I was advised yesterday that 1966 and 1967 clutch support brackets have a 100% mortality rate. This old Ford mechanic said its not a matter of if, its a matter of when. He went on to say if your clutch pedal does not return all the way up and stops about an inch short, its not your return assist spring, its the support bracket. "They all fail".
Can someone enlighten me on this ? Is this fact or myth.......?
Thanks,
BG
Bob, I am no expert, but many cars I have had had that issue. My Boss has always done that. a 67 GT350 I owned did that. As a few other cars over the years has. Not sure its an issue, I am sure we will be able to "read below" and perhaps be enlightened.
The only real problem for me was back in the 80's I had a Boss 302 that would bend the adjusting rod under the car and I would have to get under it and replace it from time to time, it got where I had one in the unsigned glove box at all times. In fact, I think I got one in my tool box now, I may have moved it somewhere of late! Like magic, that car stopped bending them????
Quote from: oldcanuck on June 17, 2021, 10:22:55 AM
I was advised yesterday that 1966 and 1967 clutch support brackets have a 100% mortality rate. This old Ford mechanic said its not a matter of if, its a matter of when. He went on to say if your clutch pedal does not return all the way up and stops about an inch short, its not your return assist spring, its the support bracket. "They all fail".
Can someone enlighten me on this ? Is this fact or myth.......?
Thanks,
BG
Probably referring to the bushings made into the bracket wearing out on a manual trans car.The bushings are permanently attached to the bracket. Brackets from Automatic cars with unused manual bushing attachment points are used as donors if a original look is preferred . Some companies make alternative roller bearing repair parts if a after market repair is desired.
Fact. Both my 1968 and 1969 had the bushings fail, and the holes elongate, resulting in strange clutch pedal motion.
Replaced it on my 1968 many, many years ago, and modified the '69 to use roller bearings on the clutch, gave it a very smooth action. Hidden upgrade well worth the work.
Quote from: Cobrask8 on June 17, 2021, 12:28:08 PM
Fact. Both my 1968 and 1969 had the bushings fail, and the holes elongate, resulting in strange clutch pedal motion.
Replaced it on my 1968 many, many years ago, and modified the '69 to use roller bearings on the clutch, gave it a very smooth action. Hidden upgrade well worth the work.
Is that repair sold in a kit form? Is there a place to order them from?
Quote from: 67 GT350 on June 17, 2021, 12:58:31 PM
Quote from: Cobrask8 on June 17, 2021, 12:28:08 PM
Fact. Both my 1968 and 1969 had the bushings fail, and the holes elongate, resulting in strange clutch pedal motion.
Replaced it on my 1968 many, many years ago, and modified the '69 to use roller bearings on the clutch, gave it a very smooth action. Hidden upgrade well worth the work.
Is that repair sold in a kit form? Is there a place to order them from?
+1 Anybody know of this, and where to source ?
Thank You
https://www.drakeautomotivegroup.com/master-roller-bearing-repair-c5zz-2478-rbmk
And while you are at it, order two, try to retro-fit the Z-Bar bushings as well, as that is another wear/abrasion area.
Virginia Classic Mustang also offers the pedal support repair kit.
https://www.virginiaclassicmustang.com/65-70-BRAKE-AND-CLUTCH-PEDAL-SUPPORT-REPAIR-KIT-WITH-ROLLER-BEARINGS-P343.aspx
And an explanation of the replacement process.
https://www.virginiaclassicmustang.com/howto/instructions/64-70ClutchPedalBearingInstr.pdf
... did this on the car I had, if you don't need it to be concours it's worth doing.
Also replace all the related bushings on the associated parts.
If I remember right, there is a "rubber" pad/bumper stop that gets lost over the years, that the released pedal stops/hits/rests against. Stops it from making metal to metal contact when the clutch pedal is released.
If you intend to drive your Mustang, then the roller bearing clutch bracket upgrade is a must! One of the best upgrades for the money.
