Light action mechanical clutch?

[69_hafton]

Is there a light action - something that won't kill your left knee over time - in a mechanical clutch set up? I'm not looking to convert to a hydrallic set-up. I've heard of a feather light or feather touch clutch that is real easy to push, but I can't find anything on them.

Looking for an 11" to go in an a833 behind a 292 if it makes any difference. I think it'll be an 11" at this point from what I've read, I don't have the engine/trans pulled yet.

Any suggestions and experience is welcome!

[Russell]

I just finished my swap to hydro. Cost me about 120 bucks, but that came with an entire transmission, that I plan to return to the junkyard for a 75 dollar refund.

Its amazing just how much easier that hydro clutch is as compared to the old mechanical type clutches. My knee started aching after 20 minutes of driving in town with the old 74, whereas this hydro stuff is like pushing a car's clutch in, so easy, you don't even notice it.

I'd imagine the biggest thing for making it easier to push would be to replace the springs under the dash with something far lighter.

[69_hafton]

Did you convert a transmission to hydraullic that wasn't originally hydraullic?
I've driven a newer chevy with a hydraullic clutch that was almost like there was nothing there - even better than most manual cars I've driven.

I was thinking with a mechanical clutch, that there need to be a longer clutch through-out lever, for it to be easier to push in the clutch pedal. Maybe there's a pressure plate that is design for better mechanical advantage. Anyone know?

I'm really trying to think long term here, cause I'd like to use this truck in day to day traffic without having the aching knee all the time!

[Russell]

Better even, I installed it in a truck that used to be a 2wd, and used to have an automatic, with an un-removeable floor hump, lol

Actually, the hydro swap was quite easy. I located an 86 half ton with a 4.3 / SM465 combo in it. I pulled the pedals, cylinders, and bellhousing from the truck. Wound up having to pay for the whole tranny, so I grabbed the rest of it right away too.

Everything was a bolt in upgrade, less drilling three holes for the clutch stuff.

In your case, you'll need set your pedal up for the master cylinder's ram. Basically, drill a 2 inch hole for the ram, then two smaller bolt holes beside it for the master cylinder to bolt up to the firewall with. It'd be a good idea to brace it with something on the inside.

You'll then need to drill a hole through your clutch pedal and bolt the clutch rod to it. Thats all thats to it. The rest is bolt up. It does involve taking the transmission off, to change the bellhousing though.

Make sure that you locate the master cylinder on the firewall in such a way that when you bolt the rod to the clutch pedal, that the rod bottoms out before the pedal does, but not so far away the pedal sits out further than your brake pedal does.

Changing bellhosings is as easy as undoing 4 bolts, pulling the mechanical housing off, putting the hydro housing on, and putting those 4 bolts back in. Bolting the slave cylinder up is two bolts.

The funnest part of the whole swap was bleeding the clutch, HUGE pain in the butt. I highly reccomend using a power bleeder.

Lemme know if you need any pics, and I'll be happy to provide. By far, your cheapest option is to find an 85+ truck to get the parts from. You'll easily spend 200 + on the bellhousing alone if you don't.

Like I said, I got my whole setup for about 120 bucks, and I plan to put the old non-hydro bellhousing onto the tranny I got from the junkyard, and returning it.

[Blazer1970]

Originally Posted by 69_hafton

Maybe there's a pressure plate that is design for better mechanical advantage. Anyone know?

I'm really trying to think long term here, cause I'd like to use this truck in day to day traffic without having the aching knee all the time!

If you have a Borg & Beck style clutch in there now (the one with the coil springs), you could switch to a diaphragm style clutch. The diaphragm clutch is easier to release, and the diaphragm spring has an over-center characteristic that makes it a lot easier to hold the clutch pedal down once it is released.

[Captkaos]

I highly recommend a Diaphram clutch over a 3 finger. The pressure on the foot is lower and they hold just as well for everyday driving.

[SSC's76]

I totaly agree with Blazer and Capt. I wouldent put a B&B clutch in anything. Get a Diaphram clutch and give you knee and foot a rest.

I put a 3 finger B&B clutch in my truck once, it stayed in there for a whole hour. I couldent rip it out fast enough.

[BobS]

Russell,

I'd like to see pics of your setup. It sounds like this would be a fairly straight forward modification for a 67-72?

Bob

[Russell]

Sure, as soon as I find my campera, I've got a whole slough of pictures I gotta take of the truck for various people

[69_hafton]

Thanks Russell for the info, but I'm limited to using the bell that came with this oddball A833 transmission. So I'll be looking into this diaphram clutch. Any manufacturer references guys? Thanks again

[crazy longhorn]

Center Force......I ran a dual friction setup with the Richmond in my 69. that clutch has a nice feel, & will take 1 he!! of a beating....the downside is they arent cheap....... L

[Captkaos]

For the type of driving you are doing, the clamping forces from the centerforce won't be adding anything you need. I suggest a Zoom clutch. I have had EXTREMELY good luck with them. I used the Powr Torq version.

[69_hafton]

The price on the Zoom is nice - compared to the centerforce dual friction, but I'd like to do some towing with it. Also the Zoom is listed in JEGs under Street, Street/Strip, and Race catagories. Is one of these the Power Torque?


The Zoom might be all I need at $105.00 for the "Street" version, it's listed specifically for trucks, up to a 5 liter. On the other hand the centerforce only has one option for a 85-95 truck 262, 292, 305 (10 spline - 11") that I can see, and it's the dual friction?

Also, I thought I was near tearing my truck down, but when I fit the shifter today, I found that the shifter wouldn't shift into OD. Finally, I tried to take the shifter apart and found some prior damage (note the horrible welding). To top it off, in trying to tear down the shifter any further, I'm finding that I can't get the thing to come apart any more than what you see here. So much for getting this done before winter...

[69_hafton]

I've finally got a shifter together out of 2 I bought on ebay. The pictures I've included are the shifter housing that works with the original shifter linkage.
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The Hurst shifter body I just pieced together has the number 0210331F on it. I bought it off ebay and the seller didn't know what it came off of. I was able to tell that it was the same as the original shifter that came with my tranny because of the position of the outside shifter plate - it looks almost like an "L" - the dodge hurst just point straight down. The original shifter didn't say hurst on it anywhere, and it had 2 springs visible from the top. The hurst shifters springs are internal.

At the same time, I bought a shifter with linkage from a dodge truck of the same vintage with an a833. Unfortuanately, the alignment and the linkage are completely different. GM didn't use hurst's linkage, and the linkage from the dodge seems of better quality (probably hurst), but you need the original linkage from the GM a833, or be prepared to custom bend your own. The dodge shifter body # is 10810211c best as I can tell - the first 3 numbers aren't stamped as hard.

[69_hafton]

For future reference, here's the bell housing for the dual bolt patern a833 tranny.