Technical Home Built Scatter Shield?

$1000? Peanuts compared to the psychological effect a high speed explosion that caused my brother a lifetime of anguish... in August of 1960.

Hello,

If we could have sped up the timeline, it certainly would have changed our direction in life. The teenage hot rod build for another street/dragstrip dual purpose was on its way in a direction that was making our lives headed for something. The years of cruising around and modifying motors was starting to pay off and we now had some inkling as to what we may have been doing for a possible career.
1960
We had one thing that was a safety item, approved by all racing groups for competition. Behind and above the bellhousing, was a two piece scattershield. The bottom unit bolted on and the curved top portion fit over the bellhousing and bolted on to the bottom plate.

Note:
If you raced after 1964 and did not suffer a horrendous blowout, thank Joe Shubeck.

Jnaki

Here is an old story that hit very close to home for my brother and me as teenagers. With this as a result:

From an old post:
Hello,

We had the unfortunate experience of having a heavy duty clutch with no more than 25 runs with SBC carb motor power to a 671 292 c.i. blower spec motor until it let go. It was after getting to the final elimination race in August 1960. The same clutch company in Long Beach was where all of the local drag racers had gone to get their custom built heavy duty clutch for their race cars. It was a few blocks from our old high school.

It was installed behind a 283 SBC slightly modified motor with 6 Strombergs in our initial 1940 Willys Coupe build. It ran well on the street and for the two months of racing, performed well for a dual purpose modified, street legal coupe. We kept the same drive line for our next rebuild to a larger 292 SBC blower spec motor with a 671 supercharger and again, it performed quite well.

It was an impressive set of elimination rounds. Until the clutch let go just about at the timing lights and a resulting fire caused 3rd degree burns on my brother. The incident was view by a lot of people and we saw it from the starting line, some racers told us later that from their view on the return road, it was horrendous.

Jnaki

If you have a doubt, a solid Lakewood Industries 360 degree steel enclosure has saved plenty of lives after it was on the public market. We missed that development by several years. Our legally inspected two piece scattershield was what was sold at the time to most racers. But, we had a hard time finding all of the pieces (if any) of that scattershield on the track and/or where the Willys was stuck in the fence.

Note 2:
From a previous thread:

...If Joe Schubeck’s invention was around back in 1960, we would still be involved in drag racing for many more years to come. We may have still been in the hot rod industry of some kind. His invention prevented many exploding clutches as strong as the clutch could be made, from flying all over the place. It was able to enclose the remaining parts inside of the 360 degree catch-all metal shield. This was a real “scattershield.”

My hat is off to Joe Schubeck for his ingenious development and that every time I see that red FED, silently, I thank him for saving tons of racers lives from the ravages of exploding clutches and flying metal pieces in all drag race cars. Sorry, you did not invent it in early 1960.

“I had built my own tubular chassis,” explained Schubeck. “that was the first tube chassis in 1958, and then in 1959, I rounded up a bunch of people that wanted them. So, I found myself in business. I called it Lakewood Chassis Company.”

"One of the most difficult pieces to construct was the aluminum transmission bell housing. He knew there had to be a better way to manufacture the part and while visiting a fabrication shop in Cleveland, he learned about a machine called the Hydroform."

"Through persistence and hard work, he developed a die to put in the Hydroform and 20 seconds after the engineer flipped on the machine, Schubeck was holding a gorgeous, seamless, aluminum bell housing. It was a tremendous product. His old friend, Jack Harris knew what it might mean to the industry. Across the country, drag racing was plagued with flywheel and clutch explosions. Chunks of cast iron were flying into the grandstands, blowing cars in half, sometimes proving fatal for drivers and spectators."

“It was obvious that what I needed was to make a bellhousing out of steel,” said Schubeck, “and Jack Harris told me: “If you could make that thing out of steel and it will contain that clutch, you would have a multi-million dollar product on your hands.”

"The catch to developing such a coveted product was that Schubeck was going to have to retire as a driver. He reluctantly stepped away from the cockpit, and the move paid off. Before long, he had two shifts going seven days a week, putting skid loads of new steel bell housings on trucks."

Note 3
Thanks @wheeltramp brian
Our similar unit was purchased at Reath Automotive in Long Beach, CA (similar to the ad below)

The curved, metal scattershield would bolt on to the bellhousing, while the lower plate would go underneath the housing with the provided brackets. When it was installed, it looked like it would withstand a hand grenade explosion. The modified, floorboard was neatly attached back in place and we were almost ready to go racing.

