Making an internal balance flywheel work on a stock 360...

I was REALLY leaning towards building a Magnum 318 for my Challenger, but today i found a couple killer deals on later (2000+) 360 Magnums (cheaper than the 318's). Between the deals, and that extra TQ/HP... now i'm thinking about a 360 for my 4-speed car. Problem is (and i wont be talked out ov this) i want to buy a lightweight flywheel. I didn't get one with my car... one ov the few things i actually need to buy, so i figured why not? Always wanted to try one. Now... DOWN THE ROAD... i will be building an internal balance engine... and i'm only buying one wheel.

Is there an easy hack for using an internal balance flywheel on a stock 360? I saw a bolt-on balance plate that sandwiches between everything on another site, and there was a link to a store... but the link was old and the part was gone.

Is there an easy way? Obviously i dont want to drill or weld on a brand new flywheel.

Going with the McLeod 18lb steel one. I like that its SFI, as i'm not running a scattershield.

tHAT PLATE WORKS CALL hp mACHINE THEY HAVE THEM 704 474 0109

It'd be great if they had a site, or if someone had pictures. I'm not near a phone during business hours all that often.

Any other ideas?

http://www.brewersperformance.com/proddetail.asp?prod=FWCB015A

Saw that... but i'll be using FW122, and there is nothing listed to 'unbalance' that one.

Finally got to it. He said he has them, they're definitely cheap enough. One issue:

He says "They'll work" on a Magnum 360. When i mentioned the slight balance/bobweight differences he said 'Its close enough". Says "people run it all the time".

Hmmm... That sketches me out a bit. I want it to be smooth. I've HAD it... and i do mean DONE with vibrating engines. Is the difference gonna be enough to feel, on a MAGNUM 360?

He also said it fits nicely into the contour ov a 10.5" flywheel. I wonder if it will fit the same way into a FW122 McLeod lightweight flywheel...???

I'm kinda getting used to the idea ov a 400+HP Magnum in my junk...

If your planning on rebuilding the 360 the machinist should be able to balance the whole assembly I would think.

Why worry and take a chance on using a "unknown hope it will work adapter part" when your machine shop can drill the new flywheel to make the motor perfectly balanced

440 source has a Billet Steel Flywheel that's convertible for different engines(uses McLeod weights). Not a bad price either.


Joe

To answer all three points:

1, I'm not rebuilding the engine. I'm dropping it in with some bolt-ons.

2, I'm not buying a brand new $500 flywheel and then having it machined for ONE engine, when every other engine it will be used on will be internally balanced. Plus, there's also the added cost.

3, I want to use the lightweight one. Thats the whole point.

Lightweight flywheels weigh 12 to 18lbs, stock Mopar 130 tooth steel neutral balance flywheels weigh 30 lbs, not lightweight IMO

In the balance game there are certain basic parameters, we all want to do things our way but it dont always work that way.

If your gonna mix and match parts, stock or aftermarket there are costs and from time to time one part is committed to a build or like builds.

1. Your not.
2. Your not.
3 You want.

At the end of the day, your current thought pattern has netted you nothing despite all the good options listed to you, so maybe you need to back up to matched stock parts for now and save the good parts for the real build, or wing it with a close balance job.

Or possibly just move to your internal balance build and in the end be happy and possibly money ahead.

Cab, i'm using the McLeod 18lb steel flywheel. Its SFI, which makes me feel a bit better about not running a scattershield, and its steel, which i like.



MY original plan was to use a 5.2 Magnum, which would easily work with this wheel, but everyone has convinced me to go 5.9... and like i said, i've kinda gotten used to the idea ov an extra 20-30HP. EVENTUALLY... i will build a serious, internally balanced Magnum, so i dont wanna mess up this flywheel for that. Just trying to find a way to use it, as is, for this interim build. If i absolutely HAVE TO, i'll stick with the 5.2 idea. I haven't bought the engine yet. I've got killer deals lined up on either... so i'm committed to nothing.


"Wing it with a close balance job" might be the plan. Though... i wonder... could we not do a little math and figure out how to maybe modify that little plate for a slightly lighter bobweight? Not perfect, obviously, but maybe a bit better than "wing it with close" (which was kinda what the guy at HP Machine said)?

I thought about it a bit more last night when I was looking at some oem flywheels I have, I wonder how close one factory flywheel is when checked for balance vs others, as in the factory tolerances?

We know factory balance is close in ways like the magnum rods are "close" to weighing the same from rod to rod.

The 5.2 being internal already would seem like a much easier dog to train.

Ive went through this myself and it blows trying to sort it out.

But google searches can net some good info, I think I bookmarked some and one of the 4x4 sites showed a bolt on crank weight like you have and claimed it worked.

I will look this am for the bookmarks.

You can use the adapter, and notice the position. And you know it could be too heavy for a magnum. Then you can add some washers under the opposite side clutch cover bolts, if you get vibration issues. When the weight is added so far behind it will also help balancing out on the front part of the crank. I know because I have a balancing machine for crankshafts. I am not sure about the OE tolerances on the flywheels, but I guess it is maximum around 5 grams on the periphere.

Here is a link about the 360 mag and la balance and bob weights.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=10449.0;wap2

I said I have used them dozens of times and they WORK just great!
I have used on 440 cast cranks, 360's etc it WORKS just fine!!!!
for around $40 to boot-OR go ahead and spend a zillion bucks your choice--I would not send you there to get an item that would screw you up--

Cheapo trick from chevy racers back in the day...
Sandwich the 5.9 Mag flexplate behind the neutral balance flywheel.
Voila!
Done

Slightly more expensive: Get the 360 add-on weight and drill it to reduce the amount of imbalance. I believe with the MP drawings you can figure out what angle and how much to remove.

R.

Just buy the plate I told you to buy for around $40 drop it in and GO! Job Done!! Geeez!!

Hahaha... Well, the universe is speaking. Was looking for nice 318's, and i keep coming across nice 360's... and they're cheaper.... Meh, why the hell not?

Or one could possibly get both parts, and use the flexplate as a template/guide for modifying the smaller pie piece. Hmmm...

Either way i go, shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Gosh, that's reassuring.........not.

Well... this guy builds more HP engines in a week than i'll build my entire life... so his guess is probably worth more than my math. But yeah... there's that little instinct...

When in doubt, do without
Don't hurt yourself trying to save money on motor, tranny or any other drive line parts

Heh... what exactly do you mean by that? Cant exactly do without a proper balance now...

Dammit! Summit doesn't carry the flywheel i want. Already making a big order from them, would have been nice to tack it on and get everything from one source. Grrr...