adurso19@yahoo.com

I am replacing the 400 cu in Chevy small block in my 60 vette with a 1960 Chevy 283 full size Chevy engine. I have a 1963 Muncie 4 speed that I will bolt to it.What do I get for a flywheel, clutch and pressure plate, throw out bearing, and clutch release fork that will be compatible with the 60 Chevy engine and 63 Muncie connection. Is there a difference between the 1960 Vette flywheel and the 1960 full size Chevy? I suppose the answer to this is obvious but I had no luck researching it. I've had throw out bearing problems with the 400 cu. in. attached to the Muncie so I want to make sure the Muncie will work with the 60 full size Chevy engine. Thanks.

jimh_1962

Sure it will work. Make sure the bell housing will connect to the Muncie. I went with the later style bell housing (C2) not knowing at the time the diameter of the muncie was the same as the T-10. I did not have the correct 61/62 bell housing. I stuck with the later bell housing and had to create a new cross shaft bracket. I do not know what the difference would be for the flywheel (tooth count and size). If there is then change out the flywheel. The starter might need a different tooth count.

I am sure you can do all of this out of the car and verify things are lining up correctly. Or if your doing a frame off then check it all out. What do have for the flywheel and bell housing now?

MikeM

If you use the '63 transmission, you have to use the '63 bellhousing because of the small front bearing retainer. But! I believe someone makes an adapter ring that will space the small '63 bearing retainer to the later, larger bellhousing or even the large opening, original '60 bellhousing. "Nother thing. I don't know how your clutch cross shaft attaches to the block or bellhousing. That guy with the really sticky shift key should be along soon to help you ouTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

Take your 400 externally balanced flywheel with you when you remove the engine and find another Chevy, Corvette, some truck 168 tooth flywheel like your car is supposed to have and you're in business.

Clutch, throw out bearing that you currently have will work assuming the transmission you took out (you didn't mention it) has the same clutch splines and assuming the flywheel you select is drilled the same as the 400 wheel.

How much for the 400 and where is it?

jimh_1962

HAHA! That guy!

409/409

I have a 1963 bell housing if your interested!!!

adurso19@yahoo.com

I'm not able to see the numbers on the bell housing and flywheel on the 400 in the car now but I know the 400 flywheel can't be used with the 283, something about externally balanced 400 flywheel or something. Anyway I bought a bell housing number 3779553 that's supposed to be for a 58-60 passenger car.Now I need to know what will work between that bell housing and the muncie all of which I will buy new. Thanks

427390HP

Yes, you can use that 63 Muncie and 283 in your 60.

I just took the TH350 out of my '60 and put a 4 speed back in it. I found a real nice '63 T10 (1963 production used T10 until late in the production year and then switched to Muncie. So configuring a 63 T10 or Muncie will be the same for what I did and you are doing).

I have a '73 SBC and used that 63 T10 with an aftermarket 168 tooth flywheel, 10.5 inch clutch, a 3779553 bellhousing (aluminum 2 piece that was OEM for 1961-62 Corvettes) and a cast iron nose starter. All my clutch linkage was OEM style. Everything bolted up fine.

Because the 63 T10 and Muncies were a one year only transmission that used the small front bearing retainer, you will either have to find a 63 bellhousing OR all you have to do is switch the small front bearing retainer to a large front bearing retainer. The problem with using a 63 bell on a 60 is that the 63 bell does not have the engine side bracket for the clutch cross shaft. So you will need to do some fabricating to get the clutch linkage to work in your 60 with a 63 bellhousing.

The easiest way to put that 63 Muncie in your 60 is to get a 591620 or 3741458 bearing retainer (I believe 591620 is casting number and 3741458 is part number) from a Saginaw 3 speed and put in on your Muncie. It's a srtaight bolt on and has now converted your 63 Muncie small bearing retainer transmission to a 58-62 style large bearing retainer transmission.

I found dozens of threads related to clutch, bellhousing, starter, and transmission when I was researching my conversion. Here are two threads that will reiterate what I have previously explained:

Look especially at posts #8 and #10:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...fferences.html

Look especially at post #5:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ncie-late.html

ALLLLLLLLL of the credit for this information goes to DZAUTO (Tom Parsons). I used his knowledge for my conversion and I'm just passing on his information. If you do a search for all posts by DZAUTO, you will find everything you need to know about C1 drivetrains.

So, you should be able to put that 63 Muncie with that 283 by changing the front bearing retainer, using a 58-62 bellhousing, 168 tooth flywheel, starter with a cast iron nose, and OEM clutch linkage.

Hope this helps you out.

Terry

P.S. BTW, I kind of get a kick out of the guy with the sticky caps key.

