strength of a '69 2892626 bellhousing VS lakewood

[fk5dave]

hi guys, i have the motor out of my car and debating on a lakewood bellhousing. any opinions on the strength of a '69 2892626 bellhousing? its in a non tubbed 68 roadrunner with a 440 and a dana 60. not going to the track but do alot of horsing around on the street. im planning on a billet steel flywheel and a centerforce 2 clutch. i wouldnt think a cast iron bell housing would give out on an explosion but im not totally confident. if i did go with a lakewood, how well do they work and are there alot of adjustment issues? hmmm. any input would be appriciated. thanks!

 

[mmissile]

Cast anything will break. No way I'd use a non blow-proof housing on a big-block/stick car....that'll hook.

 

[aeon280]

How much power is in that 440? What kind of ET,s are you running? NHRA regulations require sfi 6.1 bellhousing below 11.49. If you are not worried about running on the track but just safety you can install a Kevlar blanket or a scatter shield for less than a new bellhousing. Most of us horsing around on the street never really push our equipment to the edge, so you are probably fine with stock equipment. Once upon a time I had a 455 poncho with 600ish flywheel hp hooked to an M21 with stock bell. I rode it rough on the street from time to time but never raced it on the track. Never had any issues with the Muncie backing up that kind of power.

 

[fk5dave]

How much power is in that 440? What kind of ET,s are you running? NHRA regulations require sfi 6.1 bellhousing below 11.49. If you are not worried about running on the track but just safety you can install a Kevlar blanket or a scatter shield for less than a new bellhousing. Most of us horsing around on the street never really push our equipment to the edge, so you are probably fine with stock equipment. Once upon a time I had a 455 poncho with 600ish flywheel hp hooked to an M21 with stock bell. I rode it rough on the street from time to time but never raced it on the track. Never had any issues with the Muncie backing up that kind of power.

thanks for the reply. never took it to the track or had it on the dyno. its a 500CI forged 440, .579 roller cam, aluminum heads, single plane intake, mighty demon 850, roller valve train, MSD ignition, factory stick shift with centerforce clutch, moser dana 60 with 4.10 gears, sitting on radials. lol. it moves pretty good. estimating somewhere around 550-575HP. nothing crazy but i am interested in putting on some drag radials and having some fun at the flashlight drags.

 

[lewtot184]

the problem with those lakewoods is clutch linkage alignment and getting pilot bearing/shaft alignment. from what I've seen they're a POS. if you don't want an explosion get a billet wheel, sfi clutch parts, and don't try to twist a 6000rpm engine to 7000rpm. rev limiter would be good insurance when missing gears.

 

[Fran Blacker]

As lewtot said you need to index pilot bearing, I had to use offset dowels. Tunnel modifications maybe necessary . Quicktime housing are tapered so may fit better, indexing is needed. If you use a stock bellhousing I'd index it also, can save headaches later.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

I did have to index (offset dowels) my Lakewood, but I suggest you run one. I had a Hays clutch let loose on me & it destroyed the Lakewood, but the clutch components didn't escape so my right foot is still intact. I'm running on the street with street tires....just sayin'. The only negative is that even with a 2-piece Lakewood scattershield, you still have to drop the trans to inspect the clutch (no "real" inspection cover, so 1-piece is just as good, if not better than a 2-piece).

 

[493 Mike]

I believe everyone would benefit from checking engine to transmission concentricity. My 727 was out .022" TIR.
Mike

 

[coloradodave]

I use a Lakewood bellhousing on my street car. I did have to use offset dowels to get it centered on the crank. I use a hydraulic throwout bearing so mechanical clutch linkage is not an issue and header clearance is much improved.
As a teen, a friend of mine exploded a flywheel in his 57 Chevy street car. Parts of the clutch/flywheel came up through the floor, dashboard and exited through the windshield/top. His girlfriend received some major trauma to her feet and legs. It also ruined the block as parts of the back of the block broke off. After seeing what it did, I never again ran a car without a "scatter-shield".

