonna call them. if i can get a newer tranny, with more features then i'm gonna try to do that. many thanks for bringing it up. if i can get some pics in here i'll try.

I agree that you should look into the 4R70W and call US Shift for their recommendations. I have had an AOD in mine for about 15 years and have never had any problems with it, however I would like to be able to program the shift points (I believe the US Shift Controller allows this). Mine has always had a hard shift from 2nd to 3rd but again I have never had any problems so I got used to it.

Some things that I remember from the swap:

• You won't make it into O/D with stock gears unless you have very small tires. With 33" tires I installed 4.88 gears and like the drive ability. I could have gotten by with 4.56 but I thought I would potentially upgrade to 35" tires some day.
• I modified the existing cross-member by cutting out a small notch.
• Flexplate is matched to the motor as mentioned above. (28.2 oz or 50 oz). Must confirm 100% or possible engine failure if mismatched.
• Don't forget to remove the pilot bearing from your motor before trying to mate up the auto. Ask me how I know. Luckily I didn't damage anything!
• I bought the D20 from Advance Adapters and at the time their kit only worked on 2WD transmissions and as mentioned above the AOD has to come apart to replace output shaft with the new one.
• I went to junkyard and purchased a TV Cable and bracket off a big Ford/Lincoln car as I didn't trust the aftermarket TV Cables. There are several online videos on how to set it up and I have never touched mine since day 1.
• However, the AOD was bolting up to a newer 5.0 engine so I wanted the factory brackets to avoid fabricating anything.
• I believe there are two starter options. One for manual and other for auto transmissions.

hey brumby - many thx for this list. our tires wil be 31". i'm buying the new cross member. your bullet #4 on the pilot bearing i didn't see in any video or article so definitely grateful you put that in here. my tranny will be ordered as 4x4 version. i do expct to get a new starter. if i can i'll get some pics up here. i have everything prepped to remove the 3-speed standard this weekend. thx again for your detail here.

I recently installed an AOD built by Gearstar in my 67 and have not regrets. Wish I had done it sooner. I considered the 4R70W but decided to avoid the electronics and keep my build simple. I run 4.11 gears, 33" tires and fairly stock 302 and have no problems in overdrive. I have great throttle response and can cruise 75 all day long. Here are the changes I had to make for the conversion. I already had a 2" body lift installed, which really helped make this conversion easier.

1. Used a 28oz 164 tooth flexplate
2. Swapped my long tube headers for shorties and routed the exhaust to clear a bell housing boss and trans pan
3. Installed smaller diameter 2" front drive shaft to clear transmission pan
4. Shortened rear drive shaft about 1.5"...I think
5. Installed Advanced Adapter for D20
6. Installed twin sticks made for the AOD and Advanced Adapter. I did not have to cut the floor for this install.
7. Installed Lokar shift rod
8. Installed Lokar TV cable
9. Installed Lokar trans oil flexible dip stick
10. Installed AOD connector for backup lights and neutral safety switch
11.Used an AOD crossmember from Tom's

I am very happy with this conversion and my Bronco drives great.

I sent my D20 to Gearstar and they assembled it to the AOD and tested everything together before shipping to me. They put about 100 miles on the transmission during the test.

Joe Bronco

so i just looked into the 4r70w - seems there are more of these available, and they look a little less expensive. do u know if the controller will work with the original autolite 2bbl carb or do i have to swap out the carb?

The controller will work with a carb.

67LUBR

I recently installed an AOD built by Gearstar in my 67 and have not regrets. Wish I had done it sooner. I considered the 4R70W but decided to avoid the electronics and keep my build simple. I run 4.11 gears, 33" tires and fairly stock 302 and have no problems in overdrive. I have great throttle response and can cruise 75 all day long. Here are the changes I had to make for the conversion. I already had a 2" body lift installed, which really helped make this conversion easier.

1. Used a 28oz 164 tooth flexplate
2. Swapped my long tube headers for shorties and routed the exhaust to clear a bell housing boss and trans pan
3. Installed smaller diameter 2" front drive shaft to clear transmission pan
4. Shortened rear drive shaft about 1.5"...I think
5. Installed Advanced Adapter for D20
6. Installed twin sticks made for the AOD and Advanced Adapter. I did not have to cut the floor for this install.
7. Installed Lokar shift rod
8. Installed Lokar TV cable
9. Installed Lokar trans oil flexible dip stick
10. Installed AOD connector for backup lights and neutral safety switch
11.Used an AOD crossmember from Tom's

I am very happy with this conversion and my Bronco drives great.

I sent my D20 to Gearstar and they assembled it to the AOD and tested everything together before shipping to me. They put about 100 miles on the transmission during the test.

View attachment 634

wow, thank you for the comprehensive list. I am removing the 3-speed tomorrow so i still haven't ordered any AT yet. i currently have the body suspended 6" above the frame so that is really helping the first part. if it's not rude, would you share the cost of buying the AT, shipping it to and fro Gearstar and their assembly?

AOD or 4r70w, you'll be happy with the outcome. Two other things I didn't see listed you need to check.

1. The Torque Converts come with different bolt spacing. I think they were 10.5" and 11". Make sure your new flex plate will line up with the torque converter bolts before you get everything in place and find you can't get them to line up.

2. Measure the drive shaft lengths after getting the new trans in an bolted. The overall length of your new setup can vary from 1.5" to 3.5" longer depending on the adapter used. I used the 4x4 AA adapter with the 4x4 4r70w I used and the overall length was 3.5" longer than original C4 setup.

Fitz24

AOD or 4r70w, you'll be happy with the outcome. Two other things I didn't see listed you need to check.

1. The Torque Converts come with different bolt spacing. I think they were 10.5" and 11". Make sure your new flex plate will line up with the torque converter bolts before you get everything in place and find you can't get them to line up.

2. Measure the drive shaft lengths after getting the new trans in an bolted. The overall length of your new setup can vary from 1.5" to 3.5" longer depending on the adapter used. I used the 4x4 AA adapter with the 4x4 4r70w I used and the overall length was 3.5" longer than original C4 setup.

thank you Fitz24. Your torque conv / flex plate item was surely missed by me. For the two driveshafts, we have a firm that comes to your house to measure it all up then they make them at their shop. good friend of mine here who puts LS's and LT's in old Chevy's says it's a few hundred per shaft.

A lot of good info here. There is no way I would go with the AOD over the 4r70w. The 4r internals are much better than the junk parts the AOD was built with. It was stated that the 4r internals will go into the AOD case. They will but spent the money for the computer you will like it for the programing alone. Or just find a v8 explorer 4wd and swap it all. The explorer ecu will run it all. Plus you will get the fuel injection.

Bax

A lot of good info here. There is no way I would go with the AOD over the 4r70w. The 4r internals are much better than the junk parts the AOD was built with. It was stated that the 4r internals will go into the AOD case. They will but spent the money for the computer you will like it for the programing alone. Or just find a v8 explorer 4wd and swap it all. The explorer ecu will run it all. Plus you will get the fuel injection.

thank you Bax for the add'l info. It's pretty much locked in stone I'm ordering a 4R70W. would be nice to try to get the Explorer engine and tranny and the EFI but this is for my daughter and she wants to be in and driving by end of Summer. I'm going to be putting up a lot of pics over the next 8 weeks because we're ramping up next week on her Bronco.