Manualising a BTR 4 speed auto

Hi,

I'm modifying an Australian Ford sedan. So far this forum has been very helpful (invaluable) re doing something a bit different when supercharging my standard engine (1997 imported Mustang EFI 5.0 Windsor V8) and enhancing my knowledge of fuel ratings and the things to look for when tuning the modified engine.

And as a natural consequence of the potential of considerably more power we figure it good to look at the rest of the drivetrain. We figure the 9" limited slip differential should be up to the task but the four speed auto has a history over here of being the weak link and as such will need some attention. My first thought was to throw it away and replace it with a tough 5 speed manual. The T5 or even a Tremec were my first thoughts despite the rather hefty price tag for a pro job with a fully reconditioned 'box. But then I noticed my darling wife looking a little concerned despite her agreement that a manual box would both suit the theme of the modding as well as engineer out the weak link. When I asked her about it Lynny revealed that it has been many years since she drove a manual and was a little worried about "having to control a supercharged family car and change gears at the same time"

So a manual is now out of the question but I still want to do something different.

I rang a couple places and found out that the BTR 4 speed has potential. The "line pressure" can be increased and the "valving" can be moddified (parentheses because I am unsure exactly how these work) These two mods will, apparently, give the box much firmer shifts with a lot less of the pointless revving under power without a direct response in acceleration that autos are famous for.

Having thought about this I am now wondering if I couldnt go a little further given that the box is, to a fair degree, electronically controlled.

After the general toughening up of the box I thought it would be nice to have two modes to this auto. One, the standard changing pattern thats in it now for Lynny. Two, a manual mode for me.

I see it working like this. Two buttons on the steering wheel. The left for up changes, the right for down. The left button changes up as soon as it is pushed however the right button, when depressed, puts the box into neutral and only when it is released does it then go to the next gear down. This gives me the opportunity to smooth the down shifts with a little blip of the throttle in between (something that we all love doing, yes?) This bears in mind that the valving(?) is pretty hard and will make the automatic downchanges for Lynny a little jerky perhaps. However, my darling wife doesn't care.

What do you think?

Andrew