Man, how I love this forum! You folks are great! Okay, now that we have established that the 1980 slant six will bolt up to the three speed manual in my '61 Belvedere, here is my next round of questions:

Will the OLD flywheel from the aluminum block have the SAME BOLT PATTERN as the one on the 1980 engine? We are assuming that the flywheel from an engine that had an automatic tranny will NOT work on a three-on-the-tree gearbox (the 1980 engine came out of a Cordoba).

If the OLD flywheel will indeed work, will the old "direct drive" starter also work on the new engine since the gear head is different than with the later high-speed starters?

If neither the old flywheel or starter can be used and I need a new flywheel like the 1968+ that was recommended, does anyone know where I can get one?

Thanks so much! And HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

The bolt pattern on the crank is the same, the problem Hantayo had pointed out is the center hole that fits on the ridge on the back of the crankshaft... the hole was smaller in 1960-1967...then it was widened (along with the crank journal) in 1968...

So your options here are:
1) Take the flywheel to machine shop have the center hole bored out to fit 1968+ crank journal.
2) Use 1968+ flywheel and make sure newer style starter will work with your bell housing...then acquire both.

Probably easiest choice at this point, since you already have the starter and flywheel is to go with #1.

-D.Idiot

The only starter-compatibility factor is the tooth count and overall diameter on the flywheel ring gear; it's different for direct-drive vs. gear-reduction starters. Any slant-6 starter will bolt to any slant-6 bellhousing, so that's not a problem; you just have to use the correct starter-to-bellhousing "seal" (sheetmetal piece with two bolt holes and one starter nose hole which is a different size and located differently for the direct-drive vs. gear-reduction starter). There are some wiring mods needed, and a starter relay must be installed, if you change from the direct-drive to the gear-reduction starter.

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