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really important good advise


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most of us old timers have seen what happends to a car when a flywheel/clutch blows and Ive seen a chunk of flywheel or clutch take the windshield and dash right out of a 283/57 chevy so if you plan on walking around in your old age without prosthesis legs use a lakewood houseing, youll find that the cost is very small compared to new legs. btw running your fuel lines where the frame protects them, haveing the electric fuel pump with a minimal oil pressure cut on pressure switch and carrying a 10lb co2 extinguisher is also a good idea,at least that way if the engine/flywheel blows you don,t have gas continuing to pump out everywhare from cut fuel lines.look here,

http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=2141&prmenbr=361

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Good point Grump. I have seen first hand what a piece of flywheel can do to the bones of the human foot. NOT PRETTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I have seen what a car fire can do to human skin and muscle. NOT PRETTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Having been in the pits of Grand Prix caliber race tracks since I was kicking my mummy's kidneys around, I have seen it all ...first hand, and it ain't nice.....safety should be be the first thing on your mind when designing/redesigning the systems in/on/under your car.

Tim

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Unfortuneatly nobody makes one for a T56. Why I don't know, you figure there should be a market.

Would it work to get one of those kevlar blankets that the drag guys use and put it over the tunnel on the inside of the car. I'm sure not as effective as the real thing, but should afford at least a good to fair degree of protection?

 

Tim

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Grumpy, funny you should mention that. 20 years ago a friends brother had th ebody and paint done on his 57 (BRIGHT ORANGE) and had a hot 283 in the car with a Muncie.

 

He was out on the highway running it hard and the flywheel let go (stock piece, I'd bet) and it took out the windshield, cowl, firewall, crushed the frame on each side, cut the headers as if they were paper, and left a nice hole in the pavement. Yep. Stock bellhousing.

 

I have the Lakewood in my Z and it was hardly a problem fitting it. I did cut the flange off of about 6" of the bottom portion, parallel with the ground, for ground clearance (I know that killed the SFI rating, but it's still alot safer than an AL bellhousing) and had to just slightly bump the tunnel in one area on the passenger side to make some clearance.

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Have one in my Mustang - BIG :( The Z has nothing thanks to the T56. However, I've seen guys weld steel plate in the tunnel on ITS cars in order to protect against this, probably not a bad idea if you're going to be racing.

 

Saw what a clutch explosion could do to a Mustang recently. Trashed the bellhousing, the trans, the block. Stock 5.0 clutch let go and that's all she wrote. Kid was lucky it blew down and not up :eek: Talked to a guy years ago who had owned a Z and flywheel bolts sheared. Claimed is came out whole and sawed right through the car and skipped on down the road shooting sparks. Yikes!

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Guest Anonymous

Yes, the trans blanket will help if you cann't find a bell housing and yes there is lots of force there . Had a flex coupling let go on one of the ferry boats , pulled the 4" dia input shaft out of the front of the transmission . Also "Daddy " Don is missing part of his foot from his last front engine TF Dragster .

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I have a Lakewood explosion proof housing in my Camaro. McLeod makes one that has the Muncie/BW 4 speed pattern as well as the rotated T5 housing which gives you several trans options. Seems to be a fact of life on a motor that does 5500 rpm plus.

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