Technical Scatter Shields

Hey all,

How are you guys dealing with a scatter shied. I have an NV3500 with the alum one piece bell housing, and I am worried about it. I bought and will weld in a standard drag driveshaft loop, but I have looked up some pretty nasty pics of clutch explosions and I wanna put something over the bell.

Has anyone used the blankets? any suggestions, ideas all appreciated.

Pork

 

In the old days people welded up a shield from 1'4 inch steel to surround the flywheel. Now i just usually buy a hydroformed blowshield if one is made for what I want. Or redrill one that is made to bolt to the engine of my choice. Picture of home made flywheel shield from the 50s. I have seen others that were a lot nicer, but this one was on a extended bellhousing engine that a commercial blow shield wouldn't work for.

 

That is cool. Don't care how crude it is, just wanna keep my feet and the passenger's should something let loose. Thanx.

 

looking at that pic, shouldn't they be a little wider?

B

 

If you need a 'scattershield' there are SFI requirements for what they need to be. Check with the competition rules, any shield will have to be 'approved'. Best not whack up an old boiler and hope it meets their requirements, call your competition tech guy and find out what you need to do.

 

Put a bellhousing safety blanket on it.

 

Above scatter shield was SCTA accepted for competition. Many years ago it was NHRA approved. Not today I think.

 

OJ,
It's not about racing or SFI. This is for my own safety, as I know there will be nights when I finally get the car running hot and get a little too cocky with the rpms. Just for my and my toes safety.

 

Any one use one of these? Do they strap on the bottom? Cost? Look? Would you rug over it?

 

Of course you can make yours wider if you like. The upper part of the shown shield extended from the back of a Packard engine block. Over the cast on bellhousing, and down to the top of the transmission. Pretty much enclosing everything that might be headed toward my feet. The bottom half is 3 inches wide and in the plane of the flywheel. I would never use something like this on an engine that did not have a cast on bellhousing. I would buy a Lakewood or other SFI approved blowshield and if they didn't make one for my engine of choice, I would adapt it. Here is a picture of a blowshield made for an FE Ford being adapted to a 368 Lincoln. Not my favorite job. I think maybe I should have started with a 385 shield or some other. But I have adapted several shields to unusual engines and it's not that bad.I guess your transmission has a cast on bellhousing. Bummer. I guess you need some 1/4 inch steel.

 

LOL I just don't build enough motor to need one.

I just had a shoulder reconstructed, no titanium needed just a minor repair. Total bill slightly upward of 27K. Having body parts reconstructed or replaced with bionics is not cheap, scatter shields are. I would not wimp out on a blanket when if it was my feet that were involved.

 

The NV3500 is fairly tough. It was used in V8 1/2ton trucks for years. There are 3 versions with each incorporating durability improvement. If you are making so much HP that you are worried about clutch explosions you need a different trans altogether.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I think that the clutch tech now is a whole lot better that if you put a good unit in with good hardware that there would not be an issue.
Good clutch/ alu bellhousing
bad clutch / steel bellhousing
good clutch / steel bellhousing
those are your choices

 

My engine when done will not see over 3 hundred horse; maybe it is just over kill, but I just like the idea of having something over the top of that connect bell. I would like to find out more about the blankets, but I have yet to find someone who has or has used them. Again, maybe overkill, but I just wanna know that all is build like a tank with over kill when the time comes to beat on the car and put the hammer down.

 

Lookee Hear!

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m79/kiwikevinp/scans/scan0027-1.jpg

 

I drove a '67 Chevelle cross country once it was a 327 4 speed car, probably made in the neighborhood of 350-375 horse. It has the stock aluminum bell housing and a stock clutch. I never ever worried about it coming apart.

When you start taking scatter shields you are talking 500 ponies up that is launching @ 5K up.

 

Here's another load of fun!

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m79/kiwikevinp/scans/scan0032-1.jpg

 

Gt

 

Nothing wrong with having a local fab shop roll a piece of ¼" plate to cover the top half of the bell.
If you want a little more insurance then use 5/16.
If more is needed the make it out of AR500 plate and save additional weight.