Our scattershield was 1959-60 model that was the standard protection unit for drag racers at the time. A year later, the full 360 degree complete scattershield was made by Joe Shubeck for better protection and safety. by 1964, it was pure safety for all racers with 360 degree coverage.

The dragstrip approved two piece scattershield was part of our build. It had protected us from any problem as installed.

But, the power of an exploding clutch from extreme horsepower, 292 c.i. 671 powered SBC blew that shield to bits. When we looked inside of our 40 Willys , the next day at while it was still wedged into the fence, that shield was nowhere to be found. The drag strip surface cleaner guys said they did not find any big scattershield parts. There was a huge hole in the floorboard of the Willy’s blackened interior.

What we found were bits and pieces of the original bellhousing and other unknown chunks of metal wedged into the dash, the door panels, and other parts of the interior. The discovery was also in addition to the melted seat frame, the now, gone Moon Tank + Foot Pedal and cracked glass and frames.

Did the scattershield do its job? Well, my brother wore a Bell Helmet that protected his head on the jump and rolling in the gravel after the timing lights. So, if the scattershield was not there, it probably would have been worse than it was that evening.

But, a Joe Shubeck 360 degree scattershield would have kept the integrity of the explosion within and not resulting fire and total damage to both car and driver. We were just a few years too early…

Our Willys Coupe B/Gas then C/Gas class:

1960 Lion's Dragstrip

 

Well, taking some precautions are probably better than nothing. Depending on where you draw the line for max RPM, consider as a minimum a SFI rated clutch and flywheel. And while not applicable to your situation or use, just consider the fact that even the good SFI stuff requires periodic recertification. I would shop around for a good used Lakewood style housing, or at least a good hydroformed steel housing. This is an area not to be penny wise and pound foolish if you are going to drive it hard.

 

I had a flywheel explosion street racing my '40 Chevy with a SBC in 1969. Destroyed the floorboard and dash, and
everything in-between. Never ran a stick car without a scatter shield after that happened, regardless of hp.

Check shipping prices at Pirate Ship. Lots of Hambers use it for much better rates.

Free UPS and USPS shipping software | Pirate Ship

 

I know the car is off-topic for this site....but the write-up on the home-built steel bellhousing is excellent and has great photos.
Click on "Bellhousing Fabrication", then
Just scroll about half way down the page, to the point it says "Update #1"

GRANNYSSPEEDSHOP.COM

 

Thread is 5 years old. He should have it sorted out by now.

 

Old thread ? yes, useful info? YES
Plenty of guys running manual trans that perhaps haven't been exposed to 'problems' that have a reasonably easy fix during construction.

 

Could a transmission blanket be adapted and would it work can found for as little as $100

 

1. Got showered at Riverside spectator side with a blown Chevy gaser's clutch let go. It had a 180-degree shield that aimed all the debris at the spectator area. It just peppered the back of my Model A pickup as we were sitting in it and we laid back down and caught some stuff on our shoes.

2. We built our Altered Roadster with a 283" Chevy with aluminum (foam?) engine adapter topped with a 180-degree steel scattershield. It blew the clutch which took out the adapter which made the engine fall down in the rear which made the headers rest on the steering rod which made the car exit to the left into the boonies at Fontana. No one was hurt.

3. A Chevy sedan delivery with a V-8 Olds in it passed inspection at Colton with a flat-black painted cardboard scattershield.

 

I already told him what the problem is back in 2019. Either you take the advice or you don't.

 

A clutch and flywheel explosion will shread a transmission blanket. I played with one by shooting it with different caliber guns up to .45cal acp. 22 short and long did not even slow down. .38 and .357 also went through along with .223 but broke up the sabot. .45acp was stopped but did break some of the strands. With that all said the trans blanket will still stay on my automatic transmissions. Sticks will stay Lakewood scatter shields.
Someone on here posted a Quick Time scatter shield that a clutch had gone through. They are much thinner.

 

I'm about 3/4 of the way through building a HAMB-friendly FED, with a shortie PowerGlide.
My Easter project is an O/T turbo upgrade for my son's car (Nissan manual gearbox, but we'll call it a Datsun ).

The FED has a Stroud SFI blanket, similar to the one above. The IHRA tech inspector was happy with it. The IHRA rules also call for a flexplate shield similar to the one Beaner posted waaaaaay back on the first page of this thread, though the tech inspector did not require it.

