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We, drove past the fence and up to the left lane barrier at the first turn-off lane. The photographer (I wish I could remember his name, BP help me out) told me where to stand...

The photog's name is Chet, and he called and said that the event CD chock full of photos is on its way. Unfortunately, it's on its way to Maryland, where I won't be until July 28...

I might call and ask him to send me one here, too... bp

Come to think of it, Denise answered the voicemail and passed this on to me. It might be a CD from Iowa Al himself... not Chet (yet). bp

The car is all back together again. I had a little issue with the flexplate bolts again. According to Pat Musi, it is just something that happens to all these big stroke engines. I'll just have to keep an ear on it from now on. I bet they'd do a little more research on this kind of thing if they had to remove the tranny from this car a few times. The new lift sure came in handy doing it this time. I just got everything unbolted, lowered the car down onto a block of wood that I placed under the tranny pan, and it raised the tranny up just enough to allow me to slide it back and replace the flexplate and bolts. Pretty slick. The last time we did this, it took 3 of us to get the job done, this time I did it myself. Although it took me all day to do it, it really didn't matter cause I was in no hurry, Sunday's race was postponed due to rain. Our next scheduled race is August 12th, and we're ready.

This is problee' a stupid question, but you know that won't stop me from askin' anyway. Would it work to wire the flex plate bolts together? (The same way brake hub bolts are secured). The crank bolt pattern is small so it shouldn't affect balance (or would it?) There must be a down side or it would be a common fix. I know brake hubs don't spin @ 8 grand +, but it's such a small bolt pattern, centrifugal force should be minimal? (Or is it?) Or, if centrifugal force is a factor, how about a single sheet metal ring that fits under all the crank bolts and has tabs & each bolt that can be bent up against the bolt head flat. Again, there must be a down side to this too, or everybody would be doin' it.

From what I was told, and I did ask about the safety wire and was told no, it has to do the the harmonics that are generated by these engines. I personally do not have any friends that are using one of these beasts, or I'd confer with them to see what's what.

how about a single sheet metal ring that fits under all the crank bolts and has tabs & each bolt that can be bent up against the bolt head flat.

i think this is a fantastic idea

I agree, FHB.......I mentioned the wire idea to Mike the other day.....then he confused me with the fact that those bolts are VERY short headed.....kinda limited on being able to drill a hole through there ....but the little plate idea sounds do-able and pretty easy as well

We had a heck of a time with flexplate bolts on the newberry motor we ran in the truck. We tried super loctite and everything. Finally, Dad looked up the torque specs for a 1/2" fine thread grade 8 bolt and discovered it was really high. We started torquing them to 120lbs (with locktite of course) and they quit shaking loose.

I had problems with convertor bolts on the Donovan in the Anglia. There wasn't any room in there to get a socket on them, so I was tightening them as tight as I could with a wrench. 3-4 runs later they were loose (kind of hard on flexplates...) I finally ground the ends off of some rod bolts. They've got the small 12-point heads on them with gives me just enough room to get a socket on them. I torqued them to 90lbs (good enough for rods...) and they haven't moved since.

However, I know that harmonics are bad news, and sometimes there's not much you can do to keep things together. Maybe a bigger dampener? You could put one of those big air pumps on the engine - the big belt on the front of the crank works pretty good on dampening harmonics

This is what baffles me when it comes to the torque numbers. The people at Reactor say 75ftlbs, the people at Pat Musi's say the same 75ftlbs. They both say not to use any washers. The flexplate is aluminum and as soon as the bolts loosen it tears the crap out of the flexplate. I like the ideas or remedies so far. I have tried something that I will keep to myself for now, just to see if it works. The next time it happens, I'll have to go for yet another flexplate. They aren't too expensive, but at the same time, they aren't inexpensive also. The converter bolts have never done that......... yet.

I sure like the idea about the big air pump though. hmmmmm

It's been about two weeks, and the bolts are still just as tight as the day I installed them. Course I haven't fired the engine up yet, but at least the bolts stayed tight.

When's the next time you try to shake 'em loose?