mcmopar
Well-Known Member
I put a Lakewood in mine after toasting my stock bellhousing at the track back in May of '04 when the rear u-joint strap bolts failed at over 100 mph at the top end. The driveshaft jumped out of the rear yoke and hit the heads of the bolts which held the front driveshaft loop together. The resultant shock cracked the cast bellhousing almost completely in two and blew out a big chunk of metal beneath the access hole for the throwout bearing fork. This bounced out from under the car but not before puncturing the gas tank so there I was trailing the driveshaft down the shut down area of the strip and spewing gas all over the track!
I was fortunate in that one of the guys in my car club had a big block Lakewood bellhousing that he had bought for his '69 383 Dart. It didn't fit and he put it on the shelf until I came along. He sold it to me reasonably and I put in on the road runner but not before having to modify it to fit the tti headers. Lakewood said it would fit fine - it didn't so I broke out the Dremel and went to town. I can't tell you how many discs I went through but it fits just fine now.
After this experience I would not trust a stock bellhousing for any kind of track action, period. The Lakewoods are rated to contain a 7000 rpm clutch explosion. I feel a lot more secure now knowing my feet and legs are well protected. Plus, the Lakewood would have been able to withstand the shock load that destroyed my original bellhousing.
Here are some pics of the carnage:
Here is what I saw while under the car
Driveshaft: Notice the scoring on the shaft.
Bellhousing:
Gas tank - I could fit the end of my thumb in this hole:
Transmission bearing retainer damage - 2 pics
Bellhousing removed from the car:
That circle you see drawn on the bellhousing is where the crack stopped. Yeah - it was a fun night!
I've got lots more pics - but you get the idea.
I was fortunate in that one of the guys in my car club had a big block Lakewood bellhousing that he had bought for his '69 383 Dart. It didn't fit and he put it on the shelf until I came along. He sold it to me reasonably and I put in on the road runner but not before having to modify it to fit the tti headers. Lakewood said it would fit fine - it didn't so I broke out the Dremel and went to town. I can't tell you how many discs I went through but it fits just fine now.
After this experience I would not trust a stock bellhousing for any kind of track action, period. The Lakewoods are rated to contain a 7000 rpm clutch explosion. I feel a lot more secure now knowing my feet and legs are well protected. Plus, the Lakewood would have been able to withstand the shock load that destroyed my original bellhousing.
Here are some pics of the carnage:
Here is what I saw while under the car
Driveshaft: Notice the scoring on the shaft.
Bellhousing:
Gas tank - I could fit the end of my thumb in this hole:
Transmission bearing retainer damage - 2 pics
Bellhousing removed from the car:
That circle you see drawn on the bellhousing is where the crack stopped. Yeah - it was a fun night!
I've got lots more pics - but you get the idea.
