Great. Thanks.

For reference, the stock V6 flywheel weighs about 14.5 lbs, which is already pretty darn light for a V8. Factory SBC flywheels are typically in the 30# range and even the lightweight ones are still over 16#.

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'87 Fiero GT: Low, Sleek, Fast, and Loud
'90 Pontiac 6000 SE AWD: None of the Above

Luck, Fate and Destiny are words used by those who lack the courage to define their own future

[This message has been edited by Will (edited 08-06-2004).]

quote Originally posted by GSXRBOBBY: The world is in big trouble !!!!! I meet and became good friends with this forums biggest smart a$$, KissMySSFiero!!! I brought the Northstar, trans. and some of my tools over to his place. We are going to motivate each other so we can get these motor swaps done?!?!?! He's doing some small engine or small block thing, hehehehehe

RHUT RHO!!! may you guys can set up a spy cam so we can see what really goes on???

quote Originally posted by cptsnoopy: RHUT RHO!!! may you guys can set up a spy cam so we can see what really goes on???

I usually charge for that, but there's alink in my Sig.

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SSFiero@Aol.com Support Mental Health, or I'll Kill Ya!!
Yellow Formula Signature

• 88 Yellow FORMULA
  
• ZZ3 modified LT1 intake, 345hp, 390lb-ft. Est to be done one of these days.
  
• V8 buildup thread
  
• My Shower Cam

Ok all this crap aside
#1) what does the aluminum flywheel weigh.

and when can we actually expect to get these...

My name is already on the list under Slammed Fiero

JM
This is what I punish you with
www.geocities.com/morley_m/northstar.htm

quote Originally posted by The Punisher:this what I punish you with

wow, mean lookin ride...

quote Originally posted by The Punisher: Ok all this crap aside #1) what does the aluminum flywheel weigh. and when can we actually expect to get these...

Guesstimate: 8 lbs
If they shipped Friday or early next week, you might see yours at the beginning of the week after.

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'87 Fiero GT: Low, Sleek, Fast, and Loud
'90 Pontiac 6000 SE AWD: None of the Above

Luck, Fate and Destiny are words used by those who lack the courage to define their own future

[This message has been edited by Will (edited 07-31-2004).]

cptsnoopy

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

quote Originally posted by GSXRBOBBY: cptsnoopy

naughty? cool gif though...

i guess my car is going to be the total opposite. for now all you should think when you see it is "oh, an old fiero, surprised it's even running..."

[This message has been edited by cptsnoopy (edited 05-25-2005).]

Who do I pay for this???? I NEEED! it

JM

If you haven't paid, they're not going to ship, of course.

To pay, call SPEC at 1-800-828-4379. AFAIK, David Norton is still the POC for this project.

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'87 Fiero GT: Low, Sleek, Fast, and Loud
'90 Pontiac 6000 SE AWD: None of the Above

Luck, Fate and Destiny are words used by those who lack the courage to define their own future

I have things set up so all money goes straight to Spec and leaves me out of that. You will need to pay them before they are shipped out, get ahold of Dave at Spec. Will just post the number so you don't have to look it up.
They should be ready this week or so they say, the way things have been goin I would say later in the week would be safe to say!

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

ok, that makes sense. thanks for all the updates and the numbers

Hi guys,

I called David Norton at spec clutch to ask if it was time to set up a payment for the flywheel/clutch set. He started asking again about the bolt pattern versus the bolt that we sent him. He said it just did not match up right. ie: the flexplate that was sent to him had too big of holes in it for the bolt size we sent. I said "hold on I’ll grab my flexplate and we can compare". well as it turns out the flexplate he has is not even close to the one I have. I took a couple of pics and sent them to him and he then asked if I would send the flexplate. I will send it just after posting this message. I am posting the pics of my flex plate so you guys can tell me if you think it is the right one. it was on my engine when I bought it but who knows? if it is not the right one we need to know ASAP... just as a note: the flexplate he has now is approx 14" in diameter and has an offset crank bolt pattern. he said it looks like it came off a small block Chevy. the one I am sending has a 12" diameter and an even bolt pattern. the ring gear on mine has 142 teeth. seems kind of small, I just thought that was because of the FWD bellhousing.

cptsnoopy
Yours looks right. I have done a couple conversions and your flexplate looks the same as mine did. I used the flywheel sold by chrfab.com as I could not wait for these any longer. It is a 1/4 inch to thick as it is designed for a RWD transmisson, but I made this spacer/mount to correct for that.