 

[Cranky]

Years ago a buddy with a 12 second 289 Mustang blew a clutch after rowing through the gears. It came apart on coast down. He said he hit 5k through 3rd (the engine was good for 6500 at least) and let off going into 4th and as he was coming down around 4000 he heard all these little noises and looking in the mirror, he saw 'springs and things' bouncing around. No loud sounds at all. It took out the input shaft of the trans, fractured the crank, took off the bell housing bolt holes in the block, destroyed the headers, put holes in the frame rails, cowl and took out his in dash stereo. That's when he realized how close he came to also messing up his feet because the floor around the pedal area also had holes. He said he ran out of money when it came time to buy a scatter shield so he 'temporarily' used the stock bell. IIRC, he had a billet flywheel and a good aftermarket clutch. Your flywheel will probably not be an issue.....but what about the rest of clutch setup? For all the damage that happened to my buddy's Mustang, he could have bought several scatter shields. At least he didn't have any body damage on himself.

 

[oldbee]

Years ago a buddy with a 12 second 289 Mustang blew a clutch after rowing through the gears. It came apart on coast down. He said he hit 5k through 3rd (the engine was good for 6500 at least) and let off going into 4th and as he was coming down around 4000 he heard all these little noises and looking in the mirror, he saw 'springs and things' bouncing around. No loud sounds at all. It took out the input shaft of the trans, fractured the crank, took off the bell housing bolt holes in the block, destroyed the headers, put holes in the frame rails, cowl and took out his in dash stereo. That's when he realized how close he came to also messing up his feet because the floor around the pedal area also had holes. He said he ran out of money when it came time to buy a scatter shield so he 'temporarily' used the stock bell. IIRC, he had a billet flywheel and a good aftermarket clutch. Your flywheel will probably not be an issue.....but what about the rest of clutch setup? For all the damage that happened to my buddy's Mustang, he could have bought several scatter shields. At least he didn't have any body damage on himself.

Yup at least a blanket, saw a Stang one time at Dragway 42 let loose behind the stands one time & the flywheel ended up on the package tray by the rear window !

 

[Cranky]

Yup at least a blanket, saw a Stang one time at Dragway 42 let loose behind the stands one time & the flywheel ended up on the package tray by the rear window !

How'd it get there? Exit through the windshield and land through the back window?

 

[AR67GTX]

If buying new, you should consider a QuickTime bell housing. They are better quality (not necessarily stronger) than Lakewood although both are now owned by the same company. Most QuickTime's center on the engine right out of the box and they are a bit less bulky, better machined - just better all around.

 

[oldbee]

How'd it get there? Exit through the windshield and land through the back window?

Up thru dash,cracked w/shield, took out headliner & sat twirling on package tray!

 

[PurpleBeeper]

If buying new, you should consider a QuickTime bell housing. They are better quality (not necessarily stronger) than Lakewood although both are now owned by the same company. Most QuickTime's center on the engine right out of the box and they are a bit less bulky, better machined - just better all around.

When I destroyed my Lakewood I looked into QuickTime too, but if I remember correctly, they didn't offer one for the smaller flywheel (for 10-1/2" clutch) if I remember correctly....there was "something" that made me put in another Lakewood.

 

[Cranky]

If buying new, you should consider a QuickTime bell housing. They are better quality (not necessarily stronger) than Lakewood although both are now owned by the same company. Most QuickTime's center on the engine right out of the box and they are a bit less bulky, better machined - just better all around.

It should still be checked for TIR. The bell housing might be much better but even if it's on the money, the block might not be. My dad bought a new car in the late 60's and it was a lemon with the transmission going out a couple of time and years later I wondered if that was the problem....

 

[AR67GTX]

I agree a new bellhousing should always be checked but my experience and others in the Cobra replica crowd with QuickTime bellhousings on FE motors has been that they are typically good to go after checking with a dial indicator. But yeah, there can always be a problem somewhere.

 

[oldbee]

LOL, 'FE' motors, sounds like Pherds to me. 292,312,etc.

 

[65Fury440]

Any recommendations for a blanket?

 

[AR67GTX]

LOL, 'FE' motors, sounds like Pherds to me. 292,312,etc.

OldBee - weren't they the Y motors? The FEs were the 332, 352, 390, 410, 428, 427 and a few other obscure varieties. FE - Ford-Edsel. What a moniker to hang on to an engine series.