Hey guys!!! I am working on by 62 bel air. Right now it has a decent 350, a Saginaw 4 speed and a 9 inch with 3.70 gears. Some of my friends and I am building cars with 4 speeds to, HOPEFULLY this summer, do some grudge racing at are nearest drag strip. I have a T-10 with proshifted liberty gears that I plan on running, I am wondering about a clutch and flywheel. I have 2 flywheels, one is the large 12 inch and the other is the smaller 10.5 inch. For the large one I have a 12 inch center force duel friction clutch. or the smaller I have a stock NAPA clutch. Which would you run? Or is there another clutch other than $$$ Mcload, that would be better? Also, any other tips or things you would do to build a FAST 4 speed car????? Without breaking the bank????
Well here is my thoughts on a big clutch/flywheel. I would think a bigger flywheel would need less RPM at launch to prevent a bog due to the larger mass. BUT would that also hit the tires harder and be harder on parts. Not that drag racing a stick is ever easy on parts.
Congrats on your friends building manual cars and not being a pussy leaving it in drive. What track u run at? I run a spec 3+ clutch in my ride. I know others with the same and they like it also.
Are you planning on cruising the car too? My '65 Biscayne ran a 500 hp 454 and a Richmond 6 speed. 3:27 first gear and a .76 sixth gear. With a 3:42 rear, I had the best of both worlds. I ran a McCleoud street and strip clutch which was tiring in rush hour traffic.
I love 4-speeds, nice to see that many builds still include the third pedal. Below is what RAM has to say about flywheels which is a large part of your selection. The size of your motor and horsepower level is a factor as well. If running a mild say 300 or so HP small block and 3.50 gears a heavy wheel a 10" clutch would be fine. Running a BBC and 600 HP in a light car and you dont need a heavy wheel but more clutch would be better. Ram Clutches The flywheel is primarily an inertia device. As the flywheel spins it stores energy or inertia that helps move the mass of the vehicle as you engage the clutch. Factory flywheels are designed to apply the optimum amount of stored energy to provide good drivability for the vehicle. Vehicles with smaller engines have relatively heavy flywheels due to the extra inertia needed for a smooth transition to engagement. Reducing the weight of the flywheel, while increasing performance, could reduce the drivability of the vehicle. Under racing conditions, the flywheel weight can be used to control the inertia applied to the drivetrain. For instance, if a vehicle tends to ‘bog’ upon engagement of the clutch, increasing the flywheel weight will increase the inertia needed to launch the vehicle smoothly. Too much flywheel weight may cause excessive inertia to be applied, causing the tires to spin. Reducing flywheel weight under this condition will reduce the inertia applied to the vehicle and allow smoother acceleration. Aluminum flywheels are used in drag racing high horsepower applications which require the clutch to slip as the vehicle leaves the line. Steel flywheels are used primarily in street driven vehicles. Other load factors can effect flywheel selection, such as rear gearing or transmission gearing. With the abundance of gearing choices available today, it is possible to use almost any flywheel if the proper selection of gears is made. This was not always the case – in the 70’s when the gearing choices were not available, racers had no choice but to use the flywheel weight to control the vehicles on launch. It is more efficient to use a light flywheel and proper gearing than to use tall gearing and a heavier flywheel. <?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O></O>
You only left one thing out of the 4-speed equation, and that's the need for a scattershield. I'm guessing you have that covered, or will be addressing that. It's bad enough to tear up your car when a flywheel/clutch lets go, worse yet when your feet/legs are involved. I have an old R.C. Industries cast steel, 2 piece unit, and two Ansen's, one cast steel, one in the aluminum alloy. Not as good as a current, hydroformed scattershield, but better than a stock bellhousing. The R.C. Industries unit has all these marks and gouges on the inside, but is completely intact; it obviously did it's job somewhere along the line. Butch/56sedandelivery.
Smaller clutch will be cleaner shifting, weigh this with required holding capacity to decide on the clutch for you. Modern clutches do not require the pedal pressure from yesteryear. With todays friction material you can have the best of both worlds.
