I tried to do some research, but i was unable to find anyone doing a write up on the LT1 engine and T56 swap. Alot of people have done the LS1 swap, since the clutch system is so much similar to a muncie. You will quickly discover that theres not alot of support for the LT1 clutch, since it was produced for such a short amount of time. One of the articles i found, the guy uses the muncie pedals and the LS1 cluctch with the hydraulic bearings. He modifies the mounting part, but thats it..... Not sure how well it works, he doesnt say much about it. However, he had to make a bit of a bracket to mount the clutch master cylinder on the firewall. http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-hybrids/510709-71-chevelle-ls1-t56-progress.html I think the "cheapest" route would be to just modify the muncie pedals, to work like the F-body pedals. A few things to consider here. The rod of the master never actually "actuates" in a straight line. Its more of an "arc". In that sense, you dont need to worry about the characteristics of the "arc" since the master can be forgiving in this sense. Its very forgiving in fact. The only thing you should try and do is match up the travel distance of the muncie pedals to the clutch master. Im just worried that the muncie pedal throw is too much, and when you go to disengage you will actually pull the fork so far back that it hits the trans. This might stress out your pressure plate over time. Two ways to do this would be to relocated the tab on the pedal that accepts the rod. Or put a stopper at the firewall to limit the travel.
I don't think making a bracket for the MC would be to difficult. I have access to a plasma cutter, and have a good stable drill press. There is a sheet metal company a few blocks from my job that sells scrap cold roll steel (and scrap aluminum plate) fairly cheep. I'll order a set of Muncie Pedals next week so I can study the 2 sets side by side. I'm wondering if I could drill a small hole in the clutch pedal, turn a pin out on my lathe, and weld it in to limit travel? I guess I really just need to get the fbody pedals out so I can study the 2 side by side before i go rambling about my "cheep fix ideas" thanks for the link, I'm open to all ideas. -John
I wasn't thinking I'd have to cut out that much transmission tunnel! Oh well..... anyone can restore a car, it takes a real man to cut 1 up. lol
yea have a look at the pedals, and see if you can figure out the travel. It will become pretty easy at that point, your fab skills seem ok to handle the job. Theres no way around cutting up the trans tunnel. Some people might tell you, that if you cut out just the shifter hole, and move the X-member to the Lower part of the frame, instead of on top, you can get away with not cutting it up. However you DO NOT have a correct pinion angle this way. Even if you cut up the tunnel, you dont need to cut out that much. That guy was just smart about it, he cut it out in one peice and lifted it 2 inches. Which is how i plan to do it. Makes it a bit simpler and "cleaner" looking in my opinion. Theres one ear on top passenger side of the T56 that has no purpose, If you cut it off, you will gain a bit more clearance in the trans tunnel. ChevyHighperformance article talks about it.
