Explosion-proof bellhousings.....streetable?

I see the Lakewood explosion proof bellhousings for sale occasionally, usually cheaper than a stock bellhousing. Are these ok to run on the street? You just don't see people using them on street driven cars so it made me wonder if they are kinda quirky.

 

If you're running RPM's in the 6000 area, I'd say yes if you like your feet. They don't know if they're on a drag strip or not!

 

Only problem you might run into is that the shatter-proof housings are often bigger than their stock counterparts. You may need to modify your headers, steering, or whatever you have running near your current bellhousing. If you ask me it's worth it. If you've ever seen what can happen when a flywheel lets go you may think so too.

 

No reason not to run them on the street if the car functions properly. They are usually considerably heavier than a stock aluminum housing so you do pay a weight penalty, which is offset by the safety factor. Prosthetic feet can't be as good as origional equipment.

Frank

 

I have an old Aluminum scattershield in my '28.



And I'm putting a cast iron Ansen in this one.

 

The usual issue with scattershields is that the must be dialed in to the crank. They are not very accurate from the factory.

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Would you care to elaborate? I'm not sure I understand how to dial in a scattershield.

 

That's a new one on me as well.

 

What?

 

The transmission registration 'hole' in the bell must be indicated to the crankshaft, and if necessary, corrected, so that it is within 0.007" (TIR) parallel alignment to the crank centerline. Offset dowels are readily available in 3 sizes (0.007"; 0.014"; 0.021") for most applications.
Additionally, the trans mounting surface must also be checked to insure that it is parallel to the back of the block.

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What he's saying is that the bellhousing bores are often not concentric with the the crankshaft centerline, which causes all sorts of interesting problems if not corrected. There are a number of different methods to determine the error and to correct it.

Edit: treed!!

 

Dial indicator and offset dowels. Yep. Standard procedure for any M/P 5spd guy or serious 4spd guy too. Lippy

 

Makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. Guess that would hold true for even a stock bellhousing unless it came from the factory matched to its original block?

 

Yes, always a good idea to check them. Most factory service manuals even have a section devoted to checking bellhousing alignment.

The cast unit like MetalShapes has may be alot better than the hydro-formed units.

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Probably be surprised how many input shaft bushing/bearing and clutch problems were caused and never figured out by goofed up input shaft to crankshaft alignment. Lippy

 

Funny, but I don't think I ever had to change a stock bell housing alignment and I can't recall NOT having to re-align an aftermarket one.

 

Sure it's streetable

 

i have a mcleod blow proof on my falcon. i have been running it for years on the street without any issues. i dont expect to have a clutch or flywheel failure, but i felt its cheap insurance for that one time it might, maybe could happen. it added weight to the car, but its better than loosing a foot. it also keeps me leagal at test n tunes. i will always use one where available just for the peace of mind.

 

I have a Lakewood on my Chevy/Lark. Works fine

 

It was new to me also. Studes were matched to the engine on the line and require dialing in if they are changed to a different engine.

I'd use one of the old Ansen aluminum blow shields on the street even if they are not legal anymore on the track. They have to be safer than a stock aluminum bellhousing. But I'm not a street racer.

 

I ran a Lakewood Bellhousing on my '51 for a number of years. Worked great, came with both the Ford 3 spd and 4 spd trans bolt pattern built into it, so trans swaps were alot easier. I did have to align it to the crankshaft, it was off quite a bit from the factory.

 

I run an old Ansen, same style as the old Chevy truck bells, NHRA approved, how can you go wrong?

Bob

 

XLR8...streetable YES cheaper NO!...POP.

 

I had a Lakewood scattershield in my 69 Nova SS big block car years ago. I also dialed it in. It was not off by more than 2 thousands. When I changed engines ( 454 plus .030 ) I checked it again and it was off 10 or 12 thousands. Same scattershield ... so the difference HAD to be the block.

I changed engine a fair amount back then ( street racing ) and I found the differences to be as much as 15 thousands ... block to block. ALSO ... this was on 4 bolt High Performance BIG blocks. I would imagine that the regular blocks could be off even more

 

Good insurance on any type of car. If you want to be scared not to use one do a search on here for clutch explosions, find the post started by kiwikev and by the time you get through it you will probably want a good flywheel and clutch too!!!!!

 

The thing to remember is this: There were a lot of production tolerances that found their way into the block machining, the stock bellhousing machining, and the mounting surface of the trans machining.

And when all those cars went down the line and were bolted together, they weren't busting out the dial indicator to blueprint each one. They weren't doing it on the 440 6bbl and 426 Hemis either, like some guys think MUST have been the case. They stabbed them in, air-gunned the fasteners, and sent it down the way.

Certainly they can be improved with blueprinting, the same way an engine can be. But billions of engines have driven trillions of miles without being blueprinted.

As for the blow-proof on the street? Sure. LOTS of guys have done it.
-Brad

 

I saw one for $150, that's why I asked.

 

that seems like a fair price. just make sure it hasnt been modified in a way that could comprimise its integrity.

 

Every high reving, high performance vehicle with a clutch should have a blow proof scatter shield. Found a pic of the aftermath of clutch go boom without one. Not sure what is up with the yellow arrow.

 

Arrow looks like its pointing to a camshaft driven fuel pump? A surprise its still there?Maybe for FI..