Well, the Boss project was ready to go. All we had to do was dyno the engine drop it in and we're rolling. As we were heading to the dyno we noticed the new SFI flywheel was left at the shop 90 miles away. We had a stock 460 flywheel available so it was either use that or don't dyno and just put engine in.

We made 5 runs with a high of 755 horse and over 700 torque. The headers we were using were a test pair from Kaase that he said showed a 60 horse or more decrease from the actual headers we are going to use. This means we have an 800+ horse street engine.

We decided to make one last run after jetting the carb to balance the power.

Here you go:


http://s732.photobucket.com/albums/ww328/Bossofu/?action=view¤t=100_6747.flv





The flywheel came apart, blew through the block slicing the starter in half. It then went through the wall into the next room hitting a metal cabinet.

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...is the block scrap metal now?

Pretty much.

It tore off half the mounting points for the bellhousing and there is a crack up by the manifold. As long as the crank is OK 460 blocks are fairly easy to find. It's just new machining and moving everything into a new block.

Need to buy new bellhousing and starter.

The power is definately there though. Withe the smaller and shorter headers we still made 754.5 hp @ 6400 and 712.4 lb-ft torque @ 4900

Torque at 3500 rpm was 598.

It will be one hell of a street engine when put together.

cc

I'd say.

SCJ block or Sportsman block for that horsepower.


Wicked vid. Glad to see everyone OK after that shred.

Jeff

1965 Galaxie XL Fastback 390
1966 Park Lane Breezeway 410
1967 Galaxie LTD Fastback 390
1968 Lincoln 460 w/SCJ top end
1969 F100 HDS 4x2 360/C6

Steve I have a couple of 460's laying around. I think they are good. let me know if your interested. Might not seem like it but your pretty lucky. When things of that nature go wrong bad things happen. As mentioned everything needing replacement there has a price tag. Call if ya need anything. Trailer and truck are available. Later KC

Guess that 90 mile drive looks short now.. did it destroy the block ? Would love to see that in slo mo. Hope the damage is not too great...

I´m happy that you have not mentioned about any injured persons. Those big piles of metal will kill anyone who stands on their way. Just wondering how high the engine reved up after the flywheel blew up.

It doesn't sound like it went up that far. The dyno operator shut it down pretty quick. We are trying to get a print out of the last run to see how high it went. We'll have to tear apart to look for damage but the crank is a forged crank.

If the top of the bosses are the only structural damage to the block, they can be repaired. I got a block from a local dealer who had replaced it in a brand new 96 GT Mustang due to a clutch failure. It had the same type of damage. It can be welded with Nickel cast rods, reshaped, drilled and tapped and will be stronger than the casting. It just has to be slowly cooled after using a torch to maintain heat between passes. After getting past the first couple of passes where there will be much porosity in the weld (you have to grind the first passes until you get a slick overlay on the cast), then the weld goes on like stainless. I used an Old Faithful Lincoln Crackerbox and it did great. Block was in a car with a Supercharger turning 11.20's when it was sold.

Just reread about the other crack. May not be fixable, but same process is applicable.

Thank Goodness no one was blown away

Fortunatly no one was hurt,(except your heart). And it looks like some flamable materials in that cabinet, good thing the exploding pieces didn't come in contact with them and cause a fire.

The reves picked up pretty good when it let go, do you know how high it got to?

I decided to go with an SFI flexplate to go behind my 445 stroker instead of a 40 year old used one. Even though I wasn't planning of taking it to the extream, I didn't want to experience a failure of such a critical part. Your video makes me feel even better about that decision.

Best of luck in recovering from this, that's one hell of an engine you built! ww

1965 Galaxie 500XL 445ci Stroker C-6
1965 Galaxie 500XL 390ci P-Code, 4-Speed
1965 Galaxie 500XL 289ci Cruse-O-Matic
2001 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 5.4L
2006 John Deer X320 Garden Tractor

Now you understand the reason for an SFI wheel. Sorry for the loss but all of you still have your hands, arms and legs, not to forget your eyesight and lives.

Good luck on your new engine.

The effects and results of taking a simple, expedient, Short cut.

Every once in a while its good to be reminded, to show, in a graphic way, why a certified SFI Flywheel is just as important - even when using a steel, safety, bellhousing.

Thanks for the lesson. We all need to remember what can happen, our toys require and deserve all the repsect we can give them.

that anyone would even THINK of trying to use a cast flywheel behind a 800 hp motor, even if you did keep the rpms down. That old wheel was NEVER meant to transmit that kind of power and I'm surprised that it lasted that long.

I'm very sorry to see the carnage, but I would be thankful that no one was hurt when it came apart.

Guess that 90 mile drive don't look that bad now? Hope you can salvage it.


LarryK

1964 Galaxie 2dr 390/6-71/4spd
1964 Country Sedan Wagon 428/5spd
1969 F100 428/4spd
1967 F100 352/now a 4 spd!
1959 B Model Mack

The reason I posted is to show what a non SFI flywheel could do.

Yeah, I know we should have taken the trip to get the right flywheel. In our defense we weren't launching a car just rolling into the rpms without much load. Even the dyno operator said he had never seen anything like it.

Trust me, I really don't need a should have known better today. It's right up there with I should have stopped before that last run.

when I replaced the clutch 2 yrs ago. I just drive on the street but this was an eye opener.

