NotDeiton

I am doing my first engine swap, so naturally I have questions. I have a 327 from my 64 Impala and I have a World Class T-5, I don't necessarily know what a good bellhousing to look for. Any tips?

Firechicken82

It depends what clutch release system you wanna use. An 84-92 bell housing will work w a stock hydro setup. If you have a mechanical linkage you need an 83 bell. The fly wheel and clutch should all be pretty easy. How built is the 327?

NotDeiton

It's fairly built (at least to me it is) I don't have a parts list on hand but horsepower wise it's around 400, I have a mechanical linkage - I'd love to do a hydro setup but I'll get to that when I feel like I finally get tired of it.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

There's nothing different about a 327 from any other small block Chevy w 2-pc RMS.

What car is it going into?

Firechicken82

It's easy to make work. The hydro setup is by far the move but if you have a functioning mechanical setup not necessary. The T5 will need you to take it somewhat easy to keep from blowing it up. I have a t5 bellhousing for a mechanical linkage that's in good shape. If your interested I'm willing to part with it, I'll never use it again.

erik69&85

iTrader: (1)

You might want to look up the torque rating of a T-5WC before you put it behind a built 327.....

Just saying ...

GM did even put these behind stock 350 engines....80s stock 350 engines....

tom3

Your early third gen with a V8 to start with should bolt up to the the older 327 with very little problems. If your car is a V6 it's a whole different story.

BIRD91ZRAG

iTrader: (1)

That early block may not have the correct hole for the clutch bellcrank stud. Ran into that when we put a 62 327 into a 73 Nova.. plus you'll need the specific flywheel for the 327 with the right clutch size.

Tom 400 CFI

Say what?

The pivot stud is mounted in the bell housing.

Which flywheel, is "specific" to a 327? There is 153 tooth and 168 tooth, but the engine don't care about that. OP needs a 2 pc, 153 tooth fw, and that is what a 2 pc, 305 would have. Same flywheel.

Firechicken82

The pivot stud can be on either the block or bell. 82-83 cars use the block mounted pivot. Most blocks have the threaded hole. I believe the old sbcs didn't have the mounting point. I think there's a change over in the early 60s blocks. I may be wrong on the time. There are adaptors to mount a stud on the block if there aren't any provisions.

the bell crank/z bar won't work if the pivots are in the wrong spot.

a hydraulic setup is far better but the mechanical setup will do the job w the proper components.

Tom 400 CFI

Copy that. Learned a thing, today. I've no experience with the mechanical clutch linkage in an early 3rd gen. Thanks for posting that.

BIRD91ZRAG

iTrader: (1)

Tom, 85 and older sbc engines are internal balanced except the 400. In 86 with the rear main revision came an imbalanced flywheel. So he'll need probably a 10.5 inch clutch balanced 153 tooth flywheel..
If I remember correctly, the bolt pattern changed size too, so you can't bolt a 2pc. RMS flywheel onto a 1pc crank and vice versa.

Tom 400 CFI

Yep. Nothing specific about the 327 fw. What's "specific" is that it's a 153 tooth, 2 pc seal, FW. So, the fw that came with the car that he already has,

....will presumably work....although OP never actually stated what car he has.


If I were the OP, I'd just source all "hyd clutch" and newer, F-bod T5 parts. The stock BH, FW, trans/shifter/pedals, everything. Then I'd go have fun, while avoiding slicks.

NotDeiton

It is actually going into a 84 Rx-7 but since I am using a Camaro tranny I thought I'd see what kind of knowledge I could take from you smart people!

NotDeiton

I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands, my only concern is the starter - since on my block its not on the tranny, It's on the block

Firechicken82

Are you talking about the bell housing? The starter bolts to the block not the bell. The nose of the starter sits in the bell like most small blocks, that's it.

NotDeiton

Yes that's what I am talking about. I had been looking at a 83-92 Camaro/Firebird bell from Competition Transmissions out of Cali, and here's a quote from when I reached out to them regarding this bell "Also need to know if the flywheel will fit inside the bell & that the starter on the 327 bolts to the engine block where this bell is design for it to bolt to the bell." Am I overcomplicating this for myself?

Firechicken82

The 83 bell would bolt right up and the starter would to mount to the block like normal. The flywheel would need to be a 153 too the and the clutch is a 10.5 inch (actually 10.4 I think). The 83 bell has no provisions for a slave cylinder like the 84-92 bells. So you can use a mechanical clutch linkage. You can also a hydraulic clutch w a slave mounted on the input shaft. If you think it will work and you want it let me know.

you can also get an 84-92 bell and just cut the slave mount off. Those are super common. And all pretty cheap.

Tom 400 CFI

Does the '84 RX7 have a hyd clutch? If so, I'd use the '84^ stock bell and '84^ Camaro slave.

Granny

A hyd T-brg allows you to use any bellhousing that's compatible with your engine/trans/flywheel/starter, no need to worry about pivot ***** and fabricating a suitable z-bar set-up to fit your RX-7.

I have a '85 RX-7 with a sbc/stick. After 30 years of experimentation with shortened forks and external slaves, hyd t-brgs, 5/8, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 1" masters, Here's what I currently use...
...Howe hydraulic throw-out bearing (1.035sqin effective piston area)
...Wilwood 13/16" clutch master (.5185sqin piston area)

The stock RX-7 clutch master has a 5/8" bore, not big enough for the typical hyd T-brg. The larger bore Wilwood will bolt on the RX-7 firewall in place of the stock Mazda master, but the hole in the RX-7 firewall will need to bigger for the Wilwood master to sit flush. The RX-7's clevis has a metric thread and the Wilwood push rod is 5/16, but the threads are close enough that you can assemble without thread modification. You will need to shorten the Wilwood master's pushrod.

I use the above with a 153t steel flywheel and a Ram Powergrip dual friction clutch, but with a Ford Toploader 4spd that has been modified to use a Chevy style hyd t-brg. With any version of the T5, I would recommend a full organic clutch like Ram's HDX.

Grant

Firechicken82

this^^^

NotDeiton

I believe I bought your last swap kit actually! I'd love to pick your brain if (and when) I need some input. Would you recommend the 84+ housing like Tom 400 CFI had mentioned?

Granny

'84-up bell will have the tilted trans pattern that puts the shifter closer to the driver. With that bell the shifter will need mods to put the stick in the middle of the RX-7's console opening. Without shifter mods, the RX-7's stock rubber boot will try to pull the trans out of gear.
The older bells with the "straight-up" pattern will put the shifter closer to the middle of the console opening, but then the Camaro T5's trans mount pad will be angled and will require either a wedge to mate up with a level x-member or an angled x-member.

Grant