The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Rebuild clutch housing?

I see that my truck has the odd ball clutch housing/pressure plate combo:

11in housing 9 bolt.
10 3/4 in disk

I'd like to know if anyone had one rebuilt from a local shop... Is it something that is doable or out of the question? If I can get it done locally for $200 or less I'd rather do that... is that a realist number???

Flywheel housing, clutch housing, bellhousing would all be the same thing. It is usually the cast iron housing that bolts to the rear of the engine block, and houses the items its name reffers to.

The clutch assembly is the usual 2 items with bolts that bolts to the back of the flywheel. And consists of the clutch disk and the pressure plate.

So are you talking about the bellhousing or the clutch assembly?
And do you mean having the disk rebuild with new friction material and also having the pressure plate rebuilt, that includes resurfacing the plate and new springs etc. Also your flywheel should be resurfaced too if its worn bad.

There is not much that can be done to "rebuild" the flywheel housing/clutch housing/bellhousing. If its messed up you pretty much have to find a replacement.

I just spoke with Jim Carter sales and it seems that everyone is using a different term depending on the manual and she didn't know much more than what was on the web site.

The pressure plate is what I am talking about. That's what my manual calls it.

Motor / truck are not the same, so I won't include them.

I have measured the flywheel:

13 7/8 OD

Clutch disk area:
6 3/4 ID
10 15/16 OD

9 bolts

Spline:
10
1 1/8 id

So I am thinking I need the 10 3/4in clutch disc.
But the Clutch cover she mentioned is 10 3/4 (ME407)

That doesn't seem right and I don't want to ship anything back for the wrong size (already ordered the wrong clutch based on what the web site said).

Looking at the clutch cover there are no markings that stand out... but the friction disc had 'Borg & ' something on it.. and a patent number.

Probably Borg and Beck. Is your pressure plate bad? John

The surface is rusted... and my machine shop said it I can get it apart the can resurface it. But I don't have any sort of repair kit.

The clutch was on the motor, and I did take it off (and had the flywheel resurfaced) but the friction disc will need to be replaced (wear).

Well I was able to decode the flywheel via the casting number. The 29-57 Master Parts book says that 839754 is for a 42-53 3/4, 1 TON UTIL, or Pass 1/2 TON (hvy duty clutch).

Whats cool is that the heavy duty clutch specifically lists 9 bolt holes vs 6.

So... now off to find a heavy duty clutch kit.

go to napa. i got an off the self kit from them, it included four pieces. disk, pressure plate, throwout bearing and tool for aliagnment. the disk might be a tad smaller but you wont notice a difference in operation. i took a pp a part and the only thing i saw after cleaning it up was slight wear on the fingers. they come aprt easy. mail order is fine for some things. something like this its better to take what you have to the counter.

pfarber, I used advance auto parts on line for my new clutch and housing by matching the 235 1956 motor to a clutch kit they sell. I would recommend that route. Why? You don't pay shipping when it arrives at the store and in my case, I had the wrong size clutch and they just took it back at the store and sent the right size. So, I agree use NAPA, advance auto, or whatever FLAPS is in your area. V/R, Nick, Bel Air, MD

I already ordered a from Advance and it was the wrong part. There are no 'Heavy Duty' clutches on their web site, and none of the units they could find had 9 bolt.

So if I had a standard duty clutch I could walk in to any parts store and get the right size.

But the heavy duty clutch is its own part number, as is the flywheel it bolts up to.

I may just get a smaller flywheel so I can use off the shelf parts... but my truck is a 1 1/2 ton and its empty weight is more than most passenger car/trucks of the time.... and I do live in PA with lots of hills, and I plan to haul stuff... so I would be making a large sacrifice in utility if I went smaller.

Checked my email this morning... final nail, meet coffin:

Paul,
This clutch is no longer available thru Perfection Clutch! I would suggest a company called D & W Rebuilders. Their phone # is 1-800-406-0142.
Thank you,

Here is the question I asked:

Hello,

I am looking for a clutch kit for the following:

Chevy 1942-1953 3/4 ton, 1 TON Utility truck.

This is a heavy duty (9 bolt) clutch housing and the original Chevy part number was 3705387. The friction disc is 10 3/4 inches and the spline is 10 1 1/8

Thank you.

You will not find a new pressure plate (9 bolt) at NAPA or any other FLAPS.

I have a 1950 3600 (3/4 ton) with the same set up. I believe I have an extra pressure plate. Also, make sure the pressure plate tabs that hold it together are not loose. I fought a noise for 6 months. Went through 2 T/O bearings and several other things only to find out it was the pressure plate problem (loose tabs) that was causing my noise with the clutch engaged.

I think the problem is solved. Spoke with:

http://www.fortwayneclutch.com/index.php/

And the tech guy knew right away what the heavy duty clutch I was talking about was, and even said there is only one pressure plate for it, and its not a common one.

Price is $275 + $100 core (I have the core, no problem there).

Jim Carter and Chevy's of the 40s simply didn't have any answers regarding the clutch and could only use vague answers like 'should fit' (but wouldn't pay return shipping if they were wrong).

Thanks for the offer... just so you know that old unit is worth a $100 core charge. I'm just happy to have found one. A little expensive, but big trucks require big parts and they cost big money, unfortunately.

I think the only other major expense I have on the rebuild will be bearings. Bearings are crazy expensive for the 1.5 ton.

No problem. Let me know if you run in to dead end and I'll be glad to help you out as would most of our bolters...

Paul, Glad you found the heavy duty clutch for your 1.5 ton stovebolt. In hindsight I should have read your post more carefully because the clutch you were seeking was different than what I was after. Sorry. V/R, Nick