This is my first time doing an auto to manual swap on my 68 Camaro, SBC. I was mocking up my clutch/flywheel assembly on my workbench (Centerforce DF, Fidanza, ARP 2201 bolts) when I found that threading by hand, the bolts reach the end of the threading in the flywheel before they make contact with the diaphram. However, the holes are drilled quite a bit further than they are tapped, so I could tap the holes deeper. The easier thing to do would just to shim the bolts with a couple washers, but I want to see what you guys think because I am not experienced in this. Or just not use the ARP bolts and go with something shorter

Also, a side question, is it true that when you torque down, the diaphram will sit down on the flywheel? Then it seems to me that to get the torque rating of the clutch, the no-bolt-tension gap between the diaphram and flywheel is very important.

Thanks for entertaining my amateur questions.

Steven

Steven,
The bolts have to hold the pressure plate tight against the flywheel. I have never seen this problem before, but I have never tried ARP bolts, the factory ones are fine in my opinion. Try the bolts in the holes without the pressure plate and see what they look like. If they are the correct bolts, they should have a small shoulder and the top part of the hole in the flywheel should have a counterbored area for the shoulder to go into.

Also, are you sure you dont just need to get a wrench and try tightening them down ? I thought the flywheels were tapped all the way through ? If it is a used flywheel, has it possibly be resurfaced and they cut way too much off it ? Just trying to think of all possibilities :)

If the flywheel is Fidanza, are the threads metric or SAE?

This is a common problem. The bolts that are commonly used for pressure plate installation are not threaded all the way up to the bottom of the head of the bolt. (shouldered bolt). Some flywheel manufacturers are not counter boring the holes to accommodate these bolts, or after resurfacing the hole is not re- counter bored. One should always check the bolts before installation to make sure the shoulder fits in the counter bore of the hole. If it doesn't you can drill this out your self. Put a stop on the bit so you don't go too deep or if using a drill press, set the stop. Shouldered bolts are best for this application but they can present problems if you don't check.

This is a common problem. The bolts that are commonly used for pressure plate installation are not threaded all the way up to the bottom of the head of the bolt. (shouldered bolt). Some flywheel manufacturers are not counter boring the holes to accommodate these bolts, or after resurfacing the hole is not re- counter bored. One should always check the bolts before installation to make sure the shoulder fits in the counter bore of the hole. If it doesn't you can drill this out your self. Put a stop on the bit so you don't go too deep or if using a drill press, set the stop. Shouldered bolts are best for this application but they can present problems if you don't check.

Everett, the holes are 3/8-16.

Thanks you guys for stepping in...the fidanza flywheel looks counterbored properly with a larger diameter to accomodate the bolt shoulder. After studying this for a while, I think the primary problems i that they did not tap the hole nearly as deep as they drilled it. There is a good 1/2" of untapped drill distance into each hole. Seems like mis-machining to me as I only get about 4-4.5 turns on the bolt. Here are some pictures I took:

Both photos shows the furthest that the bolt can be threaded before it runs out of thread depth.
http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb128/thre11phan/Camaro/IMG_5051.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb128/thre11phan/Camaro/IMG_5043.jpg

I have contacted Fidanza as well as my retailer...we'll see what they come up with.