Hi All, my name is Andy and I’m a long time lurker here on this forum and have had a 60 for a few years now. This wagon was the proverbial sat in the a neighbors yard for years and didn’t move much. Every time I walked by I asked about it and said it was a shame to let it just rust away. Long story short one summer a couple of years ago the neighbor decided it was time to let it go and hit me up. It was time to put my money where my mouth was and buy it. I didn’t quite get to it before the rust set in but there’s enough left for it to be serviceable. A little elbow grease here and there and I’ve had a useable vehicle for a bit.
I’ve known the clutch was having issues almost since day one and the time has come to replace it. The wagon has a Chevy TBI 350 in it of an unknown year. Best guess is around 1990/91. Upon removal of the stock 4spd transmission I learned it was built up with a Downey bellhousing kit. My main problem here is deciding which clutch parts I should be using. I have reached out to Jim Downey through this forum and was told he no longer makes the Chevota clutch that many seemed to have used in these. He mentions using a LUK 11 inch clutch but I’m not sure where to source this from? Is this the clutch that seems to be available from Advanced Adapters? Which pressure plate will I be using? The machine shop where I took the flywheel thought the pressure plate was probably a stock Chevy one but I see reference to a low profile one I some places. Is this also the one available from AA? How have people accommodated for the difference in engagement distance as mentioned in other threads by Jim on the 60 forum? I am using the stock Toyota hydraulics on a fabbed up slave mount. I would like to keep everything as is on the wagon as this was a running driving vehicle and all the fab work and modifications to mounts, cross members, and driveshafts are already done. I just want to replace the clutch as simply as possible.
On a final note, the starter used in this bellhousing set up is an old style horizontal mount Chevy starter which doesn’t lend itself to shimming. It mounts through the bellhousing instead of up into the block like a normal SBC starter would. Any one know any reason for this or why I can’t return it to a vertical mount starter style?
Thanks for the help, Andy
I’ve known the clutch was having issues almost since day one and the time has come to replace it. The wagon has a Chevy TBI 350 in it of an unknown year. Best guess is around 1990/91. Upon removal of the stock 4spd transmission I learned it was built up with a Downey bellhousing kit. My main problem here is deciding which clutch parts I should be using. I have reached out to Jim Downey through this forum and was told he no longer makes the Chevota clutch that many seemed to have used in these. He mentions using a LUK 11 inch clutch but I’m not sure where to source this from? Is this the clutch that seems to be available from Advanced Adapters? Which pressure plate will I be using? The machine shop where I took the flywheel thought the pressure plate was probably a stock Chevy one but I see reference to a low profile one I some places. Is this also the one available from AA? How have people accommodated for the difference in engagement distance as mentioned in other threads by Jim on the 60 forum? I am using the stock Toyota hydraulics on a fabbed up slave mount. I would like to keep everything as is on the wagon as this was a running driving vehicle and all the fab work and modifications to mounts, cross members, and driveshafts are already done. I just want to replace the clutch as simply as possible.
On a final note, the starter used in this bellhousing set up is an old style horizontal mount Chevy starter which doesn’t lend itself to shimming. It mounts through the bellhousing instead of up into the block like a normal SBC starter would. Any one know any reason for this or why I can’t return it to a vertical mount starter style?
Thanks for the help, Andy
