Me and a friend were putting together a list of things he was gonna need to swap his AOD out for a 3550. I Know you need the new bell housing, but does the factory starter work with it? Also I know you need a differnt clutch kit for the TKO , but do you for the 3550? Anything else specific to the 3550 I am forgetting?
My factory starter bolted right up to my Tremec 3550. However, it was from a 5-speed equipped car, not an AOD. Buy a 5-speed starter and compare it to the AOD before installation. If they're the same, use the AOD unit and return the new one (just don't use it!) As for the clutch, I bought a Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch for a '90 GT and it works just fine.
On a 5 speed, I needed to break the weld spots on the cross-member too. I'm not familar with the AODs. Stock clutch and starter and flywheel worked fine. I've got ~30k on the 3550 and wish I'd have indexed the bellhousing (seach this board for details). The input shaft bearing is starting to make noise.
v8only, I'm going to check, but, the car has the stock self adjusting clutch mechanism. Is there some trick I'm missing?
yes, actually, you need to get rid of the self adjusting setup, it really sucks. I've got into great detail HERE: http://50stangs.com/techarticles/clutchcableadjustment.html