.

 

P and B. I hear ya.

I had a 68 Chevelle in high school with a 402 and a12 bolt 488 geared rear. I didn't have any thing to protect me on that car anywhere. The problem is, as I get older (45), I get a lot more scared of what just might and can happen.

I think any clutch spinning at 4 or 5 grand, regardless of horse, can cause quite a bit of damage.

I could be wrong, but I also think about taking my our 4 year old boy around the block, and the slightest thought of that, even at idle makes me want to over engineer everything.

Pork

 

Not bad insurance, I've blown one clutch and took out a big chunk of cast iron 57 Chevy truck bellhousing in the process. None of it came though the floorboard though.

 

If you think you need protection from a clutch/pressure plate/flywheel malfunction (doesn't really matter what engine or how stout your transmission is), you can get a steel unit that isn't SEMA approved. It's not cheap, but cheaper than an approved unit. It'll be better protection than any of the homemade shields I've seen and probably not much more expensive.

 

LOL time has done just the opposite for me. The older I get the more I think I can't be killed. I do know that I can be maimed but I have been maimed before.

Looks like a new one runs in the neighborhood of 280 up.

 

1959, Fremont drags: My '56 Ford 292 flywheel let go at 5000 top of low gear. Piece came thru the floor, ripped out a chunk of drivers seat back, just missed my shoulder, flew out the unzipped open gypsy (back window, convertible top) and didn't touch the canvas! (or any hide, either)

Bottom had some damage, scarred the frame on the passenger side, floorboard was ripped open like a bomb went off. Yeah, flat-towed it home, to Santa Clara. (Engine block was O.K., damage confined to flywheel, clutch, bellhousing, clutch fork, T/O brg)

The next week, after helping me clean up the damage, pal Ramsay readied his '38 Ford Standard Coupe to run in a lower gas class...(324 Olds, '39 box, 'cammy' and fast)
He taped together a nice cardboard pattern of a scatter shield, 180 degree, over the bell... then doubled its thickness, taped the edges, and 3 coats of barbeque black, attaching it with actual tabs!
He didn't even glance when I reminded him of the mayhem my Ford had suffered...

Wonder how many cardboard shields went thru those sacred traps...Haven't seen any on Ebay.

 

Well ebay cardboard cheater shields. What a concept. My old gears are whirring now, of course part of that comes from day drinking. LOL

Clutches come apart, motors scatter oiling the slicks and airplanes land on 101. Anything that can happen will, Murphy knows.

I got a roller derby helmet that I have had for a very long time (thanks Joanie) that I wear when I am riding my bike, it is almost legal. Sometimes I wear it when I don't have too, sometimes I feel better with it on. I am not afraid of much at least I don't know that I am but on those days that I feel better with it on I know I better have it on. You do what makes you feel better.

if a scatter shield makes you feel better, or disc brakes or a 3 point harness by my way of thinking you damned well better have 'em. That's just the way things work.

 

I think that almost all the flywheels that blow up are cast parts that slip, get hot and crack first. I believe you could get pretty much the same security by using a billet steel flywheel. I have broken clutch parts without much destruction. And it might save your transmission housing at the same time. just don't have an explosion.

 

Not to screwup the thread but we broke the nut welds and 2 trans ears on the Lakewood hydro form SFI bellhousings. We now use a Quarter-Time which has a welded 1/2" plate at the trans line. Of course circle track racing is hard on everything or we just find the next weakest point every race weekend.

 

I looked at the picture of the blown up Chevy and noticed that there was a Hilborn pump driven off of the rear of the camshaft so I'm wondering what actually came apart. There had to be some sort of drive setup that didn't have a regular clutch/flywheel. I have used approved scattershields in cars where the rules required them but I think I would use the Kevlar blanket next time. They flex and give to absorb the energy and seeing how well they keep superchargers on top fuelers from going into low Earth orbit I think I would trust it.

 

Yea, doesn't look like that was manufactured by anyone who offers an NHRA contingency payout...nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more...
And I plan to make one of those for my olds...

 

Amen.