kiki231
09-22-2012, 10:53 AM
I will begin this thread by saying i am pleased with my QT bell, but.....
I am in the throws of building my drivetrain -- i have a 347 in a ford block, TKO600, centerforce clutch, and Quicktime bell. Firstly, I dialled in the bell using a dial gauge (i mounted its mag base on the flywheel after removing 2 of the 6 flywheel bolt to get some room for said base-- the gauge ended up being mounted outside of the bell and the stylus hit the bell opening at a 30 degree angle, which required a little trig to calculate the runout) -- I ended up having only .004 of TOTAL variance -- meaning i was off in .002"__ and the off was towards the 10 o'clock position. So that was good -- now the little headache--
I bought my block from the Engine Factory, and was fortunate enough to stumble across their excellent video on the QT mods that are required to fit to a 302 block. The video is a couple years old. Likewise, there is a wealth of stories on line about folks have trouble specifically with the starter locking up engaged, or failing to fully engage the ring gear on the flywheel. It is always the same old issue -- the midplate that comes with the bell is off. the starter cutout is about 1/8" too far radially from the flywheel. The bolt holes are properly located, but the cutout itself is off. If you fail to open up the cutout on the inboard side, the bolts are hard to line up and tighten, and thus the starter pinion ends up being too far away.
Mine was off. The 2 dowel holes were tight-- but one quick spin with a dremel cleaned off the anodization which worked great. The starter cutout, on the other hand was off by the standard 1/8". ( i am still surprised that Quicktime hasnt corrected this issue). Using the mounting bolts as a guide, i held the starter up to the plate and outlined where the hole should be with a marker. Using a grinder and a file, i took it down. You could also place the starter in the standard cutout to get an idea how far it is off against the starter mounting holes. Ultimately you have to cut a "half-moon" shaped sliver. I didnt have a stock midplate like they did in the video, so it was all by eye! 1/8" is a lot considering how small the teeth are on the pinion gear. Ultimately the work was done, checking frequently, and placed on the block. Then I mounted the flywheel , torqued the bolts (with blue locker - to lock and seal the threads from oil leaking) to 80 ft/lbs.
Next up will be my tranny mods (midshift and trimming the under boss )
here are some photos -- first showing the misalignment before work, then the starter held in the corrected cutout
I am in the throws of building my drivetrain -- i have a 347 in a ford block, TKO600, centerforce clutch, and Quicktime bell. Firstly, I dialled in the bell using a dial gauge (i mounted its mag base on the flywheel after removing 2 of the 6 flywheel bolt to get some room for said base-- the gauge ended up being mounted outside of the bell and the stylus hit the bell opening at a 30 degree angle, which required a little trig to calculate the runout) -- I ended up having only .004 of TOTAL variance -- meaning i was off in .002"__ and the off was towards the 10 o'clock position. So that was good -- now the little headache--
I bought my block from the Engine Factory, and was fortunate enough to stumble across their excellent video on the QT mods that are required to fit to a 302 block. The video is a couple years old. Likewise, there is a wealth of stories on line about folks have trouble specifically with the starter locking up engaged, or failing to fully engage the ring gear on the flywheel. It is always the same old issue -- the midplate that comes with the bell is off. the starter cutout is about 1/8" too far radially from the flywheel. The bolt holes are properly located, but the cutout itself is off. If you fail to open up the cutout on the inboard side, the bolts are hard to line up and tighten, and thus the starter pinion ends up being too far away.
Mine was off. The 2 dowel holes were tight-- but one quick spin with a dremel cleaned off the anodization which worked great. The starter cutout, on the other hand was off by the standard 1/8". ( i am still surprised that Quicktime hasnt corrected this issue). Using the mounting bolts as a guide, i held the starter up to the plate and outlined where the hole should be with a marker. Using a grinder and a file, i took it down. You could also place the starter in the standard cutout to get an idea how far it is off against the starter mounting holes. Ultimately you have to cut a "half-moon" shaped sliver. I didnt have a stock midplate like they did in the video, so it was all by eye! 1/8" is a lot considering how small the teeth are on the pinion gear. Ultimately the work was done, checking frequently, and placed on the block. Then I mounted the flywheel , torqued the bolts (with blue locker - to lock and seal the threads from oil leaking) to 80 ft/lbs.
Next up will be my tranny mods (midshift and trimming the under boss )
here are some photos -- first showing the misalignment before work, then the starter held in the corrected cutout