[fox81]

I've got the 3spd auto its good but would love to have a couple extra gears. I don't do a lot of highway driving. A little bit but not enough to call it a highway car. I know I can probably get one out of any fox body and it will work. But I have the shifter on the colum and I don't want to cut a hole in the floor.

Will the transmisson bolt up to my 2.3 with out any major surgery? Also what about my linkage from the shifter to the tranny? Plus will I have to change my rear end?

[74stang2togo]

well, the AOD won't fit because it's a V8 bellhousing transmission, and the bellhousing is part of the transmission case. The A4LD transmission will bolt to your engine, but without the computer and proper TV cable, it won't function properly, and I'm not sure about driveshaft length.

[b_chandler]

Ford used two different crossmembers in two different locations to mount the A4LD and T5 in the Fox Mustangs and two different driveshafts to boot, but I can't for the life of me recall which configuration the C3 used.

If you get all of that worked out, then you can focus on the column shifter. If you've ever disconnected the column shift from the trans and moved it back and forth, you'll notice that there aren't any detents that hold the column shifter in place like a floor shifter has. The column shifter moves smoothly back and forth. That's good news. If you can adapt the column linkage to the A4LD (which I don't think is a problem), you'll be able to operate the transmission. Depending on how much travel you have in the shifter and how much travel it takes to work through the entire shift pattern, you may or may not be able to reach Low 1. No big deal unless you're one of the 1% that actually use it. Your indicator on the dash may be a little off, but I think it's safe to say we all know where the gears are on an automatic.