How many bolts on your bell housing for 200 ci six with 3 speed toploader?

[Wilbur]

I was checking the four bolts on my bell housing for tightness and I noticed a fifth hole and I removed one of the four bolts and threaded it into the fifth hole, and it caught.

I have a Ford six cylinder 200 cubic inch motor from 1969 (in my 1964 Falcon) that uses the two bolt starter and 9 inch clutch, and the larger heavy duty 3 speed toploader transmission.

The bell housing for this setup uses four bolts, at least that's what I removed when I did some work recently.

How many bolts does your bell housing use to bolt to the motor? The bell housing to the motor, not the trans to the bell housing.

Thank you

[Luva65wagon]

The early bell housing (pre 66) used 4, but when they added the Mustang to the list of cars to use that motor, and wanted to make more options of tranny available, they went to the standard small-block V8 bolt pattern, which I believe is 6 bolts. Some of the transition blocks, like the 66 block, for sure, had a dual bolt pattern and could accept either the early 8.5" clutch 4 bolt housing, or the larger housing.

[Wilbur]

The early bell housing (pre 66) used 4, but when they added the Mustang to the list of cars to use that motor, and wanted to make more options of tranny available, they went to the standard small-block V8 bolt pattern, which I believe is 6 bolts. Some of the transition blocks, like the 66 block, for sure, had a dual bolt pattern and could accept either the early 8.5" clutch 4 bolt housing, or the larger housing.

Thanks for replying. Would that include the two bolts holding the starter motor in place?

I added a photo, I have bolts for the holes numbered 1 and 2, 3 and 10, those are the MAIN FOUR bolts that I removed.

Then I have bolts for 4 and 5 holding the starter in place.

Then bolts 6, 7, and 8 hold the dust cover plate to the bell housing.

NOTHING for hole number 9 and when I threaded the bolt from hole number 10 into hole number 9, it seemed to thread but the size of the head prevents it from being snugged down, it catches on the side of the bell housing, and there was no bolt there when I removed the bell housing.

[Luva65wagon]

Usually the bolts below the starter are inspection cover, or perhaps the entire block plate. My 4-bolt count did no include the starter. And that housing doesn't look like a small-block pattern either, so even I'm a little confused now. Will need to do some Googling....

[Wilbur]

Usually the bolts below the starter are inspection cover, or perhaps the entire block plate. My 4-bolt count did no include the starter. And that housing doesn't look like a small-block pattern either, so even I'm a little confused now. Will need to do some Googling....


Thanks for the offer to google but save yourself the trouble, I've got all the bolts I removed, and that one mystery bolt which did thread, I'll just buy a bolt for it and bolt it up, I'll file the head a bit if I have to as the other original bolt would not fit due to the head hitting the side of the bell housing, but it did thread in.

The dust cover bolts are all bolted up already, all bolts are in place except for that one mystery one. The four main bolts are there, I forgot which numbers I gave them, I believe it was bolts: 1, 2, 3, and 10, they're all there.

Thanks again!

[MacDee]

Could the "mystery" bolt have actually been just an alignment stud?
It sounds like even though it is a threaded hole, it wasn't meant to have a bolt in it!