Yes, I have a scattersheild. And yes this car will see street time, but I tend to build for the strip and learn to deal with things on the street. I was also wondering about rear end gears. I will probably run the 3.70s for now but maybe switch to 4.56 or 4.88s ? I used to race an OT Chevelle with a 4 speed, and had lots of problems, I am just trying to avoid them this time around.
Glad to hear you're using a can, a flywheel is like a grenade when it comes apart. Heavy car, small block I'd run the big clutch with the heavier flywheel. Love to see a pic!
I found the greatest gains when building my last one (o/t 66 Mustang),by just being obsessive about basic,yet very detail oriented stuff like: -make sure shifter linkage is adjusted with zero slop,almost to the point of preloading it,so that shift feel is very solid and direct,with no slop or slack to waste motion when you're banging gears.Also,use the steel bushings in your shifter kit,never the nylon ones,even for a street car. -set up clutch linkage and z-bar nice and tight,and grease all pivot points,also inspect all wear points on the linkage,and fab and install bushings if necessary to tighten things up and smooth out the action.Add additional springs if necessary to keep the linkage nice and firm at all times during clutch engagement and release,especially when done rapidly. -take your time when setting up and adjusting your clutch so that it releases early in the pedal travel,but make sure you don't over-do it with the preload to the point that it slips under power -I also installed a solid motor mount on the driver's side to keep the motor located so that the linkage wasn't going all over the place,and throwing all those hard earned tricks and adjustments completely out of whack when you get on the power -use a serious high quality clutch.I used a Ram sintered metal disc on the last one and it is really nice,and will hold anything my hot little Ford can throw at it,even with slicks My car shifted so fast that people on the street used to think it was an automatic until they looked inside and saw that big white cue ball on the end of the shifter. Also,all this is going to be for nothing if the synchros are shot in your trans,so make sure you have a real good transmission guy go through it before you use it and get frustrated. Just be prepared to work the bugs out of the setup and you will be fine. Fine tuning and attention to detail are all that separate an average stick car from one that is really great to drive. Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Lots of good advise here. Sounds like you have a fun plan going. Only thing I didn't see mention of was axles & studs. Don't skimp there if you're planning on hammering that thing often. Especially with some meats that will hook it up.
I'm running a pretty basic, inexpensive setup in my Falcon. A BBC 464 c.i. engine, around 500hp with a Super T10 4 speed. A 11" steel flywheel, with LUK-Schaeffer clutch/pressure plate designed for an LS7 454 Chevelle. 3.73 rear gears, with 10"x30" slicks. Lakewood bell. I drive more on the street than the strip, but at the track it hooks well with no slippage. It was a very affordable clutch kit, and I'd get it again if I ever needed one.
With an x frame car, you are going to have to pay close attention to chassis set up and driveshaft if you are running the stock set up.
HEY, great info everybody!!! Powershifter, I have a pro shifted super T-10 that I am going to use, no need for syncros. I also have a proshifted top loader I may use but it would need me to shorten the drive shaft. But speeking about the drive shaft. I have been working on my own drive shaft. I am using parts from chevy pickup 2 piece shafts so that I have a slip yolk AFTER the hanger bearing. I have a new NAPA hanger bearing but I was wondering, now that the "slip" is after the bearing, the rubber no longer needs to move in and out, should I replace the rubber with something more stiff or just leave it?
Check out Inland Empire driveline. They have a driveshaft they sell that is pretty much what you are describing, all 1 ton truck stuff. I think that is how they do it. They also have a couple variations on the carrier bearing, that are encased in Polyurethane. http://www.iedls.com/Center-Support-Bearings/1958-64-Chevrolet-Cars.asp
Yup, that's what I did, only with junkyard parts. That center support bearing is too much for a tight ass like me. Trying to come up with my own. Just wondering if it needs to be more firm now that I have the telescoping rear shaft.
Hey Gus! Sounds like you have your bases covered transmission-wise. I've got a proshifted toploader too,but I haven't got around to replacing my sticker with it yet.It should be a lot of fun. Any more progress on the car lately..? Scott Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
great info on this thread....I too was wondering the pros/cons on a larger flywheel opposed to a 10" one
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