Don
gt350bp
Just asking but, ScottyD stuff is not of good quality usually. What is that made of? I only ask because I am afraid that for all the work, it should be very hard steel. If it is China made it actually might fail. This is a "Just sayin" / "Just asking" We all know that the metal from China is really useless including stainless.
Totally agree. It cuts the clutch pedal effort in half on a 428 GT500. Amazing difference, big improvement.
I got a kit from Mustang Steve once, twice have got the Drake kit. All pretty much the same.
Quote from: gt350bp on June 17, 2021, 05:44:11 PM
If you intend to drive your Mustang, then the roller bearing clutch bracket upgrade is a must! One of the best upgrades for the money.
Don
gt350bp
Quote from: Royce Peterson on June 17, 2021, 08:10:49 PM
Totally agree. It cuts the clutch pedal effort in half on a 428 GT500. Amazing difference, big improvement.
I got a kit from Mustang Steve once, twice have got the Drake kit. All pretty much the same.
Quote from: gt350bp on June 17, 2021, 05:44:11 PM
If you intend to drive your Mustang, then the roller bearing clutch bracket upgrade is a must! One of the best upgrades for the money.
Don
gt350bp
So it is a good quality kit?
Yes both kits were very nice. Generally I am not a big fan of Scott Drake but these kits were nice.
Quote from: 67 GT350 on June 17, 2021, 07:39:29 PM
Just asking but, ScottyD stuff is not of good quality usually. What is that made of? I only ask because I am afraid that for all the work, it should be very hard steel. If it is China made it actually might fail. This is a "Just sayin" / "Just asking" We all know that the metal from China is really useless including stainless.
I'm always skeptical of Drake stuff too but did use these. The bearings from what I can tell are put together well. The only issue I recall was the groove for the c-clip sat maybe .001 - .002 too low when the bearing was installed in the support. Nothing that 5 minutes with a file on the support couldn't solve. It's also not a bad idea to throw the plastic bushings for the Z-bar in the trash and use bronze instead
All great information guys.... thank you.
One more question..... Does the clutch itself incur any extra wear if the pedal is not returning that last little bit ?
Quote from: oldcanuck on June 18, 2021, 07:49:58 AM
All great information guys.... thank you.
One more question..... Does the clutch itself incur any extra wear if the pedal is not returning that last little bit ?
Not the clutch but the syncros in the transmission likely are. Of course there is a bit of overtravel designed into the pedal linkage.
Quote from: oldcanuck on June 18, 2021, 07:49:58 AM
All great information guys.... thank you.
One more question..... Does the clutch itself incur any extra wear if the pedal is not returning that last little bit ?
The throw out bearing is more likely to wear depending on how much "not returning" is happening
If you change the pedal bracket bushing to the roller bushings and weld the washers to the bracket correctly, the pedal should return all the way. If it doesn't, then I would guess the horseshoe bushings for the return spring are trash or the metal on the clutch pedal or the spring bracket has yielded. I had the clutch pedal on my 65 yield and all that was needed to fix was to weld and file the u-shape back into the pedal. I also just recently put the NPD clutch pedal stop in my car and now the clutch and brake pedal are about the same height. This was another nice part that was more than satisfied with if you are intending to drive your car. It is not an exact replacement, but nice for a good driver.
Don
gt350bp
+1 totally agree.
Quote from: sg66 on June 18, 2021, 11:59:54 AM
Quote from: oldcanuck on June 18, 2021, 07:49:58 AM
All great information guys.... thank you.
One more question..... Does the clutch itself incur any extra wear if the pedal is not returning that last little bit ?
The throw out bearing is more likely to wear depending on how much "not returning" is happening
The Mustangsteve kit has sealed bearings and requires some welding and is heavy duty.
https://mustangsteve.com/product/bbk/
I went ahead and just ordered a standard rebuild kit comprising of 13 parts that all may or may not be used during the rebuild.
If the original stuff lasted 55 years, I'll let the next owner worry about it in 2075 !