Ok all you 4 speed guys, riddle me this! I came upon my first set back with my 70 GS 4 speed conversion. I installed the Z bar and found that I couldn't get the upper clutch rod into the bushing on the Z bar. So I took the Z bar out of the Aquamist car to compare Z bars. The Z bar Im using is not the issue. The issue seems to be in the upper clutch rod. So I took the upper clutch rod out and it seems the ends that go through the pedal and Z bar aren't parallel. So the rod had a tweak to it. But it also looks as through the rod has a bow to it. If I lay it flat, I have almost 3/16" gap between the table and the rod. Is this normal or should it be straight? I really don't want to take more of my other car apart to compare parts!! As a side note, the new bushing in the Z bar of my Aquamist car is already hammered. Its only a couple years old
Hmmm - in thirty years of GS 4 speed ownership I've never needed to pull out that rod. Has the car ever had a borg & beck style clutch? Those things ruin other parts.
This is a conversion from an auto to a 4 speed using a box of parts from my basement. Who doesn't like a challenge right? Tomorrow after work Im going to pull the clutch rid out of the Aquamist car and compare it to this one .
Pretty sure it's straight or should be anyway, I don't care for the upper rubber bushing I had my buddy machine a piece of Bronze to fit and use the steel bushings on the shift levers feels much more precise but we beat the snot out of the car and im a very aggresive gear puller on the track so that was main reason for the changes
That makes sense. After looking at it the bow in it is definitely related. Im going to fire up the smoke wrench today and try and straighten it out Not sure if the 67 is the same, but I'd be curious if yours lays flat on a table. Post up a pic if its not too much trouble.
Clutch pedal linkage in! Must of taken the upper clutch rod and Z bar out 50 times. That upper clutch rod was all sorts of messed up. Bent, twisted and bowed. And its definitely supposed to be straight! The slight bow in the rod was causing it to rub on the top edge of clutch rod hole in the floor plate. What compounded the whole situation is that the holes in the pedal linkage were tig'ed up and re drilled. And the repro bushing I got are made of a really hard rubber so there was zero give in anything. Everything had to be right on. What a PITA. And as a side note, the installed Z bar is just as crooked as my Aquamist car. What the deal with that?
Update to the upper clutch rod saga- Got the whole car together and the pedal is grabbing on the floor. It just grabs. And the adjuster is at the end of its travel. Something isn't right! So I started to question the upper clutch rod. I went to the parts book and looked up the upper rod- seems the 350 and the 400-455 have different part numbers. The 350 is listed as 401080 and the 400-455 1385394. So Im wondering if the 350 rod is shorter. It would explain why Im maxed out on the adjustment. Can anyone confirm before I take apart my other car?
Again, maybe not the answer your looking for but your parts book is correct. My 69 Assembly Manual shows the 1385394 for the 400 or (455 for 70) so something is different between them.
Terry, do you happen to have the upper clutch rod handy off your car? If so, would you be able to measure the length from center to center for me?
Jason pm me your cell again. I'll call you tomorrow late morning and try to help you talk it out....I'm hiring MatkO
Sorry Jason missed your post, its buried in boxes somewhere. Looks like others have chimed in if you don't get the answer I will dig for it.
No problem Terry. John texted me a couple of pictures last night and there are in fact two different lengths on these. One seems to be approx. a 1/2" longer. That would explain my problem and I think will make all the difference in the world as far as pedal travel (which Im lacking!) More to come after I speak with Mark
John texted me some clutch rod pics last night which were very helpful and I spoke to Mark O'Leary this afternoon. Ok, here's the skinny on upper clutch rods- Yes, small block upper rods are shorter than their big block counterparts. The small block rod I took out of my 4 speed conversion measures 14 5/8". I wound up pulling the upper clutch rod out of my Aquamist car today and that one measures 15 1/4. That's 3/4" longer! The big block one is bent "up" on the Z bar end while the small block one is straight (see pics). The reason is most likely due to the fact that the arm off the Z bar going to the rod is taller. That's why the small block rod was rubbing on the top of the clutch rod boot going through the firewall Mystery solved. Big thanks to John for texting me those pictures.
