Mike Sharkey

I'm going to be putting my engine and transmission back in my 1960 this weekend. Does anyone know or have an opinion on whether it's easier on this car to bolt the engine and transmission together and install them as a unit or if it's easier to install them separately and bolt them together in the car. I took them out separately.

Cleaned it up with brake cleaner. Stop drilled the end of the crack and then V'd out the crack with a Dremel. Then welded it up both sides. I'm not going to bother closing up the stop drilled hole, I don't think it's gonna matter. Hopefully the alloy is one of the weldable ones and the repair will hold.

Here's a couple pictures of it. I don't think it's in a structural area. At some time in the past something got thrown around in the bellhousing area. The inside of the bellhousing is all beat up as well as the edges of the flex plate and the bolts on the torque converter. I get the feeling that one of the TC bolts came out and spent some time orbiting the TC at high speed.

I do quite a bit of TIG welding of aluminum so the actual weld repair isn't going to be difficult. The one concern I have though is that there are some alloys of aluminum that are described as "non-weldable". I haven't worked with one of these alloys but what I've been told is that they will weld just fine but will tend to crack again later.

Does anyone know if the Bellhousing for the Dynaflow on a 1960 is a weldable aluminum alloy? Mine has a crack along the bottom.

Thank you

I have a question about the u joint at the output shaft of my Dynaflow. The cross of the u joint is able to move side to side through the bearing caps that are pressed into the yoke ears. The cross is able to move about 3/16" side to side at each yoke. The ends of the four bearing caps in the yoke ears are open and the ends of the four shafts of the cross are able to come through these openings. None of the other u joints I've dealt with have been like this. I'm used to the ends of the bearing caps being closed and the caps being pressed into the ears of the yokes far enough that the cross is unable to move side to side more than a couple thousandths of an inch. Is this normal? Is there supposed to be something else in this assembly that keeps the cross from being able to move side to side--something that I'm missing?

That's very helpful, thank you. And thanks for everyone else's input, I appreciate it.

I'm sure plenty of people have done something like this the wrong way, just as plenty of people have done this the right way. I knew before I bought this car that I was going to need to change the transmission to have the car the way I wanted it. And I knew before I bought the car that changing the transmission was going to mean changing the rear end. I'm actually looking forward to the project. I was just wondering if someone knew of a particular year/model car with either a GM 12 bolt or Ford 9 inch rear axle that came close to matching the width of the original.

I was thinking that ai should be able to get the nailhead engine built for under $10000 since I intend to assemble it myself. All I would need is the machining to be done by a shop.

The speedometer is fixed. I'm not worried about it not going together at some point or it just not working. It's just a machine--it might fight for awhile but if you are determined you can fix anything.

The engine in the car is pretty worn out. I did a leak down test on the cylinders and all of them were not good. When I got this car I planned to put money into the drivetrain--its why I was looking for a classic car. But from what I've read so far building a nailhead engine will cost about $10000. And then I need to sort out a good transmission to go behind it. I could build a 455 for much less and have an easier and cheaper time getting a transmission. I can get an LS engine and transmission from a mid 2000's Camaro for $6000 to $9000 off eBay. But, I'm not really interested in an LS swap. Whichever way I go though, I need to get the rear end sorted so I'm starting there.

I hadn't thought of leaf springs. I think mostly what I've heard of for this is the truck trailing arms and four link. I'll have to give that some thought. I'm really not interested in an LS swap, but it would be the least expensive way to go by far. Right now I don't need to worry too much about the cost for the engine/transmission but if the difference in cost is ridiculous I might have to go that way. I'd prefer to keep my engine or a 425 though.

Is anyone familiar with the speedometer for the 1960? Mine makes a loud timing noise that goes away when I disconnect the speedometer cable. I've got the unit out and almost totally disassembled but I can't figure out how to get the drive assembly apart. It looks like I might need to drill out a couple rivets that hold the speed alarm assembly in place, but it's not clear that I'll be able to remove it even with that.

I haven't decided on the transmission yet. I'd like overdrive, and I'd love to go with a manual. As far as the engine, my first choice is to keep my 401 or source a 425. But that may not be financially possible. From what I've read so far building a nailhead will go $10000 and will still only be about 400HP. My second choice would be a Buick 455. Last choice would be an LS swap. It'd be the least expensive but it really doesn't interest me.