Resurfaced Flywheel

I asked about my flywheel condition from FMOC (Finnish Mustang Owners Club) forum and found a fellow hobbyist who said that he had the necessary tools to resurface it. I drove there the same evening and he was not kidding. Drills, lathe, mill etc. There are not many machining jobs that could not be handled in his basement.

We started with the bellhousing. I had used some hours (and two cans of Brakleen) to clean it earlier so handling it would not be so disgusting. Drilling two holes to it did not take long and it was ready to accept the adapter plate. I think I'll paint it before installing it back to the car.

Then it was time to attach the flywheel to the lathe. He used a dial gauge to make sure it would rotate straight and put the machine to work. It took a few hours and finally we had taken 1,7 mm (0.067 inches) off the surface to get all the hardened parts out. I checked the 1966 Mustang shop manual and it says: "If it is necessary to remove more than 0.045 inch of stock from the original thickness, replace the fly wheel."

I read some discussions in the web and found that the durability should not be a problem (especially with a stock motor) but the clutch could be. Or more closely, the clutch fork might not have enough range to disengage the clutch any more. I have to do some investigation if adding some washers to the fork pivot could fix this issue or should I just get a new flywheel. At least the old one looks quite good now.