I am in need of a replacement clutch for my 56 Olds 324. It has been suggested that a Ford truck clutch will work but no one has suggested what year etc. I do know that a F250 circa 1989 10 spline disk will work but am at a loss as to what pressure plate will be needed. Anyone faced this before?

 

Both Ford and Oldsmobile (before '65) used an 11 in Long clutch.
Pressure plates will swap between the two.
Are you sure that the '89 Ford disc will work on the GM trans?
I thought that Ford and GM splines were different, but maybe not,
If so, the '89 F-250 clutch assembly should work.

 

Charlie, thanks for the input. A friend found that the 10 spline Super Duty disk from the diesel does work with the early Olds input shaft and is using it in his application. Good tip on the pre 65 Ford. Gives me something to look for now.

 

The "pre-65" that I referred to was Olds.
Any 11 in Ford "Long type" pressure plate will bolt up to a pre-65 Olds.

In my '63 I have a 96 Mustang GT clutch.
The pressure plate bolts right up to the stock '63 Olds flywheel.
The 26 spline disc fits the Richmond Super T-10 trans that I have.

I would think that a complete '89 F-250 clutch would work in your case.
As long as it is 11 in.

 

Charlie, I found that RAM clutch in SC makes and stocks a 11 inch long style clutch that according to the service tech is the one used in the early Olds applications. Part number 406, available thru them or Summit. Mine will be here Saturday. I ordered a disc from a 89 Ford Super Duty diesel as a friend over on the HAMB has found that they work with the Olds std trannies. Anxious to see all of this in and working.

 

That's what I have in mine too. A hi performance RAM clutch.

 

A new throwout bearing may be in order too.
The factory part numbers are either 563277 or 1421681
A bearing house may be able to cross reference those numbers.
The bearing presses off the sleeve with a small arbor press.
This bearing was used in '50 thru '64 Oldsmobile , as well as '36 thru '53 Cadillac

 

All the parts arrived and fit up nicely. Now I am dealing with two hot spots on my recently ground flywheel. Many say run it but I dare not as it is a bitch to pull the engine every time you need to work on the trans/clutch. I have had it out three times this year alone to fix 2nd gear etc etc.
I may take it back to have 100 thou taken off in the hope that it will get below the hot spots.
Now the next issue is that my rear main seal is leaking again. We had used one of the new style neoprene pieces that comes with a small spacer. Easy to use when the engine is torn apart but not necessarily so when the crank is installed. I may go back to a rope seal. Any suggestions who makes a quality piece. I hear there are a lot of junk ones in the market. Any recommendations?

 

Who ground that flywheel ? Can you feel those grinding wheel marks ? Can you catch a fingernail on those grinder marks ? If that resurfacing (grinding) is as rough as it looks, you'll grind up a clutch disk.
Ask the shop if they let the flywheel "spark out" before stopping grinding ? Ask them if the grinder head is out of square. Ask them if the grinding wheel spindle bearings are worn out.
I would not worry about the dark spots.
.....Just my two cents worth.

 

Thanks for the input Ralph. The shop is the only one in the area that does blanchard grinding so I am limited to it's service. They have been at it for many years so no telling how accurate the machine is. I was surprised at the rough cut but others have siad that is what you get. I am going to install it on the engine which is out of the car and check for runout. Checked the flange yesterday and it looks good. I would surely like to get it turned to smooth it out. have feelers out to see if there is anyone with an older Aamco brake lathe with the abilty to turn a flywheel. A forum friend down in CT has one but he is quite a distance from me.

 

That's the way to do it.
Make a light cut, and set the "feed" to the lowest setting.
As an additional measure, sand it with #80 grit sandpaper after machining.

 

That doesn't look like a Blanchard grinder did it. It appears to be some sort of rotary grinder. Here is an example.....

Whoever did your flywheel did an extremely crappy job. A rotary grinder can do an acceptable of resurfacing.
It doesn't look like a Blanchard grinder did it because the is no "cross hatch" grind marks. Look closely in this link....
https://www.google.com/search?q=blan...-wiz-serp#ip=1

An old Aamco brake lathe is NOT the answer, and I'll tell you why.
1. It lacks the regidity to cut uniformly through holes and hard spots.
2. Those old machines are worn and not precision enough to machine the width of a flywheel flat.
3. The holes could snap off cutter tips and cause interruptions.
4. The crankshaft mounting surface would need to be mounted rigidly and run true or the clutch surface would not run true to the engine crankshaft face.
5. And it would take a long time to do, even in and "industrial quality" engine lathe (tool room type).

I have seen flywheels that people had ground on this site and you can tell they were Blanchard ground.
And let me finish with this. I have run rotary grinders and several different sizes of Blanchard grinders in my past life, up to and including a 84" Blanchard.