I know everybody says it's not possible because of the offset ring gear and 1/4" thickness difference. But I've been taking measurements and been thinking, my block is a French Flathead so the back is of the 59A style which I completely forgot when I ordered the aluminum flywheel. Stupid me. I can't return the part and get a new one or just buy a new one because of the cost, in the US that wouldn't be a problem and I guess nobody really bothered looking into such an adaptation because the correct original and aftermarket parts are easy to come by, in Europe the problem is way different. Surface of the starter mounting pad on the aluminum oil pan (no starter plate) to the ring gear of the stock flywheel : 28.8mm or 1.133" To the 8BA ring gear : 34.4mm or 1.354" That's a difference of only 5.6mm or 0.220" Now the interresting point is I have a Powermaster mini starter (push type gear, not pull type) for it and there's a 2mm or 0.028" interference between the stock flywheel and the starter gear so it needs to be shimed out by at least that much. The starter mounting pad on the oil pan isn't flush with the block, it protrude by 4mm or 0.157" If I was to shave 3.6mm or 0.141" off of that pad and add that 2mm interference I would get the starter gear in the same relative location from the 8BA flywheel as with the original flywheel or am I missing something? And that would solve the problem of the starter gear engaging barely the ring gear when using the 8BA flywheel in a 59A block. The other problem is on the diaphragm side. From the face of the bellhousing to the stock flywheel I measured 47.7mm or 1.877". To the 8BA flywheel : 51mm or 2.007" That's a difference of 3.3mm or 0.129" I don't know if 1/8" would prevent the diaphragm to be fully depressed but people say it does from what I read. I suppose that the solution would be to either shim the release bearing if possible or modify/fabricate the fork. Am I onto something plausible or am I completely retarded? Because to me that doesn't look that hard, mainly if not solely because of the aluminum oil pan with the starter mounting pad integrated instead of a starter plate.
I tried putting a 59A flywheel on 8BA and that did not work. The flywheel was against the block when I tightened it down. Opposite of what you are trying to do but I figured I'd chime in. Good luck whichever way you get it figured out. Let us know how you make out
I think it sounds reasonable. I'll bet you can make that work both at the starter side and release bearing side as well. Shimming the bearing where it sits on the holder may work fine.
When I was brainstorming I did think it would be simpler to use a hydraulic throwout bearing. But that's not what I have on hand and the reason is because when I was working at Hollywood Hot Rods I've seen brand new ones that weren't working or failing rather quickly. To get parts at a reasonnable cost it takes between 2 to 6 month, I could get them within a week but at double the price, so it's not a viable option.
Sounds like something I'd try, if I was in that position. Does the late flywheel clear the inside of the bell okay? The 1/8" on the clutch side could be taken up by a spacer behind the T/O bearing or modify the bearing fork. May not need anything.
Yes it does, I can rotate it by hand I just needed to shave a little bit from the bolts on the lathe. I wondered if there was even a need to do anything on the clutch side but it might not depress enough so to be safe I'd rather have all measurements as close to original as possible.
It started I surfaced the starter mounting pad by 3.8mm or 0.149". Just a hair over what I calculated. I installed the starter to see. Good thing is there's no interference, I might have mis-measured the one with the stock flywheel because it should be rubing according to my calculations, but it's not according to the paint and I can turn the pinion by hand which I couldn't with the stock flywheel. It's realy close though. Does anybody have a measurement of the distance between the flywheel and the starter gear with this type of starter? I suppose every car should be about the same but I have no clue. Now I'm gonna have to cut the bevels on the flywheel ring. I'd like to try to crank it but I don't want to damage anything.
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