Jonathan,
I looked at your web photo's. I'm not certain about the clutch, alignment pins
and diameter. As an example, you could use a 7 1/2" diameter disc with an 8"
pressure plate, but that wouldn't be optimum. I'd recommend replacing the
flywheel in the car with one that fits the 8" pressure plate and disk. One
final word....... DO NOT USE THE FLYWHEEL LOCK TABS WHEN YOU INSTALL THE NEW
FLYWHEEL!!!!!!!
On a race engine rebuild a few years ago I had a total of about 4 hours on a
new (1725cc) race engine. Came down into turn 10 at Sears Point, lifted
momentarily to set the car and unknown to me the flywheel bolts sheared, and
when I came back on the throttle, well, I set the tattle tale (Smith's
chronometric tach) at 8800rpm (no telling how many rpm the engine actually
turned.. probably around 10 grand)). In the meantime, the flywheel/disk and
pressure plate were trying to eat their way through the bell housing!!!
Fortunately they did not succeed(!!!!) The sound on the video is not just
awesome.... it's S C A R Y!!!!
My machinist explained that the flywheel only had to shift 0.0001" ONCE
(that's one ten thousanth of an inch), and it was all over, and the lock tabs
being a soft metal would wear quickly!! After repairing all the damage he sent
me to the local Caterpillar tractor parts dealer in town and had me buy new
grade 10 or grade 12 bolts then use Red Locktite to secure them (standard
torque values and no lock tabs). Never had another problem in several seasons
of racing the car.
Good luck to you!!
Carl
(formerly) 1960 series 1 Sunbeam Alpine
Lotus 61 formula Ford
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 3:27 PM
Subject: Series V, 8" clutch ?
Alpine experts,
I finally got around to working on my clutch over the holiday
weekend. However, I found that the new clutch, purchased as a
replacement for the original in my car (early Series V w/10-spline
shaft), is different from the one that's been in the car for the past
20 years. The new clutch, with a 7.5" driven plate, is relatively
small. The clutch from the car has an 8" driven plate and a larger
clutch cover/diaphragm spring. The flywheel in the car is also
different from one mounted on my spare engine. Since the flywheel on
my spare engine mates correctly to the new clutch, I assume it is
original and that the one in the car is not.
I would consider swapping out flywheels, so I could use the clutch I
already purchased, but the spare (original) flywheel has badly worn
teeth. (I also like the idea of a larger clutch, despite the heavier
flywheel. Please correct me if this is a bad idea.)
If I can identify the 8" clutch and find a source for a new one, I
would probably just replace it. The 8" clutch is stamped "Borg & Beck
Co. Ltd." "England". Other than a difference of size and the related
difference of flywheels, it is similar to the original Alpine clutch.
Photos of the clutch can be seen at
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/jmies/alpine/clutch/clutch.html
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