Is there any place that reproduces them? are they super hard to find? whats the skinny? say I get cragar adapter... 390 cad to shoebox. I'm gonna need a flywheel- Tuck
damn YOU billy dont **** with tuck haha i know you have one in your shed... go dig it out. ill send you some kandy paint in trade. Tuck
I think 53 331 cads were the last to have standard shift so thats what you'll have to look for but I'm not certain they're interchangable with the 390. The last 3 cad stick flywheels I had i welded together to make a base for my bench grinder stand. Billy
ok 53 - 64 all shared the same block. the 390 was the last and the best for HP etc etc... bigger heads, ports valves and what not... 325hp. So I need a 53 flywheel... im probably screwed haha but im determined. Tuck
I'm pretty sure the ring gear on the flywheel is different... The adapter is the easy part, the flywheel will be difficult. Look back at my Lasalle post, from a month or two ago or whatever..... I think the bellhousing is the same, but the ring gear on the flywheel needs to match the starter? maybe you can modify the starter to match the early ring gear? But then I think there might be balance issues. Are those later Caddy motors externally ballanced? I think the bellhousing is the same as early olds, but the flywheel changed. I'm easily confused though... I do know there is more to it than just bolting the earlier stuff to it though... It might have to do with external balancing. That's why I think those conversions that you end up bolting two flywheels on are gay.... It seems there could be alot of balance prolems... Whatever, just find that post.. the answers are there.
A 53 stick flywheel might fit a 390 Cad, but I'm not sure. That was the last year for a stick shift Cad, but the 53 bellhousing would be different. I have a 54 331 Cad engine and it has part of the bellhousing cast right in the block (like early flathead Ford V8's). In 55 the block was changed and the bellhousing became completely separate from the block. It seems like trans adapters for 55 and later Cads are easier to find than 54 and earlier. I've been looking for one to put a Muncie 4 speed behind my 54 engine for quite awhile, but no luck.
This should cover most of it. Let me know if you want more info. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34679 There is a adapter on Ebay that is for the 55-62 Cad to 49-later Ford trans. I can give you the item # in a pm if you want it. (It is already expensive though) Brock
Ok; This is the deal on the Ring Gear/FW/Starters; Cad 39-54 with out the Hydra (stick); 156 tooth ring gear. Olds 49-53; 145 tooth ring gear. Cad Hydra 49-53; 145 tooth ring gear. Cad 54-60 all; 176 tooth ring gear (54 is the last of the Cads with the cast in bellhousing). Olds 54-60 (57 and up olds external balance); 176 tooth. Cad 61-64 (last year of that block style) (internal balance) 166 tooth. 49-63 Cad and 49-56 Olds Crank bolt patterns are almost the same with one bolt on the Olds being about .030 offset compared to the Cad. Typical of the adapters to the early Ford trans; "Use 54-56 Olds Flywheel and 57-60 Cad starter." Confusing? Welcome to my world. We make the 176 tooth Flywheel (while these ring gears last) but aside from the few 145 tooth ring gears available from VAP (they will make you a FW), we have to use a hydra cover and cut the ring gear off of it to make a fw with the 145 t. Alternative is our adapter to the Chevy trans (also make one for the Ford SB) using the Mopar starter (Includes FW). Hope this helps.
What year engine? I was under the impression that the '49-64 Olds 303-394 flywheel bolt pattern and center register hole is all the same as early Cad. But I don't know if that is for all Cad's from '49-63. Perhaps a Cad guy could help out (too bad Marcus isn't here now). I do know this: For the early Olds, there are three different tooth counts, two different diameters, and both internal and external balance. Plus, '57-8 external balance might be different from '59-64 external balance (not sure, but I bet). Therefore, this will need to be taken into consideration if you try to use an Olds flywheel on a Cad.
yeah i figured out what i need... the later 53 to 64 cad 390's have a different tooth count on the flywheel. all of them up to 64 are internally balanced. I think ive located everything I need to make this work. Thanks for all the info guys I learned a TON.
OK so heres what im running... TRADITIONAL SETUP! I scored a vintage Cragar adapter and a tri carb intake for the 390 thats going in my chopped shoebox. I'm so damn excited I figured I better post and get it out of my system. I dont really dig modern adapters... dont get me wrong if I had to I would but I dont have to... the adapter includes the pilot bushing and bolts right up to my shoebox ******. I'm going to replace it with the later stronger manual when I score one of those... and a 57 ford 9" rear. KICK ****ING ***. Tuck
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