DZAUTO

I've pointed this out several times, but I'll do it again for those who have obviously missed it.
YES, the 63 T10/Muncie transmissions were a one year only and required a bell housing (421) with a smaller hole for the front bearing retainer--------------------SORTA!
Locate a front bearing retainer for a 62-earlier plain jane Chevy 3sp and bolt it onto the front of the 63 Muncie and all is good in the world (this is what was done on 63 4spds behind the 63 409 engnies). It will then mate up to any 62-earlier, or, 64-later bell housing. Clearly, there are no 409 people here!

Oh ya, and the 553 alum open bottom bell housing is not a 58-60 application. It was used on ALLLLLLLLLLLLL 61-62 Corvettes with a manual transmission and 61-63 hi-perf 348 and 409 engines in full size pass cars.

adurso19@yahoo.com

Ok, I left out some info. The first time I had the noisy throw out bearing replaced it was noted that the bell housing hole on the 400 was too big for the muncie bearing retainer so I had the bigger retainer put on the tranny to make it fit snug as it should. Now I have the right size bell housing to put on the 283 and I will put the small tranny front bearing retainer back on the muncie for the right fit.I can't use the 400 flywheel on the 283 so I need to know which flywheel and clutch to order to bolt to whatever flywheel. The clutch I have is too far worn to use again and the bearing is squaking. I'm not sure what I will do with the 400. It runs great and has an edlebrock performer cam with a quadrajet.If you leave me your contact info I'll get in touch when I pull the 400. Thanks for the info.

DZAUTO

Good Grief!
IF YOU BOUGHT, AND PLAN TO USE A 553 BELL HOUSING (alum open bottom), THEN YOU WILL NEED TO KEEP THE LARGER FRONT BEARING RETAINER ON THE 63 MUNCIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, to be compatible with the 553 bell housing (which uses a starter which bolts to the bell housing), you will STILL NEED a larger, 168 teeth flywheel. The EARLY (as used in the 50s) 168 teeth flywheels had a bolt pattern for a 10 1/2in clutch. The later (60s-70s-early 80s) 168 teeth flywheels had a bolt pattern for an 11in clutch------------------EITHER VERSION OF 168 TEETH FLYWHEEL WILL WORK FINE WITH YOUR 60-283-553 BELL HOUSING!

Now, for an observation.
Personally, I'm having difficulty understanding why the choice was made to replace a killer SB400 with a 283?

I'm also interested in the 400.

adurso19@yahoo.com

Terry, Thanks, great explanation. I explained in another post that the muncie was fitted years back with the larger nose cone because the muncie was sloppy in the bell housing presently on the 400 cu. in. Does that mean the muncie now will fit with the 3779553 that I have? Also can I buy any 168 tooth small block chevy flywheel or does it have to be for a specific car? Also for what car do I order the clutch,throw out bearing, and clutch fork? By the way the 3779553 bell has a 4 5/8" hole. Thanks again. Tony

adurso19@yahoo.com

DZ AUTO, I'm missing something here. The bell I bought has number 3779553 and is not aluminum, it's cast iron. The hole in the bell is 4 5/8" in diameter.So---which muncie nose cone will fit, the large one or the small one? Thanks. PS I'm building the 283 with the duntov cam and dual wcfb's. It'll be closer to original but i'm having second thoughts about replacing the 400. It's a torque monster!

427390HP

Yes, your Muncie with the large bearing should fit like a glove in that 553 bell. Since you have both of those parts now, just slide the bell onto the front of the Muncie. It should fit perfectly.

As far as I know any 14" 168 tooth flywheel should work. New flywheels should be drilled for both 10.5" and 11" clutches.

You should get the clutch, throw out bearing, and fork for a 60 Corvette.

I used LUK #04-084 clutch . I got it from NAPA. Their part number for this kit is 1104084.

The LUK kit uses the cheap plastic throw out bearing. So if you go with this LUK, you would probably want to order a good bearing at the same time. I don't have a part number for the bearing because the guy at my NAPA just swapped a good bearing he had in stock with the one from the kit.

Important: Per John Z: "... all Corvettes use the "short" (1-1/4") throwout bearing with bent-finger diaphragm clutches ... The long one ... was used in passenger cars and trucks with "flat-finger" diaphragm clutches."

So, depending on the actual clutch kit you get, be ABSOLUTELY SURE you have the right clutch with the right throw out bearing. Read this thread for further clarification:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ver-shaft.html

As I have stated in other threads, I am not the expert on this. John Z and DZAUTO and many others are experts in this. But I researched this forum until I was blue in the face so I had all the right parts so it would be a slam dunk conversion. It was except for the wrong throw out bearing in the Ram kit I initially used. Once that was discovered, the LUK kit fixed that problem.

Again, I would encourage you to read of few of the threads where these topics have been discussed many times. It will save you a lot of time and grief once you get to the actual conversion.

