Technical SBC to Early Ford Pilot bushing question???

I believe that it would work it would just have to be stepped up like the olds one I included the picture of earlier.
That said I also thought about machining a piece to slip over the tip of the input shaft effectively lengthening it but I don’t believe that would work though, as it’s to my understanding that gm input shafts are .50 as where fords are .671 so even before the minimal thickness needed to pull that off it would already be too large to fit a stock gm pilot bushing.

guess I’m going to keep running the speedway one.
I’m planning on going to a t-170 before next summer anyways.

 

Any chance we can get the measurements for the part from a manufacturer other than speedway?

just to rule out is being to short or sloppy from the get.

just a thought

 

it’s just loose overall, looks to be even wear all the way around.

 

That’s a great point as well, I ordered a few of them so I should have one in hand by Sunday morning. I’ll measure the adaptor and the input shaft then to make sure they’re within spec

 

I've had experience with poorly made bushings for this application.
The problem was, the ID and OD were not concentric with each other !

 

Did you oil the bushing? Oilite bushings are porous and retain oil.

 

I am putting a T5 with ford inout shaft into a sbc.
I noticed this is 1.43 inches long, can i cut this to the chevy width of .75 inches

 

None of this should have any effect; I agree that there has to be something else going on.

 

Buyer beware! Yes, I do know this is an old thread but for anyone considering buying an SBC to early Ford transmission pilot bearing be advised that the Speedway pilot bearing is not what it used to be.

Read the notes on the ‘print, they used to press an Oilite bushing into a steel sleeve and now their bushing is a one piece br*** bushing. Oilite is a sintered material, bronze powder compacted in a die to a low density and then sintered, or fused together. It’s the low density that gives the material porosity and allows it to be vacuum impregnated with oil for lubricity. Br*** will never live in that environment.
Cutting costs is one thing, but it’s much more important for a business to do its homework.

 

Not sure if I missed something trying to follow the above line of thought, so I'll just put this out there.

Basically the shaft should not wear the bushing that quickly virtually no matter what metal bushing is being used ........if the shaft and crank hole are in alignment concentrically. I really think this is what needs to be resolved first.

Then the issue of having too short of an input shaft.......a common problem. I would look for a simple stepped bushing that protrudes from the crank with the stepped end seating against the crank. You may be able to get one from an automotive source or purchase a generic one on line and trim it to the length that works. You might give Ky Clutch a call (around noon CST ) and talk to Dave the former owner who retired but still comes by at lunch time to fill in. He knows all the old stuff. He may have something that works. 502 955 9173

 

I’m not sure if you were referencing my post but my only intent was to bring to attention that Speedway is using br*** for that pilot bearing. Chrysler invented Oilite in the early ‘30’s to solve wear in br*** bushings. To each his own, but I’d want Oilite.

 

turn what you need in a lathe. thats what i did

 

I've also had the issue with the speedway pilot bushing wearing out. Im pretty sure its just br***, not oilite bronze. Ended up making one from a chunk of bronze and so far so good.

 

No, I wasn't directing that at your comment, just generally meaning that when the shaft and the bushing are running normally (in alignment) there is clearance between them and the bushing normally only gets contacted when a heavy load gets applied, or shifting....usually momentarily. Think about this, Oilite is a soft metal, and I think the oiling supplied is going to be very minimal. Also the bushing is turning the same speed as the input shaft except when shifting. Also they don't want rust to form and weld the bushing to the input if a vehicle sits for long periods. I don't really know if br*** makes much difference or oilite makes much difference if everything is working properly. There are a lot of bushings used in industry that work for a long time and different materials get used in them.

 

@Moriarity I had @hotrodderhaag machine me one with an oem bearing pressed in it. It’s given me thousands of trouble free miles including a trip from NC to Oklahoma and countless trips all over the southeast.

 

That’s the way to go @hotdamn , Speedway used to have them done that way using an Oilite bushing until they went to a solid br*** piece of junk. No lubricant? No good.