The Floyd Brothers 68 Barracuda Fastback

JohnR · Post by **JohnR** » Fri May 15, 09 2:57 pm

Get rid of that poxy electric oil pressure gauge thing and use a proper one Stu !!!!! bloody things are so unreliable and slow !!!!!!!!!!!

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Fri May 15, 09 2:59 pm

Blimey John!

You'll get splinters in yer arse sitting on fences like that.

Hadn't really thought about it, Mate. Take it your not keen then?

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Fri May 15, 09 3:11 pm

Really got quite stuck at this point, as we were convinced that we'd been told we could use the 'verter from the 6. After plenty of turning, rotating and threats of drilling it to fit, 11 O'clock came and an ingenious idea struck!

The cunning idea was....... Ring Blue!

Quick chat to Blue, (thank's again Mate, couldn't get near the forum without losing another load of time, so sorry again for disturbing your Sunday. Top man.

) and he confirmed that we should be able to use it, but couldn't understand either why it wouldn't line up.

Dunno if the pictures will shed any more light, Mate?

Seemingly, there were two options. Give up for the weekend and try and Bananarama! back off the lift and up the hill with a rope and wooden brace holding the rear of the block up, go home and sulk, or......

Get creative.

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Fri May 15, 09 3:58 pm

Are you putting the flex plate on the right way facing you?

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Fri May 15, 09 4:08 pm

Decided that if the plate wouldn't fit anyway, then it was scrap if we couldn't get it sorted, so given that... was there any harm in drilling it? It's not like a huge amount of material was to be removed, as all but one of the holes lined up. Rather than abandoning plan, we decided to press on, drill the bugger to fit and get on with it. A new plate wasn't in the budget, so thought if we just get on with it, we could podt the pics up here and see what the consensus was. If it really was a no-no, we'd not lost anything except some time and elbow grease, maybe a little face but at worth a try!

Consulted the resident engineer, who wasn't best keen, but decided it shouldn't affect the balance so offered to put a hole in it properly for us rather than see us get the hand drill out.

Top man, a few minutes later and this is where we were....

Putting crash hats on for the lambasting as we speak... I'm sure this will give a few of you heart attacks...

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Fri May 15, 09 4:10 pm

Dave wrote:Are you putting the flex plate on the right way facing you?

I believe so, Dave. But do stand to be corrected from the pictures.

Wouldn't line up either way in any case.

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Fri May 15, 09 4:20 pm

I can't remember which way around they go but I think if you put it on the wrong way around the bolt holes wouldn't line up.

I might have a spare flex plate if you have knacked it.

JohnR · Post by **JohnR** » Fri May 15, 09 4:20 pm

Nothing like a proper gauge with a pipe on it I have never liked the electric ones ever since I had a bearing go on a car it reacted too slow and by the time it started rattling big time it was to late but the gauge still showed good oil pressure for a while

where's me tweezers ??????

I'l get me coat and hat

Blue · Post by **Blue** » Fri May 15, 09 4:49 pm

Certainly looks like you have it the right way round. As far as I know there are only 2 crank bolt patterns, Hemi and everything else until you get into the later Magnum engines. I have several stock flex plates if you want to try them.

Blue · Post by **Blue** » Fri May 15, 09 5:03 pm

Uh-oh

Seems like I'm wrong,

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mopar-To ... dZViewItem

learn something new every day...

MilesnMiles · Post by **MilesnMiles** » Fri May 15, 09 5:48 pm

Just seen this. /6 won't fit as Blue verified. Must be loads of v8 one knocking about in the club, new ones are pretty cheap. Before you bolt the new one to the crank, offer it up to the convertor and ensure all holes bolt up, use the bolts to be sure and then mark the correct holes clearly, or you'l be hacked off later when you have to keep rotating the convertor to line up.
Finally do Loctite the convertor bolts thru the flex plate or they WILL come loose

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Sat May 16, 09 9:36 am

Oh bugger.

So this isn't a good time to say that the box and prop are already back in, flex plate loctite'd up and ready to go, then?

So I suppose the burning question is... Does that plate need swapping for the correct one, or will our Heath Robinson design be ok?

Balls...

Any joy on that pic of the engine mount, Blue?

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Sat May 16, 09 9:49 am

I would imagine a /6 plate could have a different balance to a SB.
I know for example, a 400 plate is different to a 383.

Its worth checking from a balance perspective, I imagine it would function safely...

Blue · Post by **Blue** » Sat May 16, 09 11:06 am

Factory external balancing was all done on the convertor, so you'll be ok from that perspective. Going down the shop now so I'll see what mounts I've got.

Cannonball · Post by **Cannonball** » Sat May 16, 09 11:45 am

stu shame that you did not buzz me i could have told you the 6 is a different plate, all others are the same cept hemi, i bought some old stock plates thought i had scored till i learned they were 6 ones,, leave that plate as is mate your not gonna hurt it no way, swap it out later when one or the other needs att,