Bell Housing & Flywheel Question.

[challenger_73]

Hey all!
I have a Small Block & was was wondering if anyone can tell me what size the bolts (7 of them I believe) are that mount the Bell Housing to the block and are these supposed to be Grade 8 black bolts or zinc plated? Does the head of the bolt face the motor or the Transmission?

My car used to be an automatic & I changed it to a standard. I was wondering if the bolts that mounted the torque converter are the same bolts that mount the Flywheel? I have a 360 and I know that they are externally balanced. Does it matter which position that I mount the flywheel? Any help would be appreciated.

Tony

[beekppr]

The flywheel can only be positioned in one way if I recall (one of the bolts should be offset so it can only go on one way).

The bolts should all be 3/8 coarse thread. I would guess they were originally painted engine color. I don't think you need grade 8 but I guess it doesn't hurt. Unless I am misunderstanding your question, the bolts go through holes on the bell housing and into threaded holes on the block so you could say the boltheads face the transmission.

The bolts that mount the flex plate to the torque converter are smaller than the bolts which mount the flex plate (or larger flywheel) to the crankshaft. The crank bolts are possibly 7/16 size and should be fine thread. I would get grade 8 for those.

My confusion here is this: Isn't the crankshaft of an automatic setup bored out for clearance of the tip of the torque converter? If so, there is nothing left to put a thrust bearing into. You may want to check into this before you go any further. It is easy to swap out the crank now before it is balanced and built.

Hope this helps.

Mike

[Aussie Challenger]

Do Not, Do Not use mild steel bolts, Use grade 8 bolts, the flywheel bolts are the same as the bolts that held the flex plate on but longer.
Make sure that the back of the crank is drilled for the spigot bearing otherwise the front input shaft of the gear box will hit and stop the gear box from mounting properly. The crank can be drilled out easily if not done, but use the bearing if this is the case.
The choice is yours if the hole is already drilled as to whether you use a bush in the back of the crank or use the later pilot bearing which fits into the recess at the back of the crank, don't use both though.   

[beekppr]

Is a spigot bearing the same as a pilot bushing? (I called it a thrust bearing for some reason in prior post) Never heard of spigot but I guess different countries..different terms.

[Cooter]

Remember also that there are TWO DIFFERENT Pilot/spigot bushings when dealing with Mopar engines...

Typically as a rule of thumb, if the engine came from in front of an Automatic, you will need the "Conversion" bushing, if it was a standard shift engine from the factory, you will need the standard bushing..However, I have seen where this wasn't always the case, as some are vise versa...There is only about .030 difference between the two bushings....I have tried to turn down bushings, it doesn't work very well..I've seen this done with anything from a lathe to a drill and a flat file...

Here's a helpful hint: ANY FORD, or CHEVY STRAIGHT DRIVE engine has the correct thread and grade bolt that WILL WORK in a Chrysler engine...There are even 6 bolts too...How do I know this? I'm running FORD 302 Flywheel bolts in my 440 4-speed car today...I have also tried CHEVY bolts and they work as well....

[beekppr]

Wow, Ford bolts in your Mopar? Any noticeable loss of performance or driveability?

Just kidding of course. Wouldn't want to offend closet Ford lovers out there.

[Cooter]

Well, I wasn't gonna say anything bout Ford and performance, but there is this certain 5.0 liter mustang of the 1990 flavor here that runs low 9's 1/4 mile.........All this with a 331 C.I. motor...

[Chryco Psycho]

performance torque converters do use a grade 8 7/16 bolt as well but it is shorter then the flywheel bolts