I have a big problem. I am installing a motor in a 90 rs camaro. The old motor in the car was a 305 with a t5 trans. The new motor is a 4 bolt 350. The problem is my buddy got a flywheel and clutch for a truck. The clutch is a 26 spline 11 inch. When I went to inistall the trans, first the starter, so I took it off. Then tried again and the bellhousing is hitting the teeth on the flywheel. My ? is does anyone know were to get a bellhousing the will fit? And if so what kind of car/truck to get it from, or do I have to get a lakewood?

 

Your truck flywheel is a 168 tooth. You need a 153 tooth flywheel for a Camaro or Firebird V8. You also need to know if your 350 is a one-piece or two-piece rear main seal and get the appropriate flywheel.

 

The rear main is a two pice that is why my buddy got that flywheel, clutch, and starter. The reason I am asking is the flywheel is an alumin. and the clutch goes with the flywheel. The motor was balanced to this setup internally, so that is the reason I am looking for a bellhousing. The motor is a big dollar motor that is pushing over 600 hp at the fly.

 

Unless the machinist that balanced it screwed you, you can change the flywheel without affecting the balance.

 

The motor was internally balanced and they used mallory. Most people use steel flywheels and they have weight add on the engine side of the flywheel. The reason for the problem is the motor was sold and the person that tried to put an auto behind it and the engine would not run right. It cause the whole car to vibrate. Found out the machine shop told him to bring it down so the could check it out. They said because the motor was internally balanced for that exact flywheel/clutch setup. They ended up tring the old clutch setup and trans and the problem went away. That person sold the motor to my friend is a close friend. The machine shop that assembled that motor only builds race engines for drag racing. They have built about 10 of my motors and never had anything go wrong do to their work. That is way my trans am is still on the street and pass smog with over 600 rwhp.

 

That flywheel will not fit in that bell housing, period.

You have NO CHOICE but to get the right flywheel and clutch, if you want them to fit that bell housing.

There is no reason to use Mallory metal to balance a 350. NOBODY does that. A 350 will balance internally with the stock crank metal. Something is DEEPLY FISHY about this whole story.

Ever wonder why I tell people all the time to NOT do what that motor had done to it? Well now you know.

What needs to happen, is for the motor to be disassembled and all the bottom end moving parts EXCEPT THE FLYWHEEL AND CRANK DAMPER sent out to be balanced, TO THE STOCK SPEC, not some "custom" "matched" job; and then you'll be able to just bolt up a STOCK flywheel to it and use it.

The machine shop's customer base and your other motor, unfortunately, don't affect this issue very much.

 

if he could find a 67 and older gm truck he could use the bellhousing from it they were all 168 tooth but were iron bellhousing, and you have to grind a little iron out of the way for the starter nmose cone to clear but its no big deal

one of these bellhousings would be dirt cheap in a bone yard, and be all over the place in cali, common

but it has to be 67 and older only, as 68 and up were larger bearing retainer hole in the housing, too big for the later trannies(car)

SM420 granny 4 speed floor shift top loaded 1947-67 years

and the SM318 three speed non synchronized(column shift) were the smaller bearing trannies 1967 and older

the SM326 is a little bigger three speed(also column shift)

and the CH465 was the 68-up 4 speed granny floor top loader shift trans that replaced the SM420

this bellhousing would work fine and be strong at the same time

 

...all fine except for the fact that he would then have to fab up a custom clutch linkage set-up to try to retro fit a non-3rd gen bellhousing into a 3rd gen. Plus, the 3rd gen trans are all designed for the 'sideways" mounting position, thus the shifter would pock through the floor beside the passenger seat, pointing toward the door.

Sofa's correct. There is no reason for any machine shop to balance an internally balanced motor specific for a flywheel. The flywheel and balancer should match, the rest should be stock spec, thus enabling you to bolt up whatever flywheel is needed for your application.
- As stated though, a 168 flywheel will not fit our stock bell, and an 11" clutch will not fit the smaller 153 tooth flywheel. - Also, if they were running an engine that was out of balance bad enough to have a noticable vibration, the motor needs to be torn down and the bearings need to be checked.

