Making Your own Bellhousing

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satanherself

Our favorite Sweetheart!
Joined
May 15, 2007
Messages
186
Location
Pennsylvania
Ok well this is gonna kinda be a step by step I guess ,,as I have never done this so we can all learn form my mistakes and sucess's :)..Taking this Packard R-9 with OD,,and making a bell to fit Cadillac /Oldsmobile..will also be doing a top shift conversion,,,oooooohhh scary,,,,,My basic thoughts are this

1: it has to be centered
2: the depth /reach whatever you wanna call it has to work
( ie getting the shaft in the hole and the spacing being correct )


She said shaft :p

anywho,,so heres what were starting with ,,part 2 of our creature double feature will be coming up soon.

47pac1.JPG

47pac3.JPG
 
Cheyenne: You are one brave person !!! :D Just a thought. Maybe you don't have to make a whole bellhousing, but just an adapter PLATE. In the old days, some transmission adapters were complete bellhousings, and some were just a thick aluminum plate that fit between the existing bell housing and the new tranny. I had a '53 Studebaker with a Chevy 283 in it, and that is the kind of adapter that came with the swap kit.

Of course, you would need a stick bellhousing for the engine, and the depth would need to be so that the new tranny could slip into the crank and still have room for the adapter to fit between the two. You will also need a pilot bearing that is the same od as your crank hole, and have the id of your tranny shaft.

If you pull this off you will certainly be head and shoulders over anything I would attempt. :D:D

Don
 
Cheyenne: You are one brave person !!! :D Just a thought. Maybe you don't have to make a whole bellhousing, but just an adapter PLATE. In the old days, some transmission adapters were complete bellhousings, and some were just a thick aluminum plate that fit between the existing bell housing and the new tranny. I had a '53 Studebaker with a Chevy 283 in it, and that is the kind of adapter that came with the swap kit.

Of course, you would need a stick bellhousing for the engine, and the depth would need to be so that the new tranny could slip into the crank and still have room for the adapter to fit between the two. You will also need a pilot bearing that is the same od as your crank hole, and have the id of your tranny shaft.

If you pull this off you will certainly be head and shoulders over anything I would attempt. :D:D

Don


Don

I was looking at those plate thingys,,and yeah have to figure that whole depth thing out
 
Yeah, that is going to be the key..........measuring the length of the shaft and deducting the depth of the bellhousing. If you can scrounge up a piece of flat aluminum the correct thickness, or even a piece of flat steel, you can cut out the shape you need and tap the appropriate threads into it.

I bet some company even made bellhousing adapters back in the day for this swap, as the Packard trannys were one of the stronger and more popular swap units.

If you think about it, every bellhousing is simply an adapter housing, so if you create a way to bolt your tranny to that engine you have accomplished the same thing. The other items like pilot bearing, clutch and pressure plate can be worked out.

Don
 
That's a good thought on Wilcap. Another source is this one:

www.transmissionadapters.com/

But he is a very strange dude sometimes to talk to on the phone. At times he has the personality of a rock. Acts like he is really being put out by having to talk with someone. But he does make some nice and odd stuff.

Don
 

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