1964-66 4 speed bellhousing question

RustyRatRod said
Yup, you're gonna have to go to the larger bellhousing. You don't have a choice. To my knowledge, there's not a 9.5" 122 tooth flywheel compatible with the 318. They changed the crank register size in 1968, on the slant 6 for sure and I believe on the 318 as well, so I think the only way is to get the bigger bellhousing. You'll be ahead of the game anyway with the 10.5" clutch. I'm sure if I'm wrong and there's a different way to get it done, someone will tell you. I think that's right, though.

When I swapped a 340 into my 65 Barracuda in the spring of 1973, I hooked it to the original 273 flywheel and a 9.5 inch clutch. No issue of it fitting the 340. Holding the power was another story. I managed to secure a new 273 hi-po clutch disc from the dealer, but the OEM 273 hi-po pressure plate was NLA. So, for a pressure plate I ran a Weber 9.5. It held the power, but it was the stiffest clutch I've ever run. I ran two of them. They lasted two years or so and then the high pressure would bend one of the release fingers enough that the clutch could not be completely released. At the time, no one made a 10 inch clutch that would fit in a 9.5 inch bellhousing (or not that I was aware of, anyway). So, about 76-77 I swapped in a 10.5 inch bellhousing and flywheel from a 340 car. No clearance issues with the floor pan, but of course I did have to modify the 340 Z-bar. Ran a Zoom clutch assembly (remember them?). It gave a stiff pedal, but not as stiff as the 9.5 inch Weber. Later I ran a Hayes and I can't remember what else. Now have a Centerforce Dual Friction diaphragm clutch which bites hard (really, too hard), but pedal pressure is light and it has lasted longer than any other clutch I've ever run.

When I installed TTI headers, I replaced my 40 year old home-brew Z-bar setup for a Brewers' 10.5 inch clutch linkage kit for early A bodies that fit around the headers better.