Hey guys,

I have a '69 302 engine that I bought with no flywheel or bellhousing. I bought at replacement '69 flywheel and the bellhousing off an '89 Mustang. Now I find that the bellhousing won't fit over the flywheel (the bellhousing is too small). So what gives....are not all Ford small-block flywheels the same diameter???

 

No, they can be different.

The flywheel, starter, clutch, and bellhousingmust be more or less matched. Also, I have doubts as to whether your later bell housing will work with your early transmission.

In my opinion, your best option is to acquire an early bell housing and is associated block plate and go from there. Whatever you decide, you will have to look at the above parts as a package that you will need to assemble... The easiest approach to this would to be for you to get everything for the year and model of your car. There are certainly other approaches that can work, but they will hurt your head.....

Watch your flywheel balance as well, you will need a 28 oz imbalance for your 69 302

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsea...115+4294840126 Lots of options!!

 

Ok, thanks for your help. I'll have to look into getting the right parts.

 

Get a lightweight steel flywheel Just make sure it's the right balance

 

Before I send you off on a parts buting spree, lets examine what you have!

What transmission are you running?

You might see if the tranny will actually bolt up to the bellhousing before continuing... This is not the only factorthat determines whether the housing will work, the shaft placement and clutch pivots must be determined as well,but if the tranny will bolt up, this is a start.

 

I'm actually not installing the engine in a car. I'm putting it on an engine testing station (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...4501_200334501) I need to have a flywheel and bellhousing installed so that I can hook upa starter (and also for some measure of safety). Since the bellhousing is from an '89 Mustang 5.0, I'm going to go ahead and get a flywheel from that model. I realize the balance will be off, but I'm only going to run the engine at low RPM's on this test station. When I end up installing in a car, I'll be sure to have balanced components.

One other question: is there a backing plate between the bellhousing and the block like on cars with an auto trans?

 

I get that catalog!

You will need a "block plate" (like an auto) in order to attach the starter.

I think that this flywheel will do what you want it to do, and it will have the correct ballance.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...p;autoview=sku

 

So do I need a block plate for an '89 bellhousing then, or are the block plates a universal fit? Where can I find one?

 

http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/ite...?T1=PA26445+01

It looks like this one will work for all SBFs, with any flywheel or bell

 

Ok, thank you!