adapter plate / flywheel / clutch
October 27 2017
There are a number of companies that fabricate aluminum adapter plates that will connect, in my case, the LS3 to the Audi 01E transmission. Some of these companies also supply custom machined flywheels and clutch assemblies that are designed to work together with the appropriate adapter plate. After doing some research, I settled on Kennedy Engineered Products (KEP) to supply what I need for my project. https://www.kennedyeng.com
At this point, I am not 100% certain that I'm not going to tweek my stock LS3 crate engine so I am leery to commit to a particular flywheel and clutch setup. However, I am in a position to purchase my adapter plate so that I can finally bolt the engine and transmission together and get them mounted on my engine cradle. So today I ordered the aluminum adapter plate from KEP, thanks Lori. These units are machined to order so it will be a couple weeks before its ready to ship to Nova Scotia.
Here is an image from KEP showing the adapter plate I have ordered. I have not yet settled on a flywheel and clutch but they will eventually provide both that are designed in conjunction with the adapter plate they are machining.
There are a number of companies that fabricate aluminum adapter plates that will connect, in my case, the LS3 to the Audi 01E transmission. Some of these companies also supply custom machined flywheels and clutch assemblies that are designed to work together with the appropriate adapter plate. After doing some research, I settled on Kennedy Engineered Products (KEP) to supply what I need for my project. https://www.kennedyeng.com
At this point, I am not 100% certain that I'm not going to tweek my stock LS3 crate engine so I am leery to commit to a particular flywheel and clutch setup. However, I am in a position to purchase my adapter plate so that I can finally bolt the engine and transmission together and get them mounted on my engine cradle. So today I ordered the aluminum adapter plate from KEP, thanks Lori. These units are machined to order so it will be a couple weeks before its ready to ship to Nova Scotia.
Here is an image from KEP showing the adapter plate I have ordered. I have not yet settled on a flywheel and clutch but they will eventually provide both that are designed in conjunction with the adapter plate they are machining.
November 14 2017
Today my new engine adapter plate arrived from Kennedy Engineering Products, KEP. I ordered the recommended fastener kit as well. The part was shipped days after I placed my order. Thanks for the awesome service Lori. :)
https://www.kennedyeng.com/
Can hardly wait to install it tonight.
Today my new engine adapter plate arrived from Kennedy Engineering Products, KEP. I ordered the recommended fastener kit as well. The part was shipped days after I placed my order. Thanks for the awesome service Lori. :)
https://www.kennedyeng.com/
Can hardly wait to install it tonight.
Luckily my work day was very busy so I didn't focus too much on the adapter plate sitting under my desk and how bad I wanted to get home and fit it in place. Well, it didn't take long to install once I finally got home. This adapter is very well engineered and machined. I literally screwed all the fasteners into the LS3 bell housing with my fingers, they were so perfectly aligned. And the fasteners for the 01E gearbox went in just as easily. KEP even provided a clear instruction sheet to show which fasteners go where as there are a number of different lengths. I am very happy with the finished product and would recommend this adapter for anyone using an LS / Audi set up. This adapter plate is aluminum, weights 16 lbs and is 1-3/4" thick. I'll post a few dimensions including overall length and distance to output flanges later as I know there are many drawings out there which show a wide variety of measurements and I suspect there are some folk out there that might want to know what the real dimensions are.
At this time, the transmission mounts have not been fitted so the transmission is sitting on the cradle with a wood shim to hold it at the correct height. I may notch the middle transverse frame slightly to allow a little more clearance between the cradle and the underside of the transmission. There is a square protrusion on the bottom of the gearbox casing that sits a little close to the cradle. Also, the whole setup is sitting about an inch too far back on the cradle as it sits now but I'll confirm the final position once I install everything back in the chassis.
So here it is all bolted together and sitting on the cradle. I am glad I installed wheels on the cradle dolly so I can roll the whole assembly around the shop. ( I got myself a big boy camera today. Love my Blackberry but hated the camera quality)
At this time, the transmission mounts have not been fitted so the transmission is sitting on the cradle with a wood shim to hold it at the correct height. I may notch the middle transverse frame slightly to allow a little more clearance between the cradle and the underside of the transmission. There is a square protrusion on the bottom of the gearbox casing that sits a little close to the cradle. Also, the whole setup is sitting about an inch too far back on the cradle as it sits now but I'll confirm the final position once I install everything back in the chassis.
So here it is all bolted together and sitting on the cradle. I am glad I installed wheels on the cradle dolly so I can roll the whole assembly around the shop. ( I got myself a big boy camera today. Love my Blackberry but hated the camera quality)