im learning how to build engines so please bear with me...

well i just pulled out the old 2.8 from my 88rs and i was looking at the 5speed that was behind it and just realized....this wont bolt up to my 406! so blah blah blah now im trying to get a flywheel and all to get everything balanced. heres my problem

is the 400 a 1RMS or 2 =---i think its the 1RMS?
when i get the flywheel, i know it has to match the question above, when i get it i have a choice. 168 or 153? (those #s might not exact) what does the tooth count affect? will i still be able to hook any clutch up to it? i guess im asking what the teeth hook to

basically i just want to hurry up and have a flywheel so i can get this engine balanced. but not being able to use my 88 v6's 5-speed, im not sure what size of flywheel to use. please leave some insight for me.

 

bear with me?........ i need to get back to school

 

The teeth hook up to the starter. That's how the starter turns the motor, by engaging the flywheel with a toothed gear.

I also believe the 400 is a 2 piece rms.

Hope that helps some.

 

first off all 400 scb are 2 piece rear main seals. The transmission you decide on will also effect which fylweel you use. in stock form 400 sbc are externally balance and require a flywheel that is specailly made for them (externally balanced). If you are have the rotating assembly balance then it will take a neutral balanced fywheel. A t-5 or t-56 will take a 153 teeth flywheel. Auto trans (700r4, th350, etc) take 168 teeth. Most 400 blocks also have to have the starter bolt pattern redilled for the 153 teeth flywheel starter. good luck...lots of work ahead

 

you can use a nuetral balanced (non-400sbc) flywheel or flexplate and use a bolt-on balancing plate that run around $12.

 

true....I have one on my aluminuim flywheel....

 

the nuetral balance will have to be the way to go. i don't know which trans im upgrading to other than it being manual. i would like aluminum to be the material of choice, but i wouldn't know which tooth fiting to get? i want to say 153 to cut down on rotating and overall mass, im also guessing that its smaller so it'll fit in more common bellhousings.
why does the t-5 HAVE to have 168? dont i just really have to pay attention to weather it's 10 1/2 or 12 inch flywheel?

is there a way to get my 5-speed from my 88v6 to mate my 400sb? is there a certain bellhouseing that they make for the generation gaps?

 

forget whatever i was typing bout the t-5 HAS to have 168,, i read your post wrong

 

there are plenty of charts online to tell you which you will need.

 

400 sbc uses a 11 inch flywheel. and the tranny you use has nothing to do with the teeth on the flywheel. if you use the 11 inch flywheel, it will not clear a stock t-5 bellhousing. you're looking at getting a lakewood or McCloed bellhousing. which i would want to do anyways, to protect your legs in case things get nasty with your clutch. if you use a t-5, good luck. any tq and it'll grenade. i'd personnally look at getting a newer TKO tremec 500 or 600. 1977 camaros came with 400's and had a 11 inch clutch that also has 1- 1/8 26 spline count clutch discs. that's how i found my clutch. hope i helped at all.

 

First off, you have a 400. If you call it a "406", you'll just end up creating more confusion everywhere you go. Just because the block has had some maintenance, doesn't make it a different motor. Just stick with the stock name for it.

There is an UNBELIEVABLE amount of misinformation in here..... I sure am glad I didn't have to depend on most of these people to get the 400 working along with my T-5, years ago. Fortunately I had been dealing with 400s and flywheels and clutches and stuff since the mid 70s, so I was a bit better prepared than some of them evidently are.

Several things to ignore and forget about:
1. What flywheel a 400 "uses"... it doesn't matter what they came with, it won't apply to one of these cars.
2. Any possibility of a 1-piece rear main seal 400; they're all 2-pc; the 400 motor was discontinued after 1980, and the 1-pc was introduced in 1986.
3. Any possibility that your 6-cylinder T-5 will survive more than one good hard launch.

The facts:
1. You need to get rid of that POS 6-cylinder transmission and bell housing, and get a V8 one. I strongly recommend the so-called "World Class" ones, 88-up. Try to find one out of a TPI car so it doesn't have the grocery-cart 5th gear, but rather the performance one.
2. Without going into a bunch of $$aftermarket$$ bell housings and such, the ONLY flywheel size that will work is 12.8" OD, which has 153 teeth.
3. If your 400 block doesn't have the extra inner bolt hole for the starter that goes with the 12.8" flywheel, GET IT DRILLED BEFORE YOU INSTALL OR EVEN BUILD THE MOTOR. There is NO SUBSTITUTE. Do not make the mistake of believing when people tell you what you want to hear, namely that there's some magic starter that "ought to" work without the correct bolt hole. The problem is, the smaller flywheel requires that the starter be closer to the crank than the larger flywhel does (duh); when you move the starter shaft over far enough to engage the flywheel, you'll find that a bolt that would go in the inner bolt hole that DOES exist on 400 blocks, would have to go RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE of the starter drive in order to work. So unless these people that tell you all about this that or the other starter that "ought to" work can also tell you where to get a bolt that has about a ½" offset in it, ignore them. You'll also notice that the people who tell you that fantasy, have NEVER PUT A 400 IN FRONT OF A T-5. Details. A very few 400 blocks, especially after 77 (the year the new bolt pattern was introduced), will have this hole; the HUGE majority DO NOT.
4. You MUST use the stock V8 bell housing for the car (again, assuming stock and not $$aftermarket$$ parts). A bell housing out of ANY OTHER CAR will not work.
5. Any stock replacement or aftermarket clutch will work, as long as it fits 82-92 Camaro/Firebird V8. It will be a 10.4" clutch, with 1-1/8" OD & 26 splines. No 11" clutch will work.
6. If your 400 has stock rods & crank, it MUST BE used with an externally balanced flywheel. (Unless you spent over $400 on the balance job, in which case you might possibly have bought enough Mallory metal to internally balance a stock crank... which would be an incredibly stupid thing to do.)
7. DO NOT make the mistake of letting someone "custom balance" your flywheel to match your rotating assembly. If you fall for that, then you will be unable to ever swap your flywheel, without disassembling your motor and having your new flywheel "matched" to your "custom" rotating assembly. Instead, have the rotating assy set up to the STOCK 400 SPEC, and your flywheel the same. DO NOT allow your flywheel to exist in the balance shop at the same time as your crank and rods, lest some monkey do himself the favor of screwing you over this way. DO NOT let the shop tell you that they need all that stuff together; THEY DON'T. If they say they can't balance it without it, find another shop.
8. You can use the stock flywheel from a 83-85 V8 Camaro/Firebird, and either have it "unbalanced" by your shop to the stock 400 spec; or you can use a "pork chop" balance weight. There are 2 such stock flywheels, one light (~16 lbs) from L69 and TPI cars, and one heavy (~28 lbs) from low-perf LG4 cars. Get the lighter one.
9. 1977 Camaros didn't "come with" 400s (although people would of course put 400s in them all the time...). They did however use a 11" flywheel, which won't work in a T-5 bell housing. I know because I had a bunch of those cars before these cars came out. Ignore all that about those cars because it doesn't apply to these cars.

If you need the truth about what does and what doesn't work, feel free to ask me any time.

 

wow you people dug this up from the past. I built that 400 almost a year ago and now am on another one. well actually the 'other' one is for sale in the classifieds cause im in college now and cant really afford to build up another motor. unfortunatly...
but thank you sofaking, I wish you were able to answer with that responce the first time around. you would have saved me LOTS of reading. but i guess it was for the better in the end.

 

Thanks for the good word!!!

Out of curiosity, did you find during your build, that I spoke the truth?