Sean

whew!, ok thanks Sean. mine went out to David today. he should have it by Wednesday or Thursday. From what he said the rest of the flywheel should be ok because they designed it to fit in the Fiero manual transmissions. I wonder if the ring gear will be set up correctly for the stock northstar starter?

Sean, I like the idea of having mounts to control roll at the bell housing, very nice.

[This message has been edited by cptsnoopy (edited 08-02-2004).]

McLeod also reportedly makes flywheels for RWD Northstar applications, and they do custom jobs. It seems to me that using their existing design and removing the ~.4" of thickness would be quite simple for them to do.

What the HELL is going on here, I'm going to lose it. I come home and find this BS!!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU for sending that out, I just read the email and it wouldn't have been shipped out until mid day tomorrow if I did it. This is getting KOOKOO!!!!!!!
It also looks like the one on my motor, and I know mine is the 93 Cadillac STS flexplate, but then again I am looking at a picture on a computer so.....Thanks again for fixing problem 206 or so.....

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

As soon as these things are ready to go, I'm paying for mine. I don't even have an engine yet, but if somebody verifies all is well with this stuff I want to get one before they're gone and we have to wait another year.

Thanks for all your effort guys. I've been swamped with moving and starting a new job, but with things getting on track I might actually be able to start my project this winter as planned.

Bryce
88 GT

He was sent a northstar flywheel, I don't know where things got mixed up but it came straight off a northstar for him to have. I hope that he can straighten everything out and have them ready soon.

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quote Originally posted by 86 FIERO GT: He was sent a northstar flywheel, I don't know where things got mixed up but it came straight off a northstar for him to have. I hope that he can straighten everything out and have them ready soon.

can you tell me if the one you sent looked just like the one i just sent? i was wondering if someone at spec got the flexplate mixed up with another one they had there. thanks

86 FIERO GT, we are not blaming you!

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

quote Originally posted by GSXRBOBBY: 86 FIERO GT, we are not blaming you!

agreed! i just figured it would be an easy thing for the guys at spec mix up since they probably have a zillion flexplates and flywheels lying around.... i apologize if that came across wrong.

as of 12:38 this morning the flexplate was in Birmingham, AL. from my map program that should only be about 30 minutes to Hueytown, AL were spec is located. hopefully we can find out if this will be a simple fix or a rewrite of the whole thing. if I am around this afternoon i will try to call and see if they have it.

quote Originally posted by cptsnoopy: i was wondering if someone at spec got the flexplate mixed up with another one they had there. thanks

Considering the scatterbraindedness he's demonstrated thus far, I don't think this is out of the question at all. If what he has looks like a Chevy flex plate, then he probably accidentally swapped it for a Chevy flex plate and never realized.

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'87 Fiero GT: Low, Sleek, Fast, and Loud
'90 Pontiac 6000 SE AWD: None of the Above

Luck, Fate and Destiny are words used by those who lack the courage to define their own future

I bet the first few don't bolt up or work? I hate to say that but they are not impressing me so far!!!!!!
We will just have to work out all the bugs until they are all right and working good.

