on a 70 GS 4 speed is there a return spring on the clutch linkage? also once i have all my linkage inplace, how do you adjust preload? and is the pedal travel from the pedal bumper to the floor? sorry 4 speed stupid
Re: Clutch adjustment and retune spring? Kelly, Yes on the return spring. Some assembly schematics I've seen show a bracket at the bottom of the fork right where the clevis pin inserts. I've not seen such a bracket in either four speed car I've had, nor does it show in the Assemby Manual. Instead I've used the hole in the clevis pin to insert one end of the spring. The other end clips into a hole in the frame near and under the engine. I use a spring from HELP! in the orange packaging at Autozone, etc. Get a long spring where the coil is all at one end and a long straight rod at the other. That wire is probably 0.10 inch thick; you'll cut it to length but remember not to cut too much until you're sure. Getting this spring in place is pretty easy unless you have headers, in which case you'll run the long wire end of the spring through the primaries and put the coil end on the clevis pin. Clutch adjustment is measured as free play at the pedal. You want about one inch on a tape measure of free play at the top of pedal throw. There should be a rubber pad (maybe 0.25 inch thick) that stops pedal travel at the top of throw. The return spring should be tight enough to pull the pedal to this pad under the dash. This all keeps pedal weight off the throw out bearing allowing for longer life, thereof. Adjustment is achieved by screwing or unscrewing the rod (from the fork to the z-bar) out of the square block in the end near the z-bar, to get free play to one inch. You'll see that you must remove the spring and pull the clevis pin from the fork to screw or unscrew the rod. Sometimes I'll add or subtract half or one thread one way or the other to get better pedal feel (i.e., the clutch take up point closer to or farther from the floor). You'll be experimenting a bit on this. I always forget whether to shorten the rod or lengthen to get more free play since I do this about once a decade; it's a fifty-fifty chance you'll take. You'll be rolling under the car a few times to get this right. Then you'll drive it and want more adjustment. Clutch "feel" is a very personal thing. Good luck.
Kind of funny that the assembly manual asks for 0.76 inches of play in the pedal. Who is gonna measure down to 1/100 of an inch on a mechanical linkage full of slop? Nominal 0.75 to 1.0 inches depending on how close to the floor you like the clutch engaging. On my last engine build in '08 I went through that entire linkage; welded, sanded, drilled, rebushed, greased, tossed out the adjuster rod (went to a spherical end link), etc. etc.
