kjr442

http://www.centerforce.com/clutches....ption=clutches

This was helpful for a friend of mine.

Chesrown 67 OAI

Here Joe -- You can read a little about the "Cleaning Lady" clutch. These were the guys i was telling you about that had the rebuild shop in Canton!!
http://www.thunderracing.com/shop-by/manufacturer/Ram/

Enjoy!!!
Hope she can "CLEAN" up your problem!!

joesw31

Well, you can't see a bent disc. They put the disc on a machine, and they check for run-out. I purchased a clutch set up from a major company, and I went through 3 clutch disc and all three were bent. The clutch would not release.

I would not install a "3 finger" clutch as they are hard on clutch linkage parts. I have been there...

The best clutch that I have used and is still in my car is the dual disc clutch that GM had available with a floater plate. They were also used in corvettes.

The second best clutch that I have used has been a has street clutch, or the street strip clutch set up made by Hays

From looking at your thread the pressure plate that I saw is the street/ strip pressure plate from Hays better said Mr. Gasket.

Also, HP Books use to have a good book about clutches. Good source for reading.

I to use a floor jack to install my muncie trans, but I also use the bolts that I mentioned.

Chesrown 67 OAI

Agree with all JoeW31 says!!! Also, I may add -- for street/strip use I found the Perfection diaphragm setup to be fine! Today they make some units that dont take "three feet to depress and hold" in order to work fine. If i were buying a new set-up I would go for one of these units that has the lighest pedal pressure that would still work great in the car!!! I have heard that those later corvette units were really good! Even the roundy-round guys like them in conjunction with the matching vette alum flywheel! ( of course thats in a chebby!!) LOL!!

Oldsmaniac

Well thanks again to everyone for the info.... will check out those websites. I did order a Mu series clutch kit by ZOOM. It is the musclecar series diaphram style. I am hoping this solves my problem. Will try the 2 lower bolt/stud trick to slide in the trans. That will make things easier!

joesw31

Good luck, and keep us posted on your clutch

Oldsmaniac

Well I finally have a working clutch!! The new ZOOM musclecar 11 inch diaphram kit with disc and TO bearing solved the problem. i really dont know what the problem was with the other setup. I replaced the fork and have a different Muncie in there as well. This Muncie had 2000 miles on a complete rebuild. It even had a new cluster gear and iron midplate. I paid 500 for it and think I got a good deal. I found it on Craigslist and turns out the guy selling it restored 2 67 442's and his pop had a dealer install Trac Pac car that was bought new. It is a 67 vintage wide ratio unit. So now I can move on to other things since I have a car now that can be moved in and out of the shop. This will be great for stripping paint. Too bad the cold weather is starting to take hold. Thanks again to all for suggestions with the clutch. I did use the 2 long lower bolts and a jack to install the trans. I did have some difficulty getting the input shaft to go into the pilot bushing. I had to have someone press the clutch pedal and then I was able to wiggle the trans all the way in.

Chesrown 67 OAI

I knew you wouldnt let thing defeat ya Joe!! Bet a $1 if you put the other trans back in it would work just fine now too!! No doubt in my mind that your "swap meet" PP WAS you trouble all along!!

Sea five

Good for you now you can move to the next step.Keep us posted

joesw31

Awsome that you got the clutch working. What happens is most people use the plastic aligning tool, which does not do a perfect job with the disc, and makes it difficult to install the trans. And many times will need a second person to depress the clutch. So, what I use is a old input shaft. It does a perfect job each time! Any way the plastic tool is to short to go through the two disc in my cay.

keep us up to date on your project!

Oldsmaniac

I did use the plastic tool that came with the clutch kit..... funny the other times I used the plastic one too but my old one.... did not have a problem with the first one. Yes the plastic ones create enough play/sloppyness that you still dont get it perfect at times. I think my "junk" trans with the mangled input shaft will give me the perfect tool for next time..... which i hope is not real soon.

Oldsmaniac

So it seems there is little to report these days. Once again I need to play catch up with my spending and with the Holidays coming its pretty hard to do. The rear seat has not been finished yet. The latest word from the upholstery guy is that now he cannot find matching vinyl to enlarge the PUI covers. At this point I am tempted to just pick up the seats and give someone else a shot. It is pretty apparent that he is not interested in doing the job. I mean he has only had the seats since about July! I have decided on 760 15 tires for the front chrome reverse wheels. I am hoping to order them soon but at 200 a pop plus shipping its a tough nut this time of year. I have not made any progress on primering the hood or stripping any paint but I did get the white 4dr parts car chopped up and scrapped. With all this going on, last Sunday my brother and I drug home a 40 Coupe that just about fell into our laps for a very good price. Yes I am insane!

MDchanic

That looks pretty darn nice, Joe!

Looks like something you could clean up a bit, put a battery in, and just drive as it is.

Good luck with it!

- Eric

RAMBOW

I beleive that PUI sell vinyl in the grain & color their covers are in by the yard- Although they only deal with vendors not the puiblic, it still shouldn't be rocket science to get a shop somewhere to work with them...

If they DON'T... then SMS in oregon definitely would sell the vinyl, and they do deal with the public.