 

And absolutely NONE WHATSOEVER of that truck stuff will fit the car. And, none of it is even the least bit appropriate for a performance or racing application; it's all TRUCK stuff. That's why it's dirt cheap: nobody can relaly use it for anything, except somebody with an old truck.

In order for the torque arm to bolt to the trans, the trans has to be the one out of one of these cars (with the TA mount). All of them are rotated to the driver's side about 18° or something. The only BH that does that, is the one for these cars. The BHs for these cars, are all only the one size. That size BH only accomodates the small flywheel.

This is why I constantly tell people NOT TO LET the machine shop do what this shop did to this guy: basically they screwed him. I hope he got that motor for free.

I'd also still like to hear about why they put Mallory metal in a 350 crank. Something tells me there's more to this whole deal than we've been told, up to this point.

 

The motor ha been rebuilt once and torn apart and inspected once. This engine was balanced with the idea of turning over 10,000 rmp. The engine only has seen about 9,000 rpm. My friend that had it put together wanted to have the least amount of weight possilbe. The setup will do it no problem, and the clutch setup is a twin disk so that it will handle the motor. It looks like it is going to be a lakewood, or mcleod bellhousing after all. I really didn't want to do that cause he will be changing the transmission when the new one is ordered.

 

I'm somewhat confused here the last time I checked all chevy motors from the straight six to a big block had the same bellhousing excluding the small v-6's the only difference I've ever seen in one is the starter nose cone recess area and you can change to a different starter on any small block, are you sure that your clutch disk is alligned properly or that you don't have a tranny meant for a small v-6, My 700r4 was originally off of a 305 w/ the 153 tooth flywheel and it now has a 168 tooth setup on it I had no problem putting it together. Unless theres an incredible downhill slope to the back of that bellhousing that would not permit your big clutch setup I can't see why it wouldn't work. Do you have the right clutch fork, throw out bearing, and check your disk allignment and your input shaft bushing in the end of the crankshaft there are two different sizes. Good luck

 

Not to be cruel, but....

That was spoken truly like someone who has NO CLUE what they're talking about, and has never actually worked on one. There's ALOT of difference between a manual bell housing and an auto one.

The reason the large clutch won't go in the T-5 BH is because the bottom of it, behind the oil pan, is too small; it's not a question of "slope", but rather one of the DIAMETER. Sure, the part where it bolts to the motor is the same; but that doesn't mean the WHOLE THING is the same.

 

O.K. I stand corrected, I haven't laid eyes on one for a couple years and forgot they are a full circle bellhousing I'm used to seeing the older 4speed bellhousings that pretty much resemble an automatic. Anyhow that t5 ain't gonna handle that 600 horse engine for very long anyhow, so I'm gonna leave it at that. Theres my two cents.

 

Just tring to get it to the smog shop, and be able to move it from time to time. A built t-56 is going in it when I find a sfi approved bellhousing for my car. The trans will take awhile for the company to make anyways, plus I need a core.

 

Also, the reason a truck bellhousing won't work the same as a car 4-speed type bellhousing is that the bearing retainer hole is larger on the truck bellhousings. All V8 automatics can use either the 153 or 168 tooth flywheels IIRC, but the manual bellhousings are specific for either a 10 1/2" clutch/flywheel or an 11" clutch/flywheel. A lot of the trucks even use a 12" clutch. Check ebay sometime to see what prices the famous "621" 11" 4-speed bellhousings go for. The 10 1/2" ones, and the truck ones are a dime a dozen compared to them.

 

Well if thats the case I would just saw the bottom of the bellhousing off so it will clear the flywheel, but then it won't be good for a core, unless ya tell'em it broke like that, then take your new tranny and run and hide!

 

Sounds like you'd be a shoe-in for a show like "The Shadetree Mechanic".

 

Well ya gotta do what ya gotta do!