Money Making Idea

[racecar builder]

HMer's
car nuts are into the 4 speed craze now.
i think someone could do good 'facing' flywheels and
cleaning up tapped bolt holes.
like 'Hank The Crank' keep it simple, do flywheels only.
i could give you tips on playing the shipping game
so it doesn't mess up the deal.

Have A Nice Day!

 

[Rbeckett]

Resurfacing flywheels is a good idea. Many of the local machine shops are too backed up to get to them in a reasonable amount of time. 2-3 weeks waiting for a flywheel to be resurfaced is just plain ignorent. I understand the concept of backlogged, but if you have that many to do buy the machine or hire more help. If you can make it happen, then by all means a little home based sideline could be a fairly lucrative undertaking. Just make sure and invest in good calipers and mikes and stay above the minimum thickness to prevent flywheel explosions and liability claims against you.
Bob

 

[Tom Griffin]

Like cylinder walls, flywheels require a cross hatch pattern to break in properly. In order to produce that pattern you would need a rotary surface grinder, such as a Blanchard grinder. You would need to re-surface quite a few flywheels to justify the cost of even a small (20") Blanchard grinder.

Tom

 

[Rbeckett]

Tom,
We used to do flywheels on a brake lathe and they worked pretty good. It was an old Aamco model 4000-B brake and drum lathe with a chuck option added. Then when the cars went to "on car turning required" we would use an angle grinder with a brown rol-loc pad to break the surface finish and give it a unidirectional swirl. Once the flywheel breaks in and has a polished surface it wont matter anymore anyway. But a unidirectional swirl is best for machine work on brakes and flywheels for limiting squeels and grabbing.
Bob

 

[nicky]

Hi Guys
I used to do flywheels all the time on my Aamco brake lathe. I had a grinder set up for it. It came of another old machine and was also used on brake drums that had hard spots from heat which the tool bit would just slide over. Flywheels always, from my experience, also have hard spots so you really had no other choice. Never had a problem with flywheels done this way.
Nick

 

[Tom Griffin]

I guess my point was that you can't just turn a flywheel and call it good. It needs to have that cross hatched pattern in order to break in properly. This is especially critical on high horsepower cars. I put nearly 500 miles in on my Chevelle before putting my foot into it per Centerforce, the manufacturers recommendation. I had it slip once during break-in (I couldn't help myself :biggrin, but luckily it didn't heat up too much. The last thing I wanted to do was replace a clutch because it glazed over before breaking in.

Tom

 

[racecar builder]

bob & nicky
i'll stay out of all that.
a shipping tip is to find ready made plastic cases
that will fit most flywheels.
like they have for automatic trans & 3rd members.
then use small carriers like Old Dominion.
'let me walk out and see if it's on the dock'
charly trans will no longer do ANY ship to and back.
i'd like to hear why someday.

Have A Nice Day!