Quote from: deathsled on April 27, 2024, 11:26:27 PMHad a friend come over who knows Mustangs and said the equalizer bar is bent and the lower connection rod does not engage straight but off at an angle. It is also touching the header very closely. I am inclined to get a fortified bar this time around and he will install or I will install under his watchful eyes.
Was looking into this...
https://opentrackerracing.com/shop/mustang-roller-z-bar-and-clutch-rods-289-302-hi-po-small-block-v8-1965-1966/
In my experience the stock z-bar can be repaired and reinforced.
What I do is double up the top s portion. You do that by welding the new piece on and in the process you temper the metal by squelching it in a bucket of water. Everything else stays the same.
As Bob said, if you can't do the work yourself, a simpler solution would be to purchase a reinforced bar but I'm not sure that simply adding gusset plates (the triangular piece added) will clear everything there so I question the design of the reinforcements shown in those pictures.
I am surprised that Cobra Automotive can't supply one? This is a common failure. Mine is a simple and obvious solution.
Frankly hydraulic clutches present issues in the Mustang mounting them since they get mounted to the sheetmetal firewall which really is inadequate for supporting the mechanism. I do know of one person here that tried them on a '67 GT350 and had to remove it.
I did "roller bearing" everything in the system and although it works, it isn't an improvement in operating effort but it is an improvement in longevity over the original bushings. Those will have to be replaced eventually anyway so using bearings is a good solution.