1968 Ranchero 390. 060 over,10.5:1, Comp 292H Cam, Performer RPM intake, Hooker headers, 4spd. 3.89 dif. ProForm 750 DP, Mallory Unilite distributor, Holley Annihilator cd ignition system, centerforce df clutch.

and even "being easy" on a cast flywheel isn't good enough(as you found out). You still tried putting 800 hp power thru it and it lasted a few tries. It's like an egg.....you can stand on it if you do it just so............but sooner or later you'll find the weak spot and crack it.


I'm sure you have heard plenty of "I told you so", but I'm glad you showed what can happen so the next guy doesn't try it.


LarryK

1964 Galaxie 2dr 390/6-71/4spd
1964 Country Sedan Wagon 428/5spd
1969 F100 428/4spd
1967 F100 352/now a 4 spd!
1959 B Model Mack

Glad you are OK. I know you had a lot of work in this project. You'll pick up the pieces and go on. I dount it did much internally, at the worst maybe knocked the two rear rods out of index, but that can be straightened. On mockup. you'll know, because they will hit TDC early on one and late on the other.

Good Luck. Dave McClain up in Cuba, MO (close to Rolla off I44 on the outer road at Cuba) might have a spare block and can check it all out for even miniscule damage.

Dont you just hate when that happens?
Imagine what that does to the floor, dash and windshield in a car. Yeah, right down by your legs and feet. I know, been there and got real lucky. First impression, "why did the windsheild just explode"?

Check things real well, remembering the crank was spinning at high speed with a SEVERE imbalance, if even just for a moment. Mine was twisted and bent, flange trashed.

I am glad to hear you have a gameplan to put it all back together reasonably, and especially good that nobody got hurt except the building, good reason to not stand beside these things

Thanks for sharing your progress, that remains an awesome project.

Gary B

I was actually holding the camera when it blew. The reason the camera pulled away is that I ducked. The reason the camera stayed focused on the ground is that I just stood there in disbelief. We had about 10 minutes of silence before I noticed that at least the heads were OK.

I have a stock flywheel in my truck right now and a Mcleod SFI on the bench.
I think I will be doing some work before I run it again...


53 F100, Volare clip, 4 wheel disc 390-wide ratio toploader

Was that a scattershield that was on it or some sort of dyno only bellhousing?
That is a staggering bit of footage. Thank you very much for scaring the crap out of me!


53 F100, Volare clip, 4 wheel disc 390-wide ratio toploader

A family was getting ready for school, the kids left the couch to each breakfast and about 15 seconds later a large metal object crashed though the roof and cut the couch in half!

At first the police called the air port for a plane part, then they realized it was half a flywheel. A block away there was a stolen Mopar big block car with a hole in the cowell!




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1967 390GT engine: 416 CID 233/238* @ 0.050 Solid Lifter w/ 4 spd TL.
1966 410 engine, 1969 CJ heads, CJ cam, PI intake
1968 GT/CS Mustang. 289/c4

Oh and a Bicycle - daily driver to save gas for the 'F'un 'E'xcursions.

At Union Grove Raceway in WI (about 1977) we had been standing about 400 feet behind the line next to the front of my buddy's new rear engined dragster. A '57 Chevy with a Lakewood 'bell had just started up and idled by us. We paid no attention but just as he rolled by the five of us, about 8-10' past nose of the rail where we were standing, he revved it and dumped the clutch (notwithstanding the fact that behind the line burnouts were prohibited). Zing! We heard a strange noise wizz past us and go off into the adjoining farmer's field.

Turns out our idiot blew the clutch, separated the bell & dumped the back of the motor on the track. Zing sound was clutch and flywheel (easy 60 lbs.) exiting underside and making tracks into the field. Randy Migut, our driver, just about killed the Chevy owner. We then called "Broadway Bob" Metzler (track owner) out of the tower, pointed to the mess and the smoking car and asked him to kick out the driver/owner. He did...for life!

To this day, I get the shivers when I and recall just how close we came to getting killed that day.

your dad? Tell Don, Randy or Ritchie it's the 'commander' here!

Amazing

Amazing

We looked under the car afterwards and the bell was pushed back and down as the rear of the block broke off....bigtime! Later, as we laughed about it (!) we guessed the clown used standard bolts to secure the block plate and bell to the engine. The force of the explosion didn't seem to damage the bell itself too badly (it was nighttime btw) but one could see broken cast iron chunks from the back of the block and a damaged rear crank. We also thought he used low strength bolts to secure the flywheel as well. Should have also mentioned
massive right side frame rail, fender, hood damage as well. Was a close call, indeed!

Geez Steve, I'm really sorry to see that. My local dyno guy, who I went to before I bought my dyno (and who I bought my dyno from), had a big inch 385 series engine blow up the flywheel on his dyno about a year and a half ago. Cut the dyno in half, folded the ring gear like a pretzel and stuck it through the steel door of the dyno cell, threw pieces of the flywheel through the brick wall of the building, etc. He'd run for 20 years using stock cast iron flywheels and never had a problem until that day. When they decide to go, they just go.

Good luck getting it back together; its a setback, but you will get it handled and have that car running in the spring for sure.

Jay Brown
1968 Shelby GT 500 Convertible, 492" 667 HP FE
1969 R code Mach 1, 490" supercharged FE, 9.35 @ 151.20, 2007 Drag Week Runner Up, Power Adder Big Block
2005 Ford GT, 2006 Drag Week Winner, 12.0 Daily Driver
1969 Ford Galaxie XL, 460 (Ho Hum....)
1964 Ford Galaxie 500, 510" SOHC