8BA with standard 3 speed....Will an 11 inch clutch clear a standard 3 speed bellhousing? I hooked up my battery today and tried the starter. I get what sounds like something not clearing in the bellhousing. The motor had a truck 4 speed on it when I bought it. I replaced it with a 3 speed and never measured the clutch and I suspect it has an 11 inch clutch, I'll find out when I take it apart I guess. Just asking for tips.
Why even consider an 11 in clutch behind a flathead? The more weight you hang on an already heavy flywheel, the more power is lost to pull your flathead! I have had 2 Anglia race/street cars and a 32 Henry cabriolet hiboy and have never run anything but 9.5 in clutches behind a Muncie 4 spd. The cabriolet runs nearly 80 in the 1/8 mile and the Anglia ran 92 plus in the 1/4. I powershifted at 53-5500 rpm and the little 9.5(much less weight) never whimpered or slipped. If you still have to have a bigger clutch; a 10 inch should handle anything you throw at it; an 11 in clutch is a waste in a street truck or car unless you have a dump truck or an f3-4-5-6 with dual rear wheels(heavy truck) This is my personal opinion and I am sure someone somewhere will disagree with me.
Man 11" clutch in heavy stop go traffic will = bouncy leg issues. As been said before 9" or 9 1/2" is plenty for a street hot rod.
I’m in complete agreement with the above comments, the smaller clutches will be perfectly adequate. As to your noise I think it is the counterweights on the clutch fingers that can hit a passenger car bell housing. If you do find an 11” in there you will need to switch flywheels or have yours redrilled. I’m not clear on one thing, did it make noise with the truck 4 spd. or was it never started with that transmission in the car?
Added note: This noise was not present when I bought the engine with 4 speed truck trans attached. The seller ran the engine and the noise was not there at the time. It seems to have appeared when I attached a top loader Ford 3 speed. Phil
Seems to me that I saw an article somewhere about grinding a spot on the bellhousing to fix this. Phil
The diameter of the clutch has little to do with ease of operation. Its the rate of spring pressure and arrangement of the clutch release linkages that affect clutch pedal pressure. A 11 inch clutch in a 64 chevy pickup isn't any stiffer than the 9 inch clutch. They both use a easy to depress diagphram type pressure plate. The OP is using what he already has. He isn't worried about anything other than the noise. He wants to address the noise not purchase another flywheel and clutch ect.
Since you will have the whole thing apart, why not put in a 9" or 10" clutch setup? These cars are not that easy to put clutches into so set it up now and you are done. Jmho
Sounds as though the OP has answered the question, the noise was not present with the truck 4 spd but started with his smaller bellhousing/3 spd top loader. That to me points to the counterweights striking the inside of the bell. Maybe clearance can be ground in, but then he has to deal with the heavier pedal pressure with the 11” PP. What is the solution for that, re-engineer his clutch linkage? It sure sounds as though his combination might be the 8BA/11”/3 spd/torque tube in an early Ford chassis, and even if he buys the longest clutch release arm ( early ‘32) to go on the cross shaft he is still going to have a high pedal pressure. He might not care about the sluggish response in the engine from the greater rotational mass, but than again he might.
Thanks guys, I think when I have the engine/trans out I'll switch to a smaller clutch package. The current combination is pretty stiff. Phil
Combination is 8BA, 3speed, 11" clutch(?), open drive, '48 banjo, custom chassis in a '26 Tudor. Phil
I once owned a 50 pickup. It went the other way fron a three speed to a big truck granny 4 speed and it had the larger diameter clutch & flywheel from the big truck also. I never noticed any sluggishness or heavy clutch pedal release. In fact a larger heavier flywheel is used in bigger trucks, tractors and power units ect to generate torque. The energy stored in the flywheel is used to get the load moving easier. And a heavy flywheel isn't always a detrement to High performace applications . There is a guy named Bill Smith who has a 55 chevy drag car. and it most certainly aint sluggish. and he uses a 86 pound flywheel from a truck. I will try and post a link to video if that 55.
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