'40ish Flywheel question

[oj]

Uh-oh, a hot rodder is about to ask a question! I need a picture or a description of what the flywheel looks like on a 40ish Ford pickup. My problem is that I have a hemi flywheel and a toploader trans from about early 40's (it doesn't have an arm sticking up for the clutch/TO bearing operator) I machined the hemi flywheel for the Ford 11" pressure plate and when I bolt the clutch assembly down the clutch fully engages, the springs are at coil bind and the fingers point straight out, there is easily 1/2" freeplay in the TO brg.
I am wondering if the Ford flywheel didn't have a recess machined into it nearly the depth of the disc.
Can anybody verify this? have a picture of the flywheel? I looked in the Green Book and they do show a cutaway dwg of the flywheel but it is a dwg.
The pic shows the fingers and springs.
Thanks, Oj

[Ken/Alabama]

This is a 40 Flywheel. Takes a 9” clutch.

[Ronnieroadster]

Any Ford flathead flywheel that used the long style 11 PP like what you show in the photo would be flat. Seems to me the clutch disk your using with the PP is way to thick thus creating the problem. Fix install a matched replacement set both disk and pressure plate. 11 inch assembly's were usually Ford truck
Ronnieroadster

[JSeery]

I have a question, why would you be using an 11 inch clutch/pressure plate? That is a heavy truck unit. Hot Rod and 11 inch clutch don't belong in the same paragraph!

[Brian]

I'm no expert on 11" stuff, but the fingers on that pressure plate don't look flathead Ford to me....
And as Ronnie stated, any Ford flathead flywheel is machined flat, ie, same plane for both clutch plate and pp.

[oj]

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Originally Posted by Ronnieroadster

Any Ford flathead flywheel that used the long style 11 PP like what you show in the photo would be flat. Seems to me the clutch disk your using with the PP is way to thick thus creating the problem. Fix install a matched replacement set both disk and pressure plate. 11 inch assembly's were usually Ford truck
Ronnieroadster

The clutch pressure plate are matched Ford #'s 7563 & 7550 disc, but I see now there are a bunch of variations, I was told that they were from a pickup and that hot rodders used them back in the day.
Now I really don't know what to do, I hate the thought of remachining the flywheel for the smaller pressure plate, it is a full days job to get it perfectly aligned to do the drilling.
Maybe machining some spacers to move out the pressure plate and perhaps replacing the springs with a lesser weight?
Why does everything have to be so complicated?

[1931 flamingo]

When I put together the Olds (1955) to mate with the 39 tranny in my 32 5W back in 61, the "little books" said to use an 11" PP with a 10 1/2" disc. Everything bolted right up. Used a hydraulic slave cyl mounted to the tranny linked to modified 40 linkage.
When I put the 4 cyl Tempest in later I used a Taxi clutch set-up out of the Pontiac book.
Paul in CT