Hydraulic Clutch Conversion

[69MyWay]

Quick update.

I hope to be painting the firewall and jams soon, so I need to get the last minute details worked out on the firewall. Got the power brakes straight, the electric wiper door, now putting my final attention to the clutch.

I will by using the Quartermaster hydraulic release bearing assembly. That part is simple. Getting the master cylinder together is another story. A long time Vetter pointed me in the direction of using a 1 ton 1985 Chevy clutch master cylinder. Got one from the local auto parts store new for $44.99. Picked up a sweet ball stud assembly from NAPA for $20. Waiting on a 5/16 x 24 die to come in so that I can cut the rod down and thread it to accept the ball stud assembly. The ballstud assembly goes into the clutch pedal in the same hole that the factory stud went to mount up the mechanical action. I will get photos and upload for any interested parties soon. I think you guys will really like it.

The die does not come in until Monday, and my shoulder is not up to a whole lot anyway, so stay tuned for more details here in a week or so.

 

[JHL]

Presumably you also have a Quartermaster clutch ??? when I bought my clutch pack I was also going to buy the hydraulic release bearing kit but it looked to difficult to get set up. It`s not so easy, I don`t have an Autozone over here.

The clutch is a good bit stiffer than the standard one I replaced and I am in the process of making new linkage rods with spherical rod ends. I also had a new heavy duty chassis bracket made and this should make the whole linkage much smoother to operate without the need for a hydraulic bearing.

Let me know how you get on, It`s something I`d be interested in seeing set up on a Vette.

J.

 

[69MyWay]

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Racer, Don't worry, I need to be reminded. Anyway, if my Mom was here right now, she would make me stay in bed all day. That is no fun. Plus, I am having a great day so far, minimal pain, without drugs.

Okay, I took some photos and made a new album for the hydraulic clutch conversion. I am having computer troubles right now, as I wanted to snap all three shots right into this thread. I will keep trying.

click the link and enjoy. Note the excessive wear on the stock parts. There is no way this 97k or so mile car had a decent pedal action before. The pin on the pedal was half worn through.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1428880&a=13837000&f=0

 

[69MyWay]

This might work

 

[69MyWay]

Finished!

Found die at the local hardware store today and finished it on up.

May have to make some small adjustments for carpet etc.

What do you think??

 

[sscam69]

WOW!

I checked out your photo albums. Thats one heck of a job you did on that camaro! That was one sweet looking car. And that S-10 was pretty awesome as well.

Do you just take on projects like that for the heck of it. I mean i could understand the camaro but the S-10 and the V-8 Fiero.

Just out of curiosity how much do those projects cost, i mean an all out resto. I ask because eventually i am going to do an off body resto on my shark and I want to know what i am looking at in terms of cost.

Great Work!


sscam69

 

[69MyWay]

Thanks for the compliment.

I tend to measure my life in terms of projects rather than years. It seems like I do one to two crazy projects every year. I want to try to maintain my humble demeanor, however those are just a fraction of the projects my Wife and I have tackled over the years.

Cost wise, I always loose money. I think the only one I made a profit off was the CJ-7. I hated that thing. In fact, I was barely able to drive it home and tore it apart the same day. The first time I really drove it was after all the work. Come to find out, even with the a/c, five speed, tilt wheel, hard top etc. etc. that I am just not a Jeep person.

Right now I have about $10k in the 69 Vette. I imagine I will have around $25 to 30k when complete.

How do I do it?, well, my mortgage is very low, the newest vehicle we have is a 96 Geo metro (paid for-duh) and very little debt. I do a lot of trading and swaping to get things done. We don't have kids, and sweat equity is a huge factor. I lost my shirt on the V8 Fiero. At least I kept the super hot aluminum headed roller motor. I try to float about $2,500 in debt on the credit card in between stages of my projects. When I pay that back down, I am ready to charge it up again and do some more stuff.

Watch out, I just paid the Vintage Air and other parts off and am ready for the next stage of debt. This one will include the big block aluminum heads, pistons, cam, and other engine junk to get that started. When that is paid down I will buy the fuel injection unit. Hope to knock it out in about 4-6 months.

Oh, I started that 69 Camaro with the intense help of my Dad when I was 14 years old. Our agreement--stay on the A-B honor role, and he kept the funds coming to make the project. I plan on doing the same thing with my kid someday. It kept me out of trouble and I have never regreted it.

Make sense?

 

[sscam69]

My dad bought a 1979 project corvette when i was a senior in high school. I had really got into racing and muscle cars and rekindled some of my dads old flames for cars. He recounted stories when he used to race his friends 55 nomad.

Well we agreed on a similar deal where i would fix up the car and he would provide the funds as they became available. Well with school and work I didn't have the time or the money and coming from a family of 3 brothers and 3 sisters he does not have much money to spend on the car.

The car was sitting on the side of the house for about 3 years with not much movement. In fact, get this, a neighbor called the city and called it a junked vehicle. Well sure enough the inspector came over and i showed her that the car ran. Well at least it didn't overheat which was the problem the car was having. Well after i took off the heads and looked at the cam and the cylinders i basically opened up a pandoras box of problems.

Needles to say i am in the process of getting the car running.

I am in about 3k in debt right now but the car has a 355 that has about 370 Hp, true dual exhaust, fiberglass rear spring (330lbs), poly bushings, auxilary electric fan and a few other minor mods.

As soon as i graduate, well to sum it all up i am going to make it a Viper burner with ease. Thats my goal!

sscam69

 

[69MyWay]

Budget

sscam69

You know, it is interesting you brought up budget. When we were building the 69 Camaro, my family was going through some tough times, and we did not have much to spend. My Dad called in favor after favor and we did a whole lot of trading and swaping to get things done.

For example, I got the car because my oldest brother was in a world of legal trouble and owed my Dad a fortune for his defense costs. So, my Dad took the car in trade. My brother (ASE certified etc) had already assembled most of the go fast parts.

The engine ran fine, but my Dad wanted me to learn about them so we pulled it apart and went through it anyway. Same on the transmission. I spent a summer at the body shop in Daytona that painted it working there during the day (sweeping etc) and sanding on the car at night and on the weekends. My Dad traded some old motorcycles and stuff to the painters to help me finish it off. My uncle owed my Dad big time and happened to be an ace at upholstry work. We bought the stereo, gauges, etc. at flea markets and garage sales. JC Whitney was our best friend back then.

Finally, I can remember needing a new set of spark plugs for the car ($8) and neither me or my Dad having enough extra money to buy them. We limped it around for months on fouled out plugs until we could scrape up the extra $$$.

So, things are not always what they seem. We really built that car on a shoe string budget, a lot of elbow grease, and love.

Stick with it, and you will make it happen. I hope to go cruising with you in 2003 for some 50th anniversary parties.

 

[Bullitt]

I think having to work around a not so fat wallet, really makes you appreciate everything in life much more. It's easy to just throw money at something, but you never really come up with ingenuious ideas, that will lend itself over many years. New parts are great, but breathing new life into used and old parts is much more rewarding.--Bullitt