On the road to a 5 speed swap I cleared the next hurdle. Turns out a flywheel adapter will be an easy job to make since the bolt patterns clear each other perfectly.
Similar to this
So I can run the VW/Audi flywheel on the fiat crank and give myself the neccesary spacing to fill up the space taken by the trans to block adapter. Result! I can fit the 210mm VAG clutch disc and pressure plate and have a complete and very much neccesary upgraded clutch...Or wait.......I can't!
When I started this I looked at a spare Fiat pressure plate and thought "Hell that will be easy to reverse the straps"
Fiat PP
They even left the holes there like they intended it as an option. Drill out rivets, rotate to the other side, install some ARP hardware and done
Then I go to order the VAG PP and crap!
No such luck at all. I can't see any way to make this thing handle spinning counter clockwise.
Who makes custom pressure plates somewhat inexpensively? What are my options?
I have never used them, but I've had clutchnet.com bookmarked for years as an interesting looking source.
Any chance of using a Honda pressure plate since most Honda engines spin CCW (except the S2000)?
The only other one I can think of is someone like Quartermaster http://www.quartermasterusa.com/qm/clutches.html but most of their clutches are for racing use, not great for street use.
I've used the same clutch rebuilder for the last 25 years. They can build anything, and usually cheaper than the aftermarket guys. It's not rocket science. If you can't find one locally, ask a truck shop where they send theirs.
There's no reason to fool around or half-ass something.
Beat me to it. I am just about to walk over to the Honda tuning shop next door and see if he has one laying around I can look at. According to Rockauto civic clutch discs are 212 to 220mm so the audi disc might fit. Heck the civic flywheel might even be just as easy to fit to the Fiat crank.
Zomby woof wrote:
I've used the same clutch rebuilder for the last 25 years. They can build anything, and usually cheaper than the aftermarket guys. It's not rocket science. If you can't find one locally, ask a truck shop where they send theirs.
Both of our local clutch builders closed up shop last year and everything is done in portland now. They were more expensive than clutchnet or spec anyway.
I am really trying to do this with off the shelf stuff. I could get a Fiat panda flywheel and pressure plate and a VW polo clutch disc shipped over from europe but if I needed replacements in a pinch I would be screwed. Honda/VW/audi bits are always avaliable around here.
Lightened civic flywheel and pressure plate are now in hand. All he asked is that I help him shuffle some cars around his shop in return.
This might affect my starter ideas but if the teeth on the ring gear are the same as the audi and fiat pitch I should be ok. Just have to shift the starter around on the adapter plate to match the OD.
BTW only the older Honda stuff spins backwards. They changed the rotation on the new engines they introduced.
This package is off a circa ~1990. Straps are indeed the correct orientation.