Worst POSSIBLE case in the world, just by ANOTHER back seat cover in the color, and slice the needed material off the bottom skirts of the rear seat. Or off the seat backs of a front bench cover (front bench cover might have more "plain" vinyl that could be cut up... Should be plenty to add in a wider center section...

Sucks dealing with people that don't want your business.

Oldsmaniac

Yeah I thought of that too.... their work aint cheap so I am not doing their leg work for them so at this point. I am not contacting PUI or SMS. Should I have to get my seats back unfinished then I will try the avenues you suggest. I guess I should have never said I didnt really need them right away..... but I had contacted them enough so they know I wanted them finished.

Chesrown 67 OAI

If i had that thing - i would make a "driver" out of it and let the body alone just the way it is! That would be a lot of "cheep fun"!!! It doesnt look like its very far from being drivable the way it is??

Chesrown 67 OAI

Oops! Guess i shoulda just agreed with you --- didnt see your comment before posting mine!!!

Thats what i did with my model T - left it as i got it and just got it to run!!

Oldsmaniac

My front tires that i have been Jonesin for arrived yesterrday. They are BF Goodrich 760x15 silvertowns. I think they will look nice and are just a tad taller than the rear cheaters but that will be hard to notice once installed.

Oldsmaniac

Well not a lot to update and it seems the rear seats will never get done. I guess the upholstery shop only gets incoming calls cause they never call me! After a few calls and weeks going by I finally called them and they said they could not purchase matching seat material. I said well, I had better come get my covers and rear seat cause it looks like you cannot go any further. With that he said Oh we called them (whoever them is I do not know), and they wont sell us the matching vinyl but suggested i call them. So reluctantly I did call OPG and after a bit of run-around they said the matching vinyl is available but back ordered. So it has been a week and am still waiting. Meanwhile i am thinking of having someone paint the car for me if I can get it done for around 3 thou. A buddy had his 65 Mutang done by this guy so i want him to give me a price but that has not happened yet. Lastly i am beginning paint removal and doing some filler work on that 1/4 seam and a few spots that still need it.

Oldsmaniac

At last I have my rear seat. Looks pretty good and I had to buy some extra matching vinyl since the shop could not purchase it. It was $250 for them to enlarge and install the ill fitting PUI rear covers. The extra material was 37 bucks per yard plus shipping. So now I need to get a rear package tray from Fusick in gold and I am not sure what the car would have came with, a mesh or solid one. I think I will order the solid one. I need my rear armrests recovered too and later a headliner and interior sail panels. I am still taking paint off the body and have not yet lined up a painter if I decide not to do it myself.

MDchanic

Nice save, Joe! That seat looks darn good!

- Eric

Oldsmaniac

Thanks Eric, this seat thing has been a rear adventure/P-I-T-A. If the car was not missing the original bench front seat I would have had the original covers/pattern reproduced locally and the fabric match would have been right on. Since the front bench was missing they did not have anything to go on but the rear covers and I did not think they could do it as from what I have been told they need the original covers to get things right... The PUI covers were attractive and priced well.... but it was a mistake.

Oldsmaniac

Not a whole lot of progress.... I am still trying to pay down the visa but soon I plan on ordering the Spanish Red Lacquer. I removed all the chrome trim from the side windows but am going to leave the roof drip rail chrome there. It is so nice I do not want to damage it. I did spend some time restoring my lower bumper red tailights. It was a good thing I had a parts stash as the good housings and lenses had the wires cut off. The damaged crappy ones had intact wires (sorta) but did have the correct molded plugs so I spliced things together with solder and shrink tubing and painted the housings with the same dull aluminum paint used on the front bumper filler. i think they came out pretty good. Now I need to round up the reverse light housings. I dont know if I will be so lucky with those as far as getting them together.

Oldsmaniac

I just installed the bumper lights in the rechromed rear bumper. They look nice. I also installed the plate lamp and reverse lights. I really could use new ones of these and I see they are reproduced but right now I think I will save some bucks and be happy with what I have. The Spanish Red Lacquer has been ordered from TC Global. I decided to get 2.5 gallons to be sure I have enough for the many coats and the door jams, side and top cowl, and underside of deck lid. When I did my 66 Sfire I bought 2 gallons and had just a quart left over and I did not do the door jams etc but it was a larger car and I did 5 coats with wet sanding in between. Next I want to drop off the rear armrests at the upholstery shop so matching vinyl can be seamed like factory and installed on the metal armrest frames. I hope at least they can get this job right. I did get 2 yards of vinyl from SMS that matches the door panels. I will need a little too for the front armrests.

MDchanic

Lookin' good, Joe!

- Eric

Oldsmaniac

Thanks Eric, looking back the car came a long way $$$ but I am quite anxious to start bolting on all the new parts and cant do that till the paint is done. Its hard to believe I have been at it for over 2 years now!

Oldsmaniac

The paint removal process has gotten serious. Am using stripper, a wire wheel, and a sander to get the 4 to 5 layers of paint/primer combination off. It is during this process that you see exactly what is under it all. Lucky for me so far I only found some minor dings and scrapes. It will be a while before I have it all