Olds 324 to top loader clutch info. needed!

I have a 1956 olds rocket 324 with an old school adapter to a ford toploader trans. and have no clue what clutch assymbly will work in my application? Has anyone done this and what do I need? Any info. would be much appreciated Hambers

 

Ask Frank F&J on here. That's right up his alley Very knowledgeable !!

 

I assume that you have a Olds flywheel so you should use an Olds or GM clutch with a Ford pressure plate and not a diaphram one I believe. What adpater do you have? If it is a Transdapt I can look up what the factory recommended for additonal hardware. Or if it is a current manufacturere they can tell you what to use for the TOB etc.

 

Also if it would help post a pic of the adapter and don't forget that you will need a new pilot bearing for the back of the crank assuming that the crank has the provisoin for it.

 

Thanks guys for the quick responses! It's in my 1930 model a hot rod, i cant find a name on the bell housing for make of it but it's an old one, I dont think it's a transdapt. I will try and take a picture of it tomarrow when I pull it back apart.

 

I modified the tailshaft of the trans. to fit into the pilot bearing of the olds. It's a ford srod transmission, same bolt pattern as the top loader and same configureation just alluminum housing.

 

If it is a transdapt they only stamped it with there id number. Look along the side for something like a jc-25 (example) Frank will probably jump on here when he sees this so he can help as well.

 

OH CRAP....you got the tranny in backwards...it ain't never going to work that way

Only kidding I know you meant the "input" shaft. What mods did you have to do to it?

 

Man I really appreciate it! I will look and see! Love the hamb you guys are amazing! Would the serial # be inside by chance? Im not seeing anything on the outside. Im droping the trans. tomarrow so I can get a good look at it.

 

Was this bell on the car? or did it hopefully come with a TOB fork and TOB?

The Olds pressure plate can take a 10.5 to 11"" disc, but the 3 fingers for the TOB are set for a fairly large dia TOB.


What clutch parts do you have right now? incl TOB?. We can measure Olds parts to see.

Someone here had a page from an old catalog that showed what forks, TOB's, etc, to use with different setups.

 

HAHAHA sorry my bad lol! I had the input shaft machined to fit into the bronze bushing of the crank. Im redoing what someone else did wrong basically. The clutch slips bad so im trying to find out as much info as possible so I can fix it. I know for a fact all the clutch assymbly is new but it's the wrong stuff so it doesn't grab good. And it's adjusted correctly with a half inch freeplay on the fork and tob so I know it's not the tob keeping presure on the presure plate not fully inguaging it to the flywheel. It's just the wrong presure plate and clutch i believe.

 

Hey F&J! The bell was baught at a swap meet, It's an old school bell adapter. I will ask the orig. owner if the tob and fork came with it. Well I have a build sheet of the car let me check it out rite now and see what I come up with.

 

I have all the clutch parts installed and the clutch slips really bad, but all looked new when I purchased the car and pulled the tranny out and rebuilt it.

 

Strange symtoms if there is freeplay before the TOB touches the fingers on the pressure plate.

When you take it out; as you loosen the pressure plate bolts...see how much movement you get on the fingers as you back out the bolts.

If you barely have to loosen the bolts to see the fingers stop moving, then that could be something wrong with the pressure plate.

 

Most people ream the pilot bushing to fit the input shaft. If you have the early bellhousing with the stock Ford cross shaft and fork, you need the stock Ford Long type pressure plate and disk along with the throw out bearing of course. Your flywheel is probably already drilled for the long cover, so get the diameter that fits and run with it.

 

New 176 tooth flywheel, New 1957 ford throw out bearing is all I know so far off the build sheet.

 

Something just sounds wrong here; new clutch parts but slips BAD. Yes, I know you said 1/2" play, but I almost want to think that the TOB might be pushing the fingers in when you bolt the trans on to the bell.

Before you pull it, can you get a small mirror to look in the hole for the fork, to see if you really do have an air gap between the TOB and the pressure plate fingers?/ Yes, you would think you could disconnect the linkage to work the TOB fork by hand, but something sounds wrong here.

 

I will take it all apart tomarrow and see what the issue is for sure, Im thinking it's just a bad combination of parts or the wrong thikness of clutch or something. Someones hack job for sure that Im trying to make rite.

 

If you can't see into the fork hole to tell if the TOB is jammed against the fingers; then I'd think about dropping the starter and lower half bell for a look.

If you pull the trans first, then it's more effort to measure it all to see if there was a distance problem with the TOB.

It just sounds to me like the TOB is already pushing in on the fingers. Wrong length TOB or something needs trimming on the front trans bearing collar. Hard to say

 

Yah thats exactlly what I thaught of too, but I just remembered when I pulled the trans. the clutch disc you could move around very easly by hand while the presure plate was bolted to the flywheel. Do you think it could be just the wrong thikness of clutch or a bad clutch?

 

Also Im talking to the orig. owner and he said his friend really knows his parts that did the clutch set up and the presure plate had a bunch of presure on the clutch and they used an alignment tool when installing the clutch so Im praying it's just a worn out clutch.

 

He also said he did get on it a few times and the presure plate was not new and neither was the clutch so I think we just found the problem. lol! Now I just need to get the part numbers off the clutch and plate and I mite be golden grams!

 

Now I know not to judge a book (clutch) by it's cover literally hahaha!

 

^ this is not right.


That disc should be rock solid if the pressure plate is bolted up, and if the TOB iis not pushing in on the fingers.

With a new pressure plate and a worn out disc, down to the rivets, you still would not have a loose disc like that. If it was down to rivets, yes, then the pressure on the disc is less, but at most, you'd get some slip on a 1/2 powershift, not slipping just by pressing harder on the gas pedal.


Some pressure plate/ flywheel setups have the bolt area not at the same level as the clutch wear surface on the flywheel. It would be a stepped type deal.


The Olds is not like that; both surfaces are the same, so as you start to tighten the bolts, you should see good movement inwards on the fingers. No movement means no pressure on the disc.

 

Thanks a bunch for your inpute, they used the wrong clutch and plate from the get. Yes it worked but still the wrong clutch and plate combo. He said it was super tight when they installed it but who knows how much he sliped the clutch and burned out lol! Id like to know what the rite presure plate and clutch are lol! Thats going to be a toughy to find out probably.

 

No you should not be able to move the disk with the tranny out. Some interference ther for sure. Fingers are being pushed in relaxing the pressure plate would be my bet. I would sneak a peak up in there as Frank suggested and see if the tob is pushing the fingers.

 

Thanks guys for your knowledge on old rockets! Really helped me out! I took the trans out and checked out the presure plate and clutch and both were toast so I picked up a new clutch, tob, and presure plate today and bolted her in and is now working great and grabing like it should! Really a fun combination and not your everyday lame 350/350 combo thats what I like about it and it takes alot more time and skill to build something with a unique motor and trans set up but it's all worth it when you see peoples jaws drop

 

Good going! Now go enjoy it. Glad that is all it was.