Terry

427390HP

I know you're asking DZ, but a 553 bell is aluminum. If you can hook one finger on it and pick it up, it's aluminum which is very lightweight. You can't do that with a cast iron bell.

Check your bell against this:

http://www.4speedconversions.com/3779553.html

They say that retainer opening is 4 11/16, so I think your 4 5/8 is just a slight measurement difference.

Again, just take your bell and slide it up against the Muncie. Your large retainer should fit in there perfectly.

Apologies to Tom if it seemed like I was stepping on toes. I wasn't, I was already replying to this thread so I thought I'd clarify this at the same time.

Terry

adurso19@yahoo.com

Terry, my humble apologies to you and to DZ, when I'm done with this apology. I wrote down the wrong number for my bell housing. It's no. 3742257.I hope this bell works. I'm getting dizzy researching this build!!!

adurso19@yahoo.com

DZ, My apologies, I wrote down the wrong number for my bell. It's a 3742257. I wish it was the aluminum, they're worth a bundle! Thanks for all your help, Tony

427390HP

Tony, no problem on my end. The 3742257 is a passenger car bell and was never used on any Corvette (per John Z). It makes sense that you have a passenger car 283 and the original bell that came with it.

I know what you mean about the researching. I have a literal 2 inch stack of paper I printed out when I was researching my conversion. My brother can disassemble and reassemble a tri-five in his sleep - and he's also pretty dang good on any of the old pre 1972 stuff. He does most of my real technical wrenching so long as I have ALL THE CORRECT PARTS. That means all of the parts and they had better be the right parts. So I research until I am certain that I have those parts! So I learned a whole lot more than I ever wanted to know about bellhousings, clutches, starters, etc.

The reason for that little history lesson is that, yes, you have to research until you can't see straight IF you want to do the job correctly the first time. Most of us can get some parts and try it out to see if it works but it usually ends up costing a lot more time and money and effort to fix it. There's no shortcut.

I spent the money on an expensive 553 bell for 2 reasons: 1) I knew it would work properly in my car, and 2) I wanted the lighter aluminum over the cast iron.

Here is what i see and think you should do:

1. The passenger 283 you have is fine and will work just as if it had a Corvette code on it. I'm not going to address what engine you should put in the car, I'm just sticking with what you have said so far.

2. You need a bellhousing that has the engine side clutch cross shaft bracket holes on it. Other guys have modified other bells to work, but I like sticking with OEM setups whenever I can. So a 55-59 Corvette cast iron bell #3733365 or a 60 Corvette aluminum bell #3764591 or a 61-62 Corvette aluminum bell #3779553 will work equally as well. I would strongly recommending to get any of those bells and nothing else considered. Your choice really depends on the cost of the different bells and whether or not you want cast iron vs aluminum. Your call on that. I spent the extra $200 for the 553 bell because that's what I wanted.

3. Your Muncie with the larger front bearing retainer should be ready to bolt up. You already have fixed that problem.

4. I assume you have or will get all the OEM style clutch linkage. Again, that's what I did and I would not go any other way.

5. Get a clutch kit, throwout bearing and fork made for a 60 Corvette. As I mentioned in the last post, I would get a bent finger diaphragm clutch and a good SHORT (1 1/4") throwout bearing. Again, there are a lot of other ways to go, but this is what I did.

6. Again, any 14" 168 tooth flywheel should work. I have an aftermarket flywheel in my 60.

7. You will need a starter with the cast iron nose for the 168 tooth flywheel.

If you have those parts above, you should have a fairly easy installation that should work great right off the ramps.

One more time, I am not an expert, but I just did my conversion last June and I went with almost all OEM or OEM equivalent parts so I didn't have any problems. I'm sure there are many variation that other guys are running but I cannot attest to what else will or will not work.

Terry

DZAUTO

You are just fine.
The alum and cast iron housings are virtually identical.
Below is the alum 553 housing. The only real difference is that the alum 553 housing does not have the lower, side motor mount pads.






This is what your cast iron housing should look like, showing the flat pads for motor mounts.

DZAUTO

After reading and re-reading the above replies, I suddenly realized that I forgot to point out a VERY important feature that is required for ANY and ALL 55-62 Corvettes with a manual transmission.
Below is shown a boss which MUST BE ON whatever bell housing is used (alum or iron). This boss is required for the clutch Z-bar mounting bracket. If your housing does not have this boss, you are SOL!!!!
All, open bottom aluminum housings (ie 3779553 or 3764591) have this boss. Also, the early (55-59) cast iron housings have this boss. SOME of the later (60-62) cast iron housings do not have this boss nor the lower pads for motor mounts (mount pads were ONLY used on 55-57 pass cars).

DZAUTO

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I recognized that you were only replying.