Flywheel Forward Engine Page | |||||||||||||||||||||
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*** WARNING *** This page is Under Construction ! Content will be added as it becomes available.
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Sections
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283 V8 Flywheel Forward Engine | |||||||||||||||||||||
4.3L V6 Flywheel Forward Engine | |||||||||||||||||||||
Increasing engine power level | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Paragon to Velvet Drive Conversion (14-DEC-2021) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Q : I have a Chris Craft 283 flywheel forward engine, 185 HP with a old Paragon transmission.( 1:1, inline, RH) in a Riva Ariston. I want to replace it for a Velvet 71C. Can you tell me where to get a adapter flange to fit/mount the Velvet on the CC engine. Are there more things to change or does it fit with a correct adapter flange ?
A : Photos of a rear cover which mates to a Velvet Drive transmission. We picked up two flywheel forward V8's several years ago. Both had Paragon reduction gear units. The Paragon drive drive plate (mounted to the crankshaft nose) has the same spline count as the Velvet Drive input shaft. No other mods are required.
The number stamped on the cover is 3572 A.
The Paragon transmissions are obsolete, parts are getting harder to find to fix them and the input power ratings are quite low. They are also expensive to have rebuilt as very few shops still work on them. We had a Paragon HF7 rebuilt several years ago and it set us back $1500 CAD. We could have bought a reconditionned Velvet Drive for half of that, but the owner wanted to keep it original. The Paragon also has a peculiar reverse band adjustment that must be adjusted when the boat is put back into service. The transmission can be severely damaged if it isn't adjusted properly. Much easier to find parts for the Velvet Drives and the input power rating is much higher.
As for transmission lengths, you will find the specifications listed on our Transmission Page (first table, Specs column) :
We have two plates but we'll be using them on our engines. You may want to call Robert Henkel to see if he has any parts. We could have a plate machined at a machine shop, but the cost (and shipping) would be high.
Robert Henkel (Harsens Island, Michigan USA) is our main contact for Chris Craft parts. We've ordered a new aluminum low-rise intake manifold and a complete flywheel forward gasket set as well as hard to find molded rubber hoses (used) for a 283HO restoration. Give him a call and let him know what you're looking for. I'm sure he can source just about any used part you can think of.
References
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Installation Dimensions - Velvet Drive 71C transmission | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Glen-L Cracker Box Shaft Layout Diagrams (14-MAR-2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||
We've had several requests from Glen-L builders wishing to extend the hull length and pondering where to locate the engine,
or adding a transmission to a design that was never intended to have one (direct drive) such as the 15' LOA
Glen-L Cracker Box.
The hull weight, hull CB, engine, transmission, passenger and fuel tank weights and locations were loaded into our Excel Hull CG Locator spreadsheet to derive the hull CG. The spreadsheet calculates the hull CG for a single driver and hull CG for a driver & co-pilot. The hull CG-to-CB distance is included in the drawings below : |
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Click image to enlarge. |
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Notes : The following shaft layout diagrams are for the same hull stretched 10%. |
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Click image to enlarge. |
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Click image to enlarge.
The flywheel forward installation is the preferred installation as the engine CG is very close to the hull CB. The shaft angle is lower which will ensure that the boat won't have any handling quirks associated with steep shaft angles. For the same shaft angle, the flywheel aft engine is installed 8 inches further ahead than the flywheel forward engine. In this installation, this places the engine CG 8 inches ahead of the hull CB. As a general rule, the engine CG should be located on or aft of the hull CB. |
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Glen-L Cracker Box Hull Balance Spreadsheet (21-FEB-2015) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Here's partial ouput from the spreadsheet we developed to calculate the boat's CG :
Here's a link the spreadsheet :
Moment Study for the Glen-L Cracker Box (PDF)
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Rebuilding a Chris Craft 283 flywheel-forward engine (10-JUL=2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Follow the link below for Flywheel-Forward Rebuilding Notes :
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Revised 17-DEC-2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Building the Glen-L Hot Rod : www.kanecustomboats.com |