bhou

I hope someone can help I have installed a lakewood bellhousing part # 15000. into a 68 corvette. the next step is to install the muncie m 22 trans. However, when I was under the car it looks like the stock clutch fork is very close to the firewall. Has anyone ran across this problem?


Thanks,


Brian

TheSkunkWorks

Yes, it's close, and I've seen damaged firewalls from forks actually getting into them. Proper adjustment of the linkage and fork pivot ball should keep you out of trouble.

Set the fork pivot ball to a depth of 4.75" (someone correct me if I'm not remembering the right dimension) from tip to the engine's rear mating surface for proper geometry, accounting for the thickness of the engine plate if you're running one.

During assembly, don't shrug off checking concentricity of the bellhousing with the CL of the crank. This is a critical item, and Lakewoods are known for being a bit inconsistent here, which is probably why the sell a good number of 0.007" offset dowels. Get this right before even considering moving on with your installation.

When I put mine back together, I'm considering SpeedDirect's Rod Links... http://www.speeddirect.com/ BTW, they're discounted 15% thru the 16th to forum members. See the sticky at the top of the C3 Tech/Perf forum for details.

international blue

could you describe the concentricity check?

JOE

Frank_833

Basically you use a dial indicator to insure the bellhousing is centered on the crank. 70 era 3/4 speeds will tolerate some mis-alignment issues, but modern 5/6 speeds are not so forgiving. GM units are generally accepted as pretty acurate. The Lakewood units are known for not being so. If your engine has been line bored then it doesn't matter how acurate the bellhousing was.

Keisler has a write up, scroll down to #6

http://www.keislerauto.com/gm/transm...tte_68-82.html

I got lucky on my recent build. My Lakewood was within 3 thou after motor work.

tshort

I've got a Lakewood and I tried the 4.75" depth and it was way off. I think 4.75" only works if you're using the block protector, which I don't have. I just adjusted the clutch pivot ball until there was a little bit of play in the fork. You don't want it completely tight or you'll be wearing the clutch all the time.
And yes, they usually are not true (centered). You need a dial indicator and some offset dowel pins to center it. Lakewood has the method of centering it on their website. I believe Keisler also has some directions on centering the bell housing.