Hello. So building a 69 396 car. Converting to 4 speed. I purchased a new m22 super case now I need to put everything else together. I found a kit I like on Heartbeat city (part #trn-1288) that would give me everything except I am not sure about the clutch and flywheel and what quality they Are. Has anyone used this or have any thoughts on other clutch parts and or kits? Thank you Happy holidays to everyone.

 

I have a McCleod clutch in mine with a Hurst 4 speed shift. The flywheel was replaced back in the 80's, so it more than likely a GEM replacement. Technically its not in it now, but never had problems with the upgrade clutch and a standard GEM flywheel.

 

I looked at the kit you mentioned. It seems complete but I couldn't determine brand and model of clutch, pressure plate and flywheel, so don't know what to say there regarding quality. I am in the middle of restoration of my '68 396, so can't report on results, but I can tell you a few things about decisions that were made. My restoration shop is very experienced, so I mostly agreed. My 396 is a total rebuild, with internal balance on all reciprocating parts, so we went with a fluid front dampener. We chose a McLeod steel flywheel and had it separately balanced by the rebuild shop. We stuck with McLeod and installed a Super Street Pro clutch/pressure plate combo, which connects to my Muncie M20 wide ratio tranny. We bought a brand new Hurst Competition Plus shifter rather than a rebuild from the past, as the new shifters have adjustable stops to prevent bending the rooster combs inside the side plate when you're blasting through the gears with extreme excitement. The Super Street Pro clutch is rated to 550 HP with street tires. Finally, we spent some amount of time on choosing between M20, M21, and M22 trannys, and the gear ratio of the new ring and pinion in the differential. I went with M20 because a) I already had it and b) I was trying to balance out launchability versus freeway RPM's, and the M20 and 3.42 rear gear should result with my chosen tires giving me around 3000 RPM's at 70 mph. With a balanced big block and way cool exhaust, that should give me the ultimate car stereo (stereo because of dual headers/pipes,mufflers). Hope that provides some food for thought.

 

OP

Ask Heartbeat specifics about their product. When brand names are not noted for components in a "kit" I assume they are generic replacement brand parts. The FW may just be a Hays, which is a decent stock type replacement clutch

For builds with motors making more HP/TQ than stock it is better to also go with a better than stock clutch. McLeod is well regarded. I have their Twin disc clutch and have run their single disc clutches in other cars. Good product