Guys, i can't find a one piece rear main block cheap, so I plan on stuffing a pre 86 350 into my '89 Iroc. Any ideas on where to get an '85 flywheel for a decent price? I know thats a/b the only thing i'll have to change. Any other pointers or knowledge from one's own swap would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

a flywheel from any 87 and up sbc will work as long as its the same number of teeth.. i beleive 168 is what you need... and around here there are plenty of vans/trucks in the junk yards, many with the engines laying on the ground, flywheels attached so you dont even have to pull it... also i've heard 87+ 4.3's flywheels will work too, anyone want to confirm this? im just not sure if they are balanced the same

 

it's a t5 car, so when i say flywheel, i mean manual trans flywheel...not flexplate. I can go two routes; find an 87-up 350 to build, or find an 85 t5 flywheel and install an older engine.

 

Every single word in the previous post is wrong. There's not one correct fact in it. Ignore it.

What you need is a flywheel from a 83-85 T-5 Camaro or Firebird. It will have the 85-back crank bolt pattern that fits 55-85 blocks; and it will be 12-3/4" diamter with 153 teeth. No other flywheel will work, except possibly for 85-back 4.3 Astro van ones. No 87-up flywheel from anything will work. No 168-tooth (14" diameter) flywheel will work.

Check the classifieds on this site, there's usually some on there.

 

RB83, I've got an early (68 or 69) 350 I've rebuilt. I've been told that the early (like pre 75) small blocks starter bolt holes were drilled different, is this the case? If it is would I just need a starter for a 69 camaro to make it work in my 92 car?

 

The starters are different. The older blocks were set up for a 14" flywheel, but the newer ones use the 12-3/4" one; 1-1/4" different diameter, therefore the one for one of these cars locates the starter one-half of that distance closer to the crank, or 5/8". It is not possible for a starter for a 153-tooth flywheel to bolt to an engine without the late-model bolt pattern, because in order for that to happen, the inner starter bolt would have to go RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE of the starter drive.

It will bolt right up if you have the inner hole drilled in your block though.

Or, if you're using an auto trans, you could use a 14" flex plate, and it would all at least bolt up. However that may give you problems with header clearance, since the starter is much larger, and also would sit 5/8" farther from the crank.

 

Thanks RB, so if I'm understanding you correctly I would only need to drill the block for the inner bolt of the starter and use the existing outer bolt hole? This would allow me to use the newer starter and 153 tooth flexplate?

 

Yes, that is correct.