Vortec V6 in a flatfender with a power Saginaw conversion.

oooofff. thats bad.

 

1995 Vortec TBI Motor with a steel oil pan.

 

Just to add insult to injury. I searched for a new bellhousing using the same casting number as the one I broke. Turns out not only are they uber rare, they were only used on 1961-62 Corvettes, 1961 passenger car with special high performance 348, 61-63 passenger car with 409, and 62 passenger car with high performance 327 (i.e. L-75, 300hp).

Currently they sell for $500+ on Ebay. I should have sold the @#%$^& thing and bought one of the "It's new and it fits, but doesn't have the casting numbers so we only charge $200 for it" restoration fakes available.

And two, WHAT THE HECK WAS A CORVETTE BELLHOUSING DOING IN MY 75 YEAR OLD JEEP BOLTED BEHIND A DAMN 4-BANGER?!?!?!?!?!?

 

YIKES! Not sure what bellhousing you are looking for but I used the 3899621. I found mine on craigslist for $25 that came out of a truck. This page has a list of all the cars and trucks this came on:

Features of the Chevy 3899621 (621) Bellhousing

Looks like they are going for as low as $150 on ebay right now when searching "3899621 Bellhousing."

 

Well, that's it. I will never sell this jeep. Too many headaches invested already. After getting the bellhousing back, I took some measurements before another expensive mistake. Maybe someone will read this and save themselves a few headaches... I learned a few things today:

The bellhousing cracked due to interference between the splines on the transmission input shaft and the pilot bearing - .291" to be exact.

The pilot BEARING (for the S10 application) is bottomed out in the crankshaft and cant go any further in.

Further research shows that while a standard Chevy bellhousing is 6.5" deep, the one I cracked and had repaired is only 6.0" from block face to transmission face. (The extra 1/2" would solve the problem.) Of course a new bellhousing now would force me to cut off and re-weld motor mounts or rebuild the transmission support cross member to accommodate the difference.

Closer inspection of the crankshaft after I pulled the pilot bearing showed a second "step" 1/2" deeper into the crank. As luck would have it, the ID measurement is 1.098" - the exact dimension needed to accommodate a pilot BUSHING from a 1979 Chevy C30 with a SM465 transmission.

Napa had the part, should be here in the next couple of hours. Cost was under $5.

 

The bellhousing was repaired. It's good to have friends that are competent TIG Welders. Happy with how the repair turned out:

Before:


After:


Nice and flat....

 

Repair looks great. I suggest you measure about 30 times before you put it all together tight. I had trouble with my sm420, the dauntless flywheel and the clutch hub. In my readings, the bearing type and bushing type use a different input shaft and the sm420 ,as far as i know, only came with a bushing. even if it did work, it might have failed later.

As I look at that crack, it looks asif it has come parts a bit. You may need to check bell housing alignment. The Novak Guide to Clutches, Linkages & Bellhousings for Jeep® Conversions

scroll down.

 

For sure. The guy who welded it clamped all ears down to the table added weight to the top and a little heat and was able to get the housing to line back up with itself. He then drilled stress relief holes at either end, ground it out, acid etched for cleanliness, preheated with oxy, then welded and let it cool. WAY over my skill level. But yes, I will absolutely check the alignment. Speaking with both Novak and Advance Adapter today regarding the issue, both told me the standard S-10 bearing is what they use to mate an SM420 to a 4.3. The good folks at Advance Adapter provided the "missing link" bellhousing length measurement and the "AhHa!" moment.

 

Here is a picture of the crankshaft:


And the bearing next to the bushing:


The bushing is soaking in 80w for the night. Fingers crossed I can get her together tomorrow...

 

Bronze bushing fit right where it needed to.

Bellhousing sucked in tight to the block by hand without force, just like it was supposed to. It's been an interesting few weeks, but I finally got it in there.

 

Had one slight hiccup: When I test fit the motor prior to welding in the motor mounts, the tub on the drivers side was hung up on the brake and clutch pedals. I did not notice this until a couple days ago. Once I freed them (notched out the floor board) it raised the end of the steering column relative to the frame. This took away the 1/4" of clearance I had between the header and the steering shaft. It is now "just touching". I dont really want to bend the coated headers. I can push the column about 1/2" into the engine bay or possibly add a 3rd universal joint and a support. But that is for another day. Right now I'm happy just to have everything bolted in.

 

great that it went together without issue this time

 

*Like*

 

Had some time to get out today and tinker. Moved the engine about 1/2" to the passenger side and fixed the issue with the steering shaft clearance issues. Had to shift the crossmember under the transmission as well. Everything is together now, and no fitment issues. Of course a few new issues reared their heads:

1. The Oil filter. With the headers I have, there is absolutely no way to remove it. Even if the engine was bolted to a stand and out of the jeep, It would not come out without pulling the headers. Which would require pulling the steering gear box to pull the steering shaft. Looks like I will be installing a remote filter kit.....

2. Installed all the clutch linkage. There is no slop or play in the pedal, but it doesn't have enough travel distance to completely release. With the wife in it pushing on the pedal, I can see the pressure plate releasing, but not enough for me to roll the jeep around in the garage. Gonna work on that tomorrow.

3. No way my inspection cover will fit with the driver side full length header. I will need to notch what I have and fab something up. Good thing my bell housing is only 180 degrees. If I had used a 360* bellhousing, I'd be looking for new headers. I still might. I like the idea of full length headers, but also not sure if it is worth all of the headaches. Gonna think about that one for a bit....

 

can you take a ratchet strap and crank on the release enough to get the clutch free? Make sure its not binding somewhere.

 

Yeah, the issue is my pedal simply does not have enough travel before the back of the pedal bottoms out on the floor board. Going to look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow.

 

Well, that's one problem solved. I was searching at Summit reference the headers and found this nice little review on the Sanderson block huggers. (The headers I am playing with are also Sanderson's - just full length)

"I planned to use these headers on a 2002 GM 4.3L swapped into an early flatfender Jeep with an SM420 transmission and Spicer 18 transfer case. The stock passenger side manifold wants to dump the exhaust in the way of my driveshaft. These would route it around the front of the oil pan. You'll need axle pinion clearance for that. My Jeep is pretty low with a larger front axle so this really wasn't gonna be easy, but the headers do clear the Advance Adapters motor mounts if you were wondering that. I had to find a different solution."

Sounds like they will work fine for my application as I have room in the pinion area. No monetary loss either, as the full length headers are just borrowed from a friend on the "If they work we can figure out a price later plan..."

This should fix the oil filter issue and keep me from having to find firewall or fender well space to mount a remote one.

Good thing the tax return is set to hit in the next week or so....

 

I had a oil cooler on my motor, that I removed. Do you have one also?

 

No cooler. Filter screws directly to the block.