A friend of mine had these trans adapter plates (at least, that what we think they are) and we were wondering what they're for. Are they adapters, or something else? They're plate, not castings, and other than one 90 degree folded over tab on the crescent shaped one, they're flat.
The one on the left looks like a block saver plate for a scattershield type bellhousing....Perhaps a Lakewood or McLeod?
i'll throw it out there cause I haven't the foggiest idea...maybe Cadillac V8 to a Ford Bell housing???
The starter bolt pattern on the left one looks like 265 Chevy. The one on the right looks like the wrong pattern but it may be something like the adapter plate to use a different trans on a 265 where you don't have a block mounted starter. Just a wild guess.
265 is the same as a 350, etc. The trucks used the 3 bolt starter thru 1972 with the manual transmission. It's pretty common to have that starter bolt pattern on a scattershield, which is why it's there on the block plate for the scattershield.
That "C" shaped plate on the right reminds me of a Chevy truck engine/trans setup I saw in a salvage yard last year. It had a small block Chevy V8 with a huge bellhousing and did have a plate similar to that to allow for the great bell diameter and, no doubt, larger flywheel diameter. Ray
Just thought of an illustration...suppose you want to put a TH350 behind a 265. No way to mount the starter to the trans and no way to put the block mount starter on the engine because the original starter mounted on the old bellhousing. I am referring specifically to the Danchuk adapter which may or may not be the same animal as the part pictured (on the right).
Danchuk says it better than I can.... "If you are installing a later model automatic transmission in your 1955-1956 classic with a 265 V8, which has no provisions for a block mounted starter, you will need this plate. This starter plate mounts between the rear of the engine and the transmission providing an original style mounting surface for your starter like the one in your stock bellhousing. You can also use this plate in 1957 models with broken starter mount holes or pads. Use in a 1957 model will require using a 1955-1956 style transmission mounted starter. Will work with all popular GM automatic transmissions. Use of a 168 tooth flexplate is required. Installation hardware included. Danchuk # 10100 will work in any 1955-1956 classic Chevy model."
So the big one is a scatter shield block plate for an SBC and the C shaped one is to adapt a later model trans/starter to a 265? That's awesome. I can see I'll be keeping the starter plate for my 265 just in case I decide to ditch the Powerglide, didn't even know what I had! Thanks everyone for the responses, I learned something today.
In my opinion, you don't have what you now think you have. The 'C' shaped plate is substantially different than the Danchuk unit. The most important difference is the starter mounting position, which is farther outboard on the 'C' unit than the Danchuk adapter. The 'C' unit also has a bolt pattern for a bellhousing of larger diameter than the SBC pattern, not present on the Danchuk item. See my post #9, above. Some careful measuring, cutting and welding of the 'C' unit MIGHT result in a useable version of Danchuk's adapter but you will still need a crankshaft spacer to compensate for the thickness of the plate. Ray
Thanks for all the replies. The big plate is definitely a scatter shield block plate, I looked those up. And I did some further internet searching using some of the ideas given here as a starting point, and I found the adapter plate as being from a big block/5 speed combo out of a C-60 school bus, here's a pic. Apparently guys use them for 350 swaps in deuce and a half military trucks. I wouldn't have gotten there without the help, so thanks again.
Not to nitpick TOO much, but that is a small block pictured, not a big block That is not to say the plate isn't used with a big block, it may very well be, since the block bolt pattern is the same for all Chevy V8's.....so to use the bigger bellhousing and transmission on a big block engine would require the same adapter plate. Glad you got it figured out in any case. Ray
I'm pretty sure the heavy truck application plate can be used in a similar fashion to the Danchuk plate to run a later model automatic on a 55-56, 265 (those did't have provision for a block mounted starter). I just recently learned that the 57, 265 blocks WILL take a block mounted starter however. Both those plates, the truck and the Danchuk require a 168 tooth flexplate/flywheel be used. They can also be used to "save" a block with a broken starter motor mounting pad. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
^^^^^^^^ if you look closely and compare the truck plate with Danchuk adapter, I think you will see the starter holes are farther outboard on the truck plate. The trucks that used this plate did so because the flywheels were larger diameter than cars and lighter trucks. I addressed that in post #16, above. As for '57 V8 blocks having the verticle starter mount holes, I believe that is because of the optional TurboGlide transmission first offered in the '57 models. The TurboGlide used a starter housing that mounted like the aluminum case Powerglide that followed in '62 models and Turbohydramatic 350/400 later still. Ray
I think you're right on the truck adapter. Same for the 57, 265/283's that were machined for a block mounted starter whether they actually used one or not (Powerglides and manual transmissions used a bellhousing mounted starter); the exception being the "Turbo-Slide" transmission, that being made of fairly light weight aluminum, required a block mounted starter. The 57, 265 blocks had more metal in the area of the starter pad than the 55-56 265's had. I'd like to locate a 57, 265 block for a future project. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
The reason the pic above shows it on a small block is because I got that pic from a thread about retrofitting a 350 into a military deuce and a half. But from the factory, they're from buses and big trucks with the big block/5 speed setup.
I don not doubt for one second they were used with big blocks in trucks/busses. But, I have seen, with my own eyes, a small block fitted with this plate and the big trans you describe. I mentioned that in post #9, above. It had just been removed from an original older Chevy truck that was being scrapped. I remember thinking how "inadequate" the small block engine looked with that (relatively) huge bellhousing and transmission behind it, not to mention the large rear drive axle. I can't even begin to figure how much horsepower it took just overcome driveline internal drag. Ray
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