I am in on this. Does anybody have a Wilcap adapter they can lend Lonnie? I will talk to him on Friday. Can we get four or five more interested? This is going to be bigger money up front, but INCLUDES a reman tranny and TQ. You will be buying an OD 4spd auto that will bolt right up.


A slant block to lend would work also. I do not know where he is located, but it is in the East somewhere.

Sam

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here's the thread on the new bell from turbobuicks.com

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/thread ... 4r.402724/

andy

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84 D100 /6 long rod 225
86 D100 /6 my sons w/offy intake/weber carb
2016 buick regal turbo

Sounds a little crazy to me, given that Wilcap has nicely solved this problem, but diversity is good I guess. Depends on how cheaply he can do this.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Now THAT'S how to do it,if Reid can do a Slant bellhousing its a winner in my book!!

Hi akbmotorsports, what an interesting development!
Here is the SlantSix bolt pattern:

Bellhousing bolt pattern

Olaf

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Aspenized

I looked at the link, and it looks as if maybe you (maybe could) can buy the bell separately, and modify your own tranny by cutting off the stock cast bell. I still have more to investigate. If so, then this is a stronger connection to the engine than the standard GM bell with its lower section missing. This would eliminate the need to make braces or rear mounts of some kind.

Sam

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Lou, I kind of agree with you here. You wonder if our small market can absorb two guys working on the same problem. The thing is, I do think Lonnie's solution of a full bell is better technically if he can solve the problems of TQ registration and starter motor placement. And, he is very, very enthusiastic about this project. He seems really eager to work with us. I need to find out more about cost and how he would want to structure the business end of the deal, plus how he plans on going about addressing the above technical issues.


Here are several relevant points:
1.There are not many of us for a number of reasons. That's another thread.

2. Wilcap's solution works, and is done, but kind of goes beyond the skills of some of our members. Not all of course, but the more timid ones. Folks like you will take on nearly any project (almost).

3. A modern, easy to install automatic might expand the ranks of our community. A good trans might make the slant a little more appealing to drive. Someone on this board made the comment that it was the OD transmission that revived the muscle car. You no longer had to choose between good economy, with lethargic performance, or good performance with bad economy. There are tons of guys out there with drivable automatic slant powered cars who might spring for the easier solution, especially if they do not have to cut up their cars.

4. I feel, with you, a certain loyalty to the guy (Wilcap) who spent the time and energy to develop a workable product for us first. There is a part of me that wants to reward that.

5. There is another part of me that wants to reward the guy who develops a better mouse trap. Wilcap never replied to my phone message. Lonnie has been responsive in the extreme, just as his name suggests.

I think this modular bell approach could become "the" next big thing for our slant six community.

What he needs most right now is for someone to loan him an old Mopar adapter plate. He says he will reward that person somehow. I suspect that means a discount on the purchase of one.

Sam

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I went back and re-read the e-mails from Lonnie. I am not sure I understand exactly what his idea is. It sounds as if his approach still uses an adapter, but a full depth one such as the old Mopar one, to bolt the SBM trans bell to. I have just been too busy to actually talk to him by phone. That must happen soon. Andy, can you get an e-mail chain started on this with me please? I wish to find out what you know about this already. My e-mail is spowell786@verizon.net. Thanks.

Sam

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Wasn't there a member here with a foundry? If I recall correctly he was looking for slant six specific products that people would like him to manufacture..... Seems to me a slant specific bellhousing would be a great starting point!

I talked to Lonnie this evening, and here is my summary of the conversation:

Lonnie wants to make reproductions of the Slant to v-8 adapter made by Mopar. He says he will make them in advance in keep them in stock. He needs an original to copy. I think this is the strongest and most flexible set up, especially for those running really strong race cars. The bell in question passes all track requirements for safety. However, it is not a budget way to go. You will still need to buy the bell housing from either him, or someone else, and that will be an additional cost over the Wilcap adapter kit. However, if you buy it all from Lonnie, it will come ready to bolt onto your slant. But the total cost will be quite high by the time you are done. This would be in the neighborhood of $2500 for everything essentially new as compared to around $2100 for the Wilcap adapter and the same tranny. Of course you can go used on the tranny with either. He says he plans on selling the Mopar reproductions by themselves.

The Wilcap adapter kits are an excellent way to go as well, particularly for the price. However there is that gap at the lower part of the stock GM bell which will be a weakness. I have not studied the parts and how they go together, so do not have any ideas about fabricating a brace to strengthen it. Has anybody here looked at this enough to have an idea of how to go about fabricating a brace?

I am going to call Wilcap again, and hopefully make contact with him this time. I may soon start a thread to try and collect names for a second run of Wilcap adapters. We would need at least 4 more names.

Sam

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Interesting. It is my impression that the GN Buick guys run 700-1000 HP through beefed 200-4Rs with that bellhousing gap still there, or maybe with some bolt on brace? I can't imagine any of us will exceed 700 HP and need additional strength beyond that.

Also, he/you should be careful to line up or assess real buyers before he starts producing these plates. Plenty of people will say they are in on it until they see the price tag or actually have to pay for it. There are 11 Wilcap kits out there that allow bolting in of almost any GM automatic, and only one that we know is close to being running (Andy). I think there are a lot of Slant 6/V8 plates out there that are not being used. 4 were made by AndyF at AREngineering.com, and I'm not sure any of those are in use.

Just trying to throw in my real world Slant 6 community experience with group buys and such...

If Lonnie made a bellhousing that would directly bolt a 200-4R to a Slant, that would seem to be more useful (lighter, fewer parts/complexity), but likely is also more work/$$ for Lonnie.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

thanks for the input, much appreciated, but the link is broken.

andy

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84 D100 /6 long rod 225
86 D100 /6 my sons w/offy intake/weber carb
2016 buick regal turbo

Link isn't broken, just need to reset your browser permissions to view, it's just a copy of the bell dimensions out of the Direct Connection/Mopar Performance books so if you have a hard copy flip to the clutches/ manual transmission section.

Cheers,

-D.Idiot

thanks DI, got it.

andy.

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84 D100 /6 long rod 225
86 D100 /6 my sons w/offy intake/weber carb
2016 buick regal turbo

Huh?

Olaf

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Aspenized