Replaced the flywheel on the 327 SBC and wondering if the 1965 original is worth keeping. It has a fair amount of hotspots.
I'd hang it on the wall. 327 stuff is in a different category than a 350, and even if its unusable, it could be wall art. But that's me, I can find a use for most car stuff.
Reface it and reuse it. As long as you don't put it on a motor that turns crazy high RPM it will work fine.
I would keep it. I saw one out of a newer dump truck at my buddy's shop.... hot spotted to hell and this was a 12" clutch truck. It came back from the machine shop, looked perfect, no sign of anything on the surface.
I'm in VA. If you don't want it I'll come get it. You can resurface that one no prob. Every flywheel I have ever had ended up with hot spots in it, but I like to do burn outs...
I have a very heavy flywheel that was behind a 327/365 hp. It has never been checked for trueness. I guess it could be resurfaced to Hell and would still be useable. It will NEVER be raced. What say, mechanics ?
I've resurfaced countless flywheels over the last 30 years using a leveled machine & turntable with diamond tipped stones & coolant running over the surface always taking .005 or so thousandths off over a slow period of time till the surface is square with the world then backing off slowly .001 to .003 for a few rounds to give it the proper finish & the worst cracks ever usually clean up at about .020 to .030 thousandths max. All this to say I'd hang onto it, If for no other reason cause it's better tempered metal than Chinese replacements. I've a few 10.4 gm nodular jobs I've turned down to super fly weight territory for local dirt trackers. I try to gobble those up when I can at swaps n junk yards. Usually get 20-30 bucks to slick a typical flywheel up its the two step models that cost a little more due to both surfaces having to be equal that cost more to resurface. I also spray a coat of fogging oil on n tell folks to clean it off before install ..... Keeps em' lookin pretty. Flux.
What makes it so heavy? I'm now using a truck flywheel and 11" clutch on my current build. Flywheel has been re-surfaced 2x since I have owned it. Heavy flywheels seem to idle smoother to me.
Been resurfacing flywheels since 1967. I use a Kwik-Way wet grinder and do many industrial and semi truck wheels.. In the old days they would have huge hot spots and cracking.. Now most have gone to ceramic paddle discs so there are no hot spots, but .030-.050" surface wear is common.. Heavy wheels were common on drag race cars.. Stored energy. If you can get the tires to stick. I used 40-65 lb wheels with a BBC and 14x32 tires.. Set ya back in the seat! That old 327 wheel will fit most all pre 87 chevys . Except 400 sbc and 454 and larger bbc's.
I agree on heavier flywheels and more stored energy. I've worked in press shops as a kid. The biggest presses with the most tonnage had m***ive flywheels.
Remember there are us guys that build the real SBC, 350's are a dime a dozen, 283/327 are getting hard to find, so put it on the Cl***ified and sell it, don't throw it away, parts are hard enough to find. I stop by the salvage yard and find lots of the old parts because somebody doesn't want to take the time to try and sell it. At the salvage yard you buy it by the pound so you can get it pretty cheap unless iron prices are real high. Also you can put a reasonable price on it say 20.00, it's money toward something else you may need.
I have been told anything to do with a 327 is good. My biggest problem with swapping out flywheels is getting the starter to fit.
This is why I strive to get a starter with an engine. Takes that whammy out of the equation. On manuals, I use only truck parts, on Chevys the starter bolts to the bell housing. I'm on the 3rd round using the same truck bell housing with the matching starter.
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