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

I talked to David today, he has the flexplate and said that they were already programming the bolt pattern into the flywheel setup. I asked if the ring gear was going to work on the starter of the northstar and he said he had no idea, the flywheel was modeled after a fiero flywheel. I became a bit concerned that they did not check for this and he said that was what he was told to do. When I think about it the flywheel that Will is using is a fiero flywheel if i remember right and it must work ok? so does that all sound right? Use a fiero flywheel and the northstar bolt pattern and the result should bolt right in and our starters will work with no mods? I know I sounded worried about it when I talked to David so if you could let me know if that is what we want, i'll call him back and let him know it's all good to go the way they have it set up... sorry if I caused any confusion...

I was up there yesterday to pick up my v8 clutch & David told me they were in the process of making a Arora (shortstar) flywheel ??? If you need me to get something staight let me know, he's coming down here Sat. to an event at the drag track 2mi from my house... if so E-MAIL me

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Freddy
Freddy's Place

Arora (4.0L), is or would be the same size as a N* (4.6L).
I also think the Fiero's flexplate is the same size as the N*'s (tooth amout, ring gear)
Not really sure though, I think I remember hearing Will and a few others also just getting a Fiero Flywheel and filling in the holes and redrilling it to be able to mount it on the N*.
Fiero or Cadillac I think the thickness is going to be the same, if anything 1/2 of the outer edge may need to be a little smaller to maybe clear the bellhousing, but again don't think so?

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

I just need verification that the Fiero flywheel with a northstar bolt pattern is what we want. When I was talking to David I was not sure and I questioned it. After talking to him I remembered that Will and maybe some others were using redrilled Fiero flywheels on their northstar engines and it was working fine. So I am sure I cast some doubt on the current design. The Aurora northstar and the shortstar engines should use exactly the same flywheel as the 4.6 northstar. David said that he would check the flywheel he is designing against the Aurora flexplate that i just sent him to see if the flywheel would work with starter in it's stock location. hopefully Will or someone else who has made a northstar flywheel from a fiero flywheel will let me know if there will be any problems or that David is on the right track.

EDIT: thx bobby, i hope i did not slow anything down, i just wanted to be sure.

[This message has been edited by cptsnoopy (edited 08-05-2004).]

Yes, the Fiero flywheel with N* bolt pattern is what we want (experience).

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'87 Fiero GT: Low, Sleek, Fast, and Loud
'90 Pontiac 6000 SE AWD: None of the Above

Luck, Fate and Destiny are words used by those who lack the courage to define their own future

below is an email I just got from David that he sent sometime today. He may have sent them to everybody, i am not sure so here it is...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------
The ring gear is perfect. The only problem is: we had already cut all of the flywheels with the center holes of the flexplate sent to us by The Speed Shop, so all of those units we have to throw away. Good news is the programming is correct up to the point of the center pattern. Bad news is we had to order more aluminum to run the correct versions. The wait for the new aluminum to arrive is about 2-3 weeks!

David Norton

S.P.E.C., inc

800-828-4379

205-491-8593-fax

sales@specclutch.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------

A bit depressing! I can only imagine the'll have to include the cost of the bad ones into the ones that we buy...

[This message has been edited by cptsnoopy (edited 08-05-2004).]

The ring gear is perfect. The only problem is: we had already cut all of the flywheels with the center holes of the flexplate sent to us by The Speed Shop, so all of those units we have to throw away. Good news is the programming is correct up to the point of the center pattern. Bad news is we had to order more aluminum to run the correct versions. The wait for the new aluminum to arrive is about 2-3 weeks!

One problem with this e-mail I "The Speed Shop" did not send him a flywheel or a flexplate ?!?!?!?!?!?!?

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

When I started this project, I asked David if he could put the N* bolt pattern in a Fiero flywheel. He could do this. The ring gear is the right size, the starter lines up, the clutch works.

STOP ASKING DAVID IF IT WORKS!!!! HE DOES NOT KNOW!!!

