What flywheel do i have?

[MustangMatt1966]

Hey guys, i am getting a new flywheel and need to know how many teeth it needs to have and if it is internally balanced or what. The engine is a 1966 289 2bl. The engine has been overhauled ect. but it still has the original flywheel in there to my knowledge. I have a t-5 transmission and will be ordering a centerforce clutch and pressureplate ect. along with the flywheel, so i just need to know what flywheel to order...thanks guys..

Matt

 

[MustangMatt1966]

bump

 

[zm830101]

if you are still using the stock flywheel then you have a 28oz imbalance. 157 tooth. if it is not the original you are gonna have to take it out to see what you have. easiest solution, go with a fidanza. i just got mine (13lb aluminum) for $289 shipped. they also have a steel unit if that is your pleasure. it comes with both 28oz and 50oz weights so you will be good to go no matter what you do. it has replaceable ring gear and friction surface so you will prolly never have to by a flyweel again.

 

[MustangMatt1966]

zm830101 do u have a link to that site, i had in mind an aluminum one, but the only one i could find was in jegs and it was like 349 bucks and i didnt want to spend that, so if u have a link to that flywheel i will def. go with it! thanks!

 

[zm830101]

bought it on ebay

do a search for the user name spring speed...guy was really great to deal with. shipping was free, and awesome! bought it on monday and was bolting on the 28oz weight on wed night

 

[MustangMatt1966]

ZM, im gonna call the distributor and see what they got and what deal they can cut me, because i may order the clutch that i want from them also if they can get me a deal, so ill do what i can

 

[65ShelbyClone]

I also got a 157t Fidanza aluminum about two weeks ago. It was from an Ebay store operating out of Riverside(The Mustang Depot), something like $30 off regular price and after tax and shipping rounded out to ~$279. Since it was so close, it was delivered next day.

You probably have a 157t flywheel, but you could always pull the clutch inspection cover and count them...

 

[MustangMatt1966]

yeah, i am looking at the fidanze aluminum one, the one i found was 299 free shipping and handaling, they are out of california...i am pretty sure its a 157 tooth, im not to worried about it, i hope to get a clutch from the same place too if they have a good deal, im gettin a centerforce 60% clutch....ill let u guys know how it all turns out

 

[D.Hearne]

You REALLY don't want an aluminum flywheel with a 289. Not on a street car. Everytime you go to take off, you're going to have to rev it too the moon to prevent stalling. Go with an iron or steel unit. They're heavy for a reason. A Flywheel is a way to store the engine's energy to get the car moving on take-off. You'll be missing that extra energy with an aluminum one. 289's don't have any excess torque at the bottom end to get it moving so they need all the help they can get.

 

[zm830101]

i wouldn't be really afraid.... i have driven LOTS of 4 cylinder hondas that have an aluminum flywheel and HALF the torque of a 289 in the low range. you do notice it don't get me wrong but it is no situation where you are revving it to the moon. maybe 5-600 more rpm and a little more slip. granted i have never driven a 289 w aluminum flywheel but i would imagine that it would be even easier to operate than the honDuhs.

 

[D.Hearne]

Those "ricers" you drove are about a thousand pounds lighter also. Plus the final drive ratio is probably in the 4-something ratio or lower. Big difference.

 

[zm830101]

true...didn't think about that...oh well...if nothing else i will know soon enough.

 

[MustangMatt1966]

haha opps, too late

already ordered it with a centerforce stage 2 clutch am i really that screwed?

 

[MustangMatt1966]

hummmm......i sure hope that i can use the aluminum one, ill be pissed if i ordered it and it wont work correctly.......damn...

 

[D.Hearne]

Oh, it'll work OK, just be prepared for all those angry drivers behind you at every red lite blowing their horns when it stalls. Like I said before, the factory used heavy flywheels on their vehicles for a reason. They may have cut vehicle weights over the years, but this was one case where more was better.

 

[faultlessfocus]

I had no idea a lightweight flywheel made so much of a different in the classics. Why is it so heavy if I may ask? I mean, what makes it stall from just being lighter?

 

[D.Hearne]

You didn't read my posting above , did you? A flywheel is like a battery, except it stores kinetic energy. The heavier it is, the more energy it stores. That's why if you've ever seen those old 1 cylinder steam engines, they had huge flywheels, this was to keep the machinery they drove, operating between power strokes. Same thing applies to gasoline engines. If you put a lightweight flywheel behind an engine, it makes it even more likely to stall when you try to get the car moving from a dead stop. The heavier steel/iron flywheel helps to prevent this by using it's stored kenetic energy to help get the vehicle's mass in motion. Once it's moving, yea the aluminum flywheel will let the motor build power faster, which is why they're used more for racing than in street applications, but there's fewer red lites on a race track.

 

[faultlessfocus]

Yes, I always read before asking, but it just didn't make much sense. I understand a little better now, and you are right, not too many red lights on a track haha.

 

[MustangMatt1966]

so d. hearne, your saying that it is usable, just not the most economical to use, yes it will be harder to get going from a stop, but it is possible and wont cause any major problems? correct?

 

[D.Hearne]

Now I can't tell you for certain you're going to be happy with it, just going by what I've picked up over the years, and that's enough to know that lightweight flywheels aren't well suited for the street. If they were, the car makers would have started using them long ago. I sure wouldn't want one and I've been driving std trans vehicles for 30 years now, everything from 3 speeds to 15 speeds. And I know from the dozens of times I've stalled on takeoffs in traffic that it ain't fun, especially when you know that others are watching and/or waiting on you to get moving. :damnit: