Posted By: Leon441
R5 engine to powerglide - 02/13/13 03:00 AM
I currently have BOBSPROFAB adapter. It was the one he ran in his Dart.
I added the top center bolt hole that the JW bell has that torqueflites do not. This way I am not forced to run the small overlapping bolts in the 10 and 2 Oclock locations. The bolt hole for the 7/16 that thread into tranny on the PS was not drilled out. Not sure what was done but I drilled it. The 7/16 bolt on the DS overlaps a bolt on the R5. I feel these 7/16 bolts near the dowels are the most important. So I am having to add material to the adapter to put a new bolt hole in the JW belll next to the starter. This should really beef the deal up.
Thinking ahead. You can get a 4.6 liter ford flexplate for GM converters. That is what the later R5 uses 8 bolt ford pattern. And just have the wheel cut down for the 130 tooth starter ring. Then you can buy an aftermarket bell for a powerglide or 400 and just plug and redrill for R5. Then you need no adapter at all. BOBSPROFAB can do this change to the bell housing. The holes are mostly less than 1" from where the LA engines were.
The reason I am looking into all of this is space. The adapter is 3/4" thick. Which required me to run a shorter driveshaft I already had. But, I may want to run a gear vendors unit and it lengthens the tranny a little over an 1" with the shorty conversion more if you use the long output shaft.
I am hoping for some free time this week and looking to get the engine further along so I can see how this will all work out.
Just sharing some thoughts on how to make these engines work in our old drag cars.
Leon
I added the top center bolt hole that the JW bell has that torqueflites do not. This way I am not forced to run the small overlapping bolts in the 10 and 2 Oclock locations. The bolt hole for the 7/16 that thread into tranny on the PS was not drilled out. Not sure what was done but I drilled it. The 7/16 bolt on the DS overlaps a bolt on the R5. I feel these 7/16 bolts near the dowels are the most important. So I am having to add material to the adapter to put a new bolt hole in the JW belll next to the starter. This should really beef the deal up.
Thinking ahead. You can get a 4.6 liter ford flexplate for GM converters. That is what the later R5 uses 8 bolt ford pattern. And just have the wheel cut down for the 130 tooth starter ring. Then you can buy an aftermarket bell for a powerglide or 400 and just plug and redrill for R5. Then you need no adapter at all. BOBSPROFAB can do this change to the bell housing. The holes are mostly less than 1" from where the LA engines were.
The reason I am looking into all of this is space. The adapter is 3/4" thick. Which required me to run a shorter driveshaft I already had. But, I may want to run a gear vendors unit and it lengthens the tranny a little over an 1" with the shorty conversion more if you use the long output shaft.
I am hoping for some free time this week and looking to get the engine further along so I can see how this will all work out.
Just sharing some thoughts on how to make these engines work in our old drag cars.
Leon