He obviously doesn't know, since he hasn't done a N* swap. He's almost certainly never even seen a Northstar out of the car and maybe never even seen one in the car. He is just doing exactly what I asked him to do, which is put the N* bolt circle and center bore into a Fiero flywheel. This is exactly what I did with my flywheel and it works fine. The relationship of starter to ring gear to crank flange to bellhousing pattern is part of a package deal at GM. All those relationships lump into ONE "form factor" that is the same across all engines that use that bellhousing pattern. That's why we can put N* pattern in a Fiero flywheel and have it work. That is why we can cut down a Camaro flywheel to work with an L67 in a Fiero.
STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT WORKS!!
If he uses the right flexplate as his model, it will work. Direct your worrying to making sure that he uses the correct flexplate as a model, gets the materials in reasonable time, etc.

Now... about the different center hole diameter... Assuming that's the only thing wrong with that run of flywheels, and assumIng that the hole they cut is too large (If it were too small, they could just cut it bigger)...
In order to save the work that they've done, suggest that they make concentricity rings that press into the flywheel. They can be aluminum or brass or bronze and be easy to cut and easy to press. They could even do a heat shrink press fit to make sure that they never come loose.

I have a steel concentricity ring pressed into my cast iron flywheel. It's been there for 2.5 years and has never given a problem. It will not come loose as there is ABSOLUTELY NO FORCE pushing it out of place.

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'87 Fiero GT: Low, Sleek, Fast, and Loud
'90 Pontiac 6000 SE AWD: None of the Above

Luck, Fate and Destiny are words used by those who lack the courage to define their own future

[This message has been edited by Will (edited 08-06-2004).]

Hi bobby,

yes that is what he said. he told me he was to make a Fiero flywheel with the bolt pattern in the center for the northstar motor. As it turns out that is just what we wanted him to do. he nor i made the connection during that conversation that the fiero flywheel would work just fine on the northstar with the northstar starter the way it is. I think I helped confuse the issue there but that is resolved....

What I am wondering is, can those flywheels that he cut already be used on a sbc swap? wouldn't they need to be a fiero flywheel that would bolt to the sbc? if so maybe he can sell those to the people doing that swap. I don't know how they would need to be balanced though and that may be an issue... if he could sell them to other folks maybe we would not be held responsible for what he says we did... just as a note David never said that we would have to pay for the bad ones, I just figured that they would try to recover their losses on them...

From David today:

I told that guy on the phone that I thought someone else on the board was actually the one who sent it, so don’t let him give you grief. I have also told the same to one other guy on the board. We are fine on the Aurora engines I guess, since that is the flexplate we just received form Charles Morris. This other flexplate must be either totally wrong or the Caddy and olds take different flexplates. We need to find that out, as we can salvage the flywheels we have already made for those. The flywheels will be redone and complete as soon as the material gets here, so we do not have to start over thank goodness.

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

FROM DAVID TODAY:

If we can confirm there is only one flexplate for the caddy and olds, I don’t need another flexplate. The 2nd flexplate I just received was definitely taken from an olds n’star, so I’m confident it’s right. I’m just wondering if there is more than one n’star flexplate.

We’ll have the olds done as soon as the material arrives. If we find that the one sent to me first fits another n’star, that would be great. But I’m not counting on that. I don’t think any of the n’stars had the big 2pc rear main seal crank pattern.

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Bobby from NW Indiana
86 Fiero GT, Looking to ad a 93 Northstar soon
thespeedshop@sbcglobal.net

The Northstar and Aurora use the same crank, thus the same bolt pattern. I don't know what pattern the Shortstar uses, maybe Rickady can say something about that. No SBC pattern matches. The initial batch of flywheels that were made incorrectly should be useable in SBC swaps with an adapter plate that is approximately 11/16" thick. However, whoever uses one will have to come up with a way to properly position the starter to work with the ring gear on those flywheels, which are smaller than conventional Chevy flywheels.

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'87 Fiero GT: Low, Sleek, Fast, and Loud
'90 Pontiac 6000 SE AWD: None of the Above

Luck, Fate and Destiny are words used by those who lack the courage to define their own future