hybrid bellhousings

[Carl H]

so I've decided to use the ka trans that i got with my shell, it appears to be a lower mileage s14 ka trans which is one of the best ka trans you can get.seeing as the motor will be staying na i feel that getting the mazworx adaptor and z32 trans is unneccisary...and mad expensive to boot.so what i plan to do is chop the trans flange off of the vh bellhousing and the ka mating flange off of the ka trans bellhousing and weld the two together.has anyone done this or something similar and if you dont mind post up pics and how you did it.

[Chrispy300]

There's a guy in Australia that did that. Looks like the painful way to do it to be honest.

Check out the hybrids section here, there was a guy named Watty that made an adater to go from the KA g'box to a 1UZFE. Didn't look that hard...

[Carl H]

appears that watty used an adaptor plate...im poor and dont have access to a waterjet to cut a piece like that...and i dont want to have to space the flywheel out anymore than i have to.

[T45]

I did it to my Z32 trans. Basically I cut the flange off in 2 pieces. Starting at the top I left about 2 inches in the middle, then cut out 2 pieces from where the flange drops into the bell part. I made sure that I had enough material on the Z b.h. at the bottom to give me reference points.

Basically I left the piece up top and one on each side so that I could mate the trans up to the engine with the clutch in place, and still have the b.h. and engine mating surfaces perfectly flush. Then made the 2 pieces from the q trans fit the gaps, bolted them down and welded.

I used a lincoln sp-175 and it just didn't have enough juice for good penetration. After I heated everything up it worked much better. That is some thick aluminum and it acts like a huge heatsink. I used my torch with lil rosebud and it helped a lot too.

[Carl H]

very cool man, thats info i was looking for.the welder i have sucks and i dont plan on doing much more than tackwelding the bellhousing together and having a friend who welds for a living do the rest.it took a few reads to figure out what you were saying but i figured it out after the 3rd go thru...had to visualize it.I'll post a build thread here in a few days of what I've gotten into but I do appreciate your input greatly.

[T45]

Yeah, sorry about the poor explanation but it's kind of hard to describe. The chunks from the Q b.h. were just long enough to give me the bolt holes I needed. By cutting them off as short as possible I was able to keep the stock b.h. material on the lower sides and top to keep the trans centered on the flywheel. Without those reference points it would be damn near impossible to try and line up the shaft and keep it there while getting your welding done. Once the trans is in place I put some forward tension on the trans to keep it there while I tacked.

Both bellhousings have a decent flange line and both are the same thickness between the Z and Q bh's. The pieces are about 2-2.5" wide. Also, by leaving the piece up top it allows the trans to be keyed for added torsional strength. If my welds give way, hopefully the "key" will keep the trans from spinning. I also modified the stock steel Q mounts that tie in the engine to trans on the bottom of the bh. That helped strengthen the assy as well.

I think I have some pics on my parents computer, I'll see if I can get them posted sometime.

[Carl H]

what did you use to cut the bellhousing with?

[T45]

Grinder with a cut off wheel.