Thanks, Rob. I'll give Ram a shot.

I almost certainly won't have my clutch installed and broken in within 30 days of purchase...

Dang. I was really hoping I had the "big ticket" items out of the way with the bellhousing and tranny. The more this swap costs, the longer it will take to make it happen.

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vm

Mike at Ram Clutch says he can put a package together with a 10" Mustang disk and slant pp, but it would only be "stock replacement", not "high performance". His quote of $200+shipping is certainly better than Specclutch, but I think I can get stock pieces at Rock Auto for $150.

Any thoughts? Would Ram's "stock replacement" parts be any better quality than what I can get at Rock Auto?

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vm

Mike wants to know if the flywheel can be redrilled for a 10.5" pattern.

I did a search, and I can find lots of references to our flywheels being redrilled, but not many specifics as to what the limits are.

I know I once had one of the aluminum flywheels from the group buy with the Mustang bolt pattern, but I sold that to Joshua. Can a stock flywheel be redrilled to the Mustang and/or 10.5" pattern? Or do I need being looking for a fancy new flywheel, too?

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vm

You cannot redrill the flywheel to the larger 10.5" pattern. There just isn't room. The 10" B&B clutch is already a scalloped cover, is not very strong and therefore a poor choice for high RPM. It does have more torque capacity and life due to the greater radius and added friction material. Greg Ondayko had one explode on him as have others.

Life would be much easier if we had an off the shelf bellhousing to accept the 130-tooth V8 flywheel and 10.5" clutches with the high starter position. Folks have modified Lakewood bellhousings to acomplish this, but it's more of a varsity level project.

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Joshua

<sigh> Thanks, Joshua. I guess it's a stock clutch package for me.

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vm

Curious about the Lakewood b/h mod? Take a V8 app b/h, make it fit the / and add the high starter pocket, or?

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Thom

Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

Look here, Will has one.
http://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php ... &start=135

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

RAM sounds like the way to go. Let's keep this simple. If you don't want to burn the tires off this thing, just get stock Slant 10" PP and stock Mustang GT 10" disc. Try to find a NEW and not rebuilt slant 10" PP. I got all my first clutch stuff at Valley Clutch in Irwindale, CA for about $120 back in 2002. I would think $150-200 is about right these days. Worked great for 2 yrs behind a more build motor (my 64 Dart). Make sure the PP bolts (12 pt) are tight and locktited.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Was just talking to RAM about clutches. Found a 9.25" diaphragm application in their "PowerGrip" series that will be good for up to about 240 ft-lbs (rated "80%" greater than stock, and the engine in question is 135 ft-lbs according to wiki). I do not, yet, know if the diaphragm PP is a bolt-on. I suspect not, however it's BC is very close to stock (1/8" or less smaller BC than stock) and a second set of holes in the flywheel shouldn't be too difficult.

For me it is a great option because it comes with the 1-1/8"-26 disc that I need. P/N is 98890; the kit is currently $334 @ Summit. Which may be more than most want to spend, dunno

Being a diaphragm PP I'm expecting it to be lighter than the B&B PP, which is the direction that I wish to go.

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Thom

Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

Yeah, Lou, based on one of your old posts, I tried to get info from Valley Clutch via email: no dice. I'll eventually get around to calling them. So old-fashioned.

I'll definitely look for a new PP, not a reman. Thanks. I've got a pilot bushing on its way to test fit. And look --- it bolts together!!!



Slowly but surely...

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vm

Good progress.

As for old fashioned... I recall getting Valley Clutch's info by word of mouth from a friend or maybe a parts store. I called them and asked some general questions, then I DROVE over there (25 min), walked up to the window, and got them to hand me a few different parts to look at. Bought what I wanted and drove home. Great guys. I believe one of our site members (1974Duster kev) is using a modified clutch fork and a 65 Mustang TOB (the latter bought from those guys too) that I never used...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Okay, guys. Got a Timken pilot bearing for the T-5. Now I can see how it fits into the adapter. And thanks to Joshua's "refresher" pics, I can see how the bushing presses into the back of the crank. Like you guys said, now that I've bought some parts to test-fit together, it's all making more sense.

I notice that the input shaft just slides into (and through) the pilot bushing/bearing. My question: Is there a specific depth that the bushing needs to ride along the input shaft? Or can it be anywhere along its length, as long as it doesn't reach the point where the shaft starts to widen? It almost seems like the further towards the input shaft the bearing rides, the stronger/more supportive it would be, and that maybe the longer V8 adapter I have might be better.

I'm trying to determine how much leeway I have in having the adapter machined down (and/or if it will even be necessary). The difference between the two input shafts is .67", so that's my baseline, but maybe I should split the difference, .335 or so.

I know, I know, measurements will eventually be necessary to confirm everything. It seems like the big measurement will be to confirm that the input shaft doesn't contact the back of the crank. If so, I guess I'd have to have the end of the shaft trimmed.

Meanwhile, I'm also trying to convince Mike at RAM to let me buy a custom combination of their "Powergrip" clutch kit. It doesn't make sense to me that he's willing to combine stock replacement parts, but won't combine the higher-end parts. Nor can I afford to buy two complete kits and discard the parts I don't need. I gave him part numbers and voiced my frustration, so we'll see what he says, if anything. Otherwise, I'll continue with the stock clutch direction.

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vm

My bet is that RAM does not sell any real hipo parts for the Slant 6, only stock replacement (whatever they want to call them). Then it is only a matter of what Mustang disc you want. Those I believe you can order from anywhere by themselves, in different levels.

I just remembered that Ron Heath (in Maine, /6 racer) recommended clutchnet.com for street or strip Slant 6 clutch solutions of various kinds. Sounded great to me, but I have not followed up. He has been using them for 20 yrs.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Clutchnet lists clutches for the 273ci engines with the 10" pressure plate that are rated for up to 1000 ft torque. These should be a bolt in for the Slant 6 , correct? It would be nice for someone to try one of these.

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Need to call them on the phone. That is what Ron suggested. I will never trust a torque rating after the Spec SNAFU. Need to ask about clamping force, geometry, and materials...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988