Hi all, I have a `66 Mercury Montclair with an FE 390 and 3 speed Merc-o-matic (L,D1,D2) that's in good shape. With the 3.00 rear end gearing, this boat is pretty slow at the green lights. I would love to go lower out back (~3.50), and get a 4 speed auto for the best of both worlds, but with the FE block, everything requires an $800 adapter plate! So instead of getting an AOD/AODE why not a Gear Vendor unit? Although none of this is cheap, it seems to me it would be a lot easier to install the Gear Vendor and price wise, fairly comparable. Anyone see a problem in my logic? Has anybody done this before?
Can you even get a Gearvendor for a Merc-o-Matic? I thought they only made them for C4's, C6's, and small case FMX's. Maybe the FMX unit will work on a Merc-o-Matic, being that the FMX was an amalgamation of and update to both the Ford-O-Matic (Merc-O-Matic) and heavy duty Cruis-O-Matic. That being said, I think the Gearvendor OD is a fine piece, but there are cheaper (not by much) and less space intensive options. I have never seen a new Gearvendor for less than $2800. On my '62 Merc, I sent the Cruis-O bellhousing down to Broader Performance, and Jay built up an AOD tuned specifically for the car. This was about as bolt in as you can get with an FE. Only required a slight relocation of the trans crossmember (AOD mount is about 2 inches further back of the Cruis-O mount). I think I was into this complete setup for around $2200 with a warranty on the trans. It works and drives great. (FYI, I also switched the 3.0 gearset out for a 3.6 center chunk). You are limited to a 10" or smaller torque convertor due to the size and shape of the Cruis-O bell. On my 390 powered '76 F-250. I ordered the Quicktime AOD to FE bellhousing (about $550 - on sale) and cut the bellhousing off an AOD I had under the bench. Now, you need to know your way around a automatic in order to pull this off, as you will have to remove the 2 piece input shaft and replace it with a single piece shaft in order to get it to live behind even a mild FE. This also eliminates the OD lockup capability of the trans. It will also require a custom torque convertor (around $1000) as the Quicktime bell won't fit the stock 12" unit, despite what Holley's (Quicktime's parent company) website says. I used Broader again for a 10.5" torque convertor and single piece input shaft. You may also have to machine the pump face down so the bellhousing ring engages the pump bore to properly line up the bell. I would go this route again, but it took a bunch of trial and error to get it right the first time. I think I ended up pulling the trans 4 or 5 times before I was happy and everything worked properly. AOD with Cruis-O Bell.
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