charliemccraney (4/21/2018)
You can have the flywheel drilled to work with a more common 11" clutch. If the truck will not be used as originally designed, this should not be a problem. Even so, technology has advanced quite a bit in about 60 years so a smaller modern clutch may be as good or better than a larger original clutch.
Replacement clutches for light truck Y Blocks were (incorrectly) 12" at one time and available at any auto parts store. I don't know if it is still the case.
I'm actually building this as a setup to use as a replacement for the 292/t86 in my '59 fairlane daily. Not looking for anything crazy, just enough power to move that boat. The current engine is fine and low miles but it doesnt hurt to have a ready to go backup incase i throw a rod or something. If it doesnt end up in there i have a bunch of hot rod projects that can take it. It might end up in my dad's 50 ford if the flattie has issues when i finally get around to firing it.
For this kind of application, my beliefs are i want a big, old style clutch not because it's gunna be pulling stumps but because i want something that will out last this engine and also since that is what the flywheel is set up for.
On anouther note, the 303/324 olds intakes i have drop on and bolt holes and ports are really close but as i knew going in they are machined at different angles. I might be able to make my weiand 3x2 fit with some machining and spacers but i'm going to see if i can find a 371 intake since they are cheap and a little wider, a J2 intake with 3 rochesters would be awesome. If this fails i can fall back on a 6x2 log since that is already proven to work.