So after a lot of thought, I have decided to swap out my 700r4 for a manual 4 speed. Fresh 327sj, .060 over, tweaked a little, tri-power, 9" Ford with 4.11, 29" tires. 3000# vehicle. Even if there were tracks around here, no. Stop lights for fun maybe, but that's it. Weekender, no long trips, etc. Now the questions: What bellhousing? Were they made for specific trans? Probably going with a M21 with a 10/27 splines. Any difference between say a Chevy and Pontiac? What flywheel? Age would dictate 153 tooth but sure a lot more of the 158 available. Clutch/pressure plate size? 10.5 or 13 seems to be the choice. Bigger is better? Hydraulic clutch would seem to be an easier install. Any reason to consider mechanical linkage? Car has not seen the road yet, and if I keep changing directions, it may not for a while. Engine broke in only. Any suggestions or insIghts would be appreciated.
Pontiac has a different belhousing bolt pattern than the Chevy. Lots of belhousing choices and sources, Google is your friend as they say. You can chase your tail trying to find an affordable and not cracked, stripped threads, etc. I'd probably just get the repro alum. ones being made for the 11 inch clutch. IIIRC, they are stronger than the originals. A Lakewood scatter shield should also be considered as an option for future h.p. upgrades. To get you started https://www.google.com/search?q=rep...-7bRAhXkyFQKHRfxA8sQ_AUICCgC&biw=1280&bih=752
Big clutch or little clutch, manual or hydraulic are about the only pertinent details. Chevy pattern on the block side and GM pattern on the transmission side are a given. This breaks down to 153-tooth flywheel, or 168-tooth flywheel. Clutches for either will hold a decent 327. Some early ones had side mounts. Some were aluminum, some iron. Other than that, the only caveat that I can think of is the center bore hole size. From 1955-1967 all center bore hole sizes were 4-11/16". From 1968-on, cars remained 4-11/16", and trucks went to 5-1/8". You can get a spacer ring to use a car transmission, with a truck bellhousing. As for the Chevy versus Pontiac question, the bellhousings do not interchange, as the block pattern is different. An M21 is an M21, if it came from Chevy or Pontiac. It has a 27-spline output, so you can re-use the yoke, but you will need a longer driveshaft, as the 700R4 is longer. What pedal assembly do you currently have?
I have extensively used hydraulic slave cylinders from Novak Adapters. They come with a very sturdy bracket, mount externally, and are bulletproof. Worth every penny: https://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/clutch/kit-hcr3/kit-hcrc
IIRC the belhousing for the late 63 Muncies had a smaller bore to match the front bearing retainer dia. Also, the 62/63 Chevy 11 was smaller dia. bore than the 64/up belhousings.
Both are rare enough that this will likely not be an issue. According to the GM Heritage Center, there was no V8 available as even an RPO or COPO option until 1964, so any Muncie that came out of a Chevy II in 1962, or 1963, would have been backing up a 4-cylinder.
The 700R4 uses a 153-tooth flexplate. If you go with a 153-tooth flywheel, you can keep your starter.
I need to replace the z bar on my 1939 Ford with Muncie 4 speed and 327 Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Using this slave, what bore for the master? Lately I've been thinking of this swap for the 33 (there's this TKO 600 box under my bench) so having a bore that would give an old man a light clutch would give me some motive. So I add, why not use a hydraulic throw out bearing? Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
sounds to me like you're trying to put some "old" back into the car, eh? so maybe see about putting a mechanical clutch linkage in there, while you're at it. What car is it? you didn't mention that? that would make a big difference in how you do the clutch linkage, wouldn't it?
I'm currently using a '55 Chevy (same as Chevy trucks) cast iron bellhousing on my SBC. 11" Zoom truck clutch, starter mounts to the bellhousing. I had the clutch balanced with the flywheel (168 T), also flipped the starter ring on the flywheel first. This is a set up I've moved from car to car since 1978. Advantages are, ultra strong, the clutch drops out from the bottom and no starter to the block woes. I just had the starter rebuilt and converted to a hi-torque. I'm running a hydraulic clutch too, Speedway 7/8" slave to the bellhousing, I made a mounting plate for it. Master is a 3/4" Wilwood, hose is an AFCO stock car item. The whole thing works quite well. Ultra-smooth engagement, hooks up well from a dead stop, pedal pressure is lighter than manual linkage.
The 55-57 chevy car bellhousing is almost the same as the 55-59 and 63-67 and 68-72 chevy truck bellhousings...but the mounts are different.
3/4". I like external slave cylinders. They are easier to adjust, and should you have a leak, you can not only see it before it could destroy the clutch lining, but change it without dropping the trans.
Precisely why I made this statement previously. Not trying to make this a "matching number"kind of issue, just don't want the OP buying parts that won't work for him, lots of opportunists taking advantage of people out there.
Revived265 .... hydraulic throw out bearings in my experience tend to have failures. In a race car where your pulling the engine a lot it's no big deal but I would not want one in my hot rod. But if you do, the Howe is the best by far. Every other brand has been a bad time for us.
Thanks for all the response, actually learned some stuff - enough to realize I have too many other unfinished projects on this car to take care of before going down this road
The Novak, which I use, should have the same bore as the M/C, 3/4" in my case. Unless you are really pounding the ponies to it. I, would recommend a T5. I have a T10 in one car and a T5 in another. When you are cruising anywhere other then city streets, that engine sound that you thought you wanted will drive you nuts. The bolt pattern on the T5 is the same as the 4 speed, so you can always change it out. Warren
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