Want to convert from T5 to auto transmission.

[landmass]

Millsy - Maybe I could order and oil cooler(Cobra has front hole for that) and use it for the auto trans instead of the engine oil, which has never gotten too hot.
G Edmonds - does the tranny "slippage" damage the transmission? Or just heat it up?

[G_Edmonds]

This has been my experience and your car at be totally different as they say. I used the oil cooler opening with a cooler right inside the hole. Bad idea. The problem with that is the tranny cooler won't get enough air flow at slow speeds when it really needs it, unless it's ducted better than mine was.
Keezling brought up a good point about the road course. I've tried running on a course in auto. This track had a high speed curve that my tranny wanted to up shift on. That's not a place that you want to break the rear tires loose.

[Tom Wells]

landmass,

Here's a picture of my shifter: the hat - Club Cobra Photo Gallery

The original 427s that Shelby put automatics in had this shifter - it's a contemporary Mustang unit from around '64-'66 I think - it has been a while. It does have the original appearance and is hooked to a C6, same as the originals. It is intended for a 3-speed auto and would work as is with a small block C6 or C4. Perhaps it could be used with an AOD but might need some tweaks?

As to cooling, I use mine on road courses and it is definitely needed there. Drag racing, I don't know - I would guess it depends on the number of runs you make and how soon after each one the next one happens. If you did one every 10-30 seconds like the road courses require, you'd definitely need a cooler. If there's a half hour or so between runs, probably a cooler isn't needed. After incinerating three transmissions I tend to think a cooler is necessary even for spirited street use. Most street vehicles come with some kind of cooler built into the radiator tank at the least. Owners add them if the vehicle is used for towing and doesn't come with a tow package. They are relatively cheap especially when compared with renewing the trans and converter.

As far as shifting, I put mine in D and go racing. It doesn't upset the car if it downshifts under power - something that seldom occurs. If I'm exiting a really slow corner, the downshift happens at part throttle so it doesn't try to break the rear tires loose. With lots of HP, one gets an education quickly about the meaning of the term "roll on the throttle." If you stomp it you'd need to take a compass reading first so you might have some idea where the snap spin is taking you...

The trans builder can probably take care of the downshift behavior. In drag racing, get a trans brake and see how far you can carry the front tires when you stomp it

As far as the upshift behavior is concerned, mine (and likely most others) behaves like a street car: The upshift speed can vary with throttle position, so if you accelerate gently it will upshift at low speeds. As you increase throttle and load, the upshifts move to higher speeds.

Some of the shift point behavior is adjustable with the "kickdown" lever and linkage found on the C4/C6 - the AOD can be adjusted too I think but I have forgotten how. Sorry. I dimly recall a TV (throttle valve) rod for the earlier all-mechanical version of the AOD - the caveat there was that if you adjusted it incorrectly you were likely privileged to buy another trans.

Whatever you decide, have fun with it!

Tom