I asked the tech inspector whether he would accept a similar SFI blanket on my son's Datsun gearbox. He would not accept the concept, and indicated blankets had been frowned upon for manual transmissions for some years now. I'm about to measure up for a 1/4" home-made plate construction, similar to the ones shown in this thread.

I have no idea why blankets are OK for auto but not manual... could be an IHRA Australia interpretation, or perhaps just that inspector's view.

Cheers,
Harv

 

Thanks guys I was looking for a simple and easy solution. I would think that on the street if your weren’t exceeding factory rpm ,hp and torque you would be ok. So for a Chevy that would be 5500 to 6000 rpm and 450 - 460 hp and similar torque #s Is my thinking correct? That being said I know a Lakewood or equivalent blow proof shield bellhousing would be best however they are spendy.
Dan

 

Harv it might be that an AT and torque converter doesn’t generate as much force and energy during a failure as a clutch and flywheel A 1/4” or so thick clutch sailing around is wicked

Dan

 

...plenty of new guys in the last 5 years...

 

That are installing 429-460's into 57 Fords with a manual and would like a scattershield? Which is what the original thread was about.

 

The thread has morphed into a catch-all for flywheel protection in general, and even some discussion about blankets.
So Yeah, collect some points for being there 5 years ago for the opening posts. I'll even donate mine to ya .....

 

Jesus...

 

You don’t have any points to donate.
The easy answer is to buy a scattershield , either new or used.

 

Whether it be a scatter shield, or a blanket for automatic how much are your feet and legs worth? If you can’t pay don’t play.
Should have a diaper on the engine also but it usually takes spinning out in your own oil once to figure it out.

 

The beauty of these threads even though they start out very specific and do often times morph into a more general discussion is that information is shared. Hopefully the OP got what info he required.This discussion delved into homemade scatter shields along with some who have experienced clutch flywheel failures and the use of SFI equipment. One question I have is when is a scatter shield and/or SFI flywheels and clutches needed. I noted in above post about OEM equipment, during the muscle era there was some fairly serious RPM, HP and torqued generated in many cars, I do not know of any coming equipped with what we consider a scatter shield. IMO anything that helps a fellow hot rodder, customizer or anyone staying safe is a good thing and part of what I believe HAMB is about.
Dan

 

I agree with that however many of us have limited resources, where do you stop? Roll bars, fire suppression equipment, 5 point seat belts, crumble zones, air bags…. etc. Say I have a 55 Chevy with a small block making 375 - 400 hp 6000 rpm red line, 4 speed etc. What safety equipment should be the minimum? Racing on sanctioned track you have to follow there rules which I mostly agree with, and in my opinion is a good guideline for the cars we build a many mostly use on the street.
Dan

 

Lots of factors play into calculations of over RPMing the clutch set up into explosion . My neighbor was going 5 mph down hill on his tractor , he shoves I the clutch to coast for a moment . BOOM blew the clutch to pieces . Steep gear ratio over reeved the disc , blew it into pieces . He still smells of hot poop when near the tractor today ! Just could not explain to him what happened . When I split the cases and he saw the busted parts , he was speechless . Lucky man it was a modern tractor , that had good brakes , to stop the roll .

 

Coming up with outdated belts isn’t a big deal but I think I would draw the line with a sixty year old bell housing and stock flywheel. I would like a TKO 5 speed in my Fairlane but it’s not a cheap option. I haven’t been willing to compromise on safety or quantity of parts to do the project.

 

If you search facebook over a broader area than normal you should be able to find one for about $500. If not, I have given thought to buying one that's available cheaper and has the right (or nearly right) depth and cutting the mounting plate off and replacing it with a homemade mounting plate with the needed mounting points. Does take a little fab ability to get it right tho.............

 

IMO anyone getting upset at this point about resurrecting old threads needs a reality check about what the Hamb is these days. I've been a long time consumer and contributor here. The lack of traffic compared to even 3 or 4 years back is night and day. It's a shame how Facebook groups have replaced forum format. There is a gold mine of info here much of it contributed by members who have passed on. When I added the photos from Hot Rod yesterday, I knew it was an old thread and had no delusion of answering the OP. On the other hand posting them here let's them become part of the Hambs collective knowledge. In that spirit, here is another one I just came across in a June '62 Hot Rod.

 

Nov '62