c-4 in my 89?

[1Fine89stang]

hey guys , im new to the forum , i just bought my first mustang yesterday knowing that the tranny was beat. It has the aod and i planned to swap in a 5 speed but due to all the extra labor and parts i've been leaning twards an automatic with a ratchet shifter and 2500rpm stall. Is it possible to swap a c-4 into my 89? Would I be better off just rebuilding the aod and adding the stall converter and ratchet shifter? I'm looking for the best solution to my problem , the swap will be done mainly in my driveway so im trying to keep the complications down. thanks in advance!

 

[dragnazz5.0]

well switching to a t5 isnt that hard. but as far as choosing between a c4 and an aod it comes down to what youre going to do with the car. if its a daily driver with regular highway commutes i would stick with the aod but if its a weekend warrior i would go with a c4. really the only difference is the aod has overdrive and a lockup converter i believe. either way youre going to need to use a bigger cooler than the factory one. are you going to be using a manual valve body or an automatic valve body?

 

[1Fine89stang]

I forgot to mention that the car is not my daily driver so i do not care about the gas mileage the over drive will give me , and i plan to run between 350 and 400 hp by the time i am done , thanks again.

 

[OrLackThereof]

C4 will go in, just requires a few modifications, but a lot of guys do it. I'd go with the C4, manual v/b, and a stall converter if you wanna really rock at the strip. AOD's are more expensive and have wimpy gear ratios, and t5's....well theyre just weak as crap unless you get a built one.

 

[1Fine89stang]

The car will be a weekend warrior and i planned on buying a complete c-4 from jegs , the catalog said from 79-82 , does that still mean it will bolt right up to my 89?

 

[dragnazz5.0]

yes it will bolt right up. i had a c4 in my car for a while but had to ditch it do to me having to drive it every day and other reasons. id call up holcomb motorsports and get their shifter plate that goes in the stock shifter location and lets you run the hurst quarter stick or the b&m pro-stick.

 

[1Fine89stang]

Thanks a lot , what kind of modifications are do you mean? I'm sorry about all the questions but this is my first car , i've only worked on trucks before and i've never done a tranny swap. thanks guys.

 

[1Fine89stang]

Thanks a lot , i should start the swap in a couple weeks , i'll post some updates as i go.

 

[dragnazz5.0]

im not sure if you have to do it with the aod crossmember but i know i had to grind off the tack welds on the crossmember so it would slide forward. its not a big deal and takes about 10 minutes with a grinder. you dont have to grind the mount out of the car just grind the welds off of the little tube on each end where it bolts in so the actualy crossmember will move around on the mount. also...if you end up going with the shifter mount from holcomb youre gonna have to do a little cutting with the metal shears to get it to fit. i have no idea why they dont just make it the right size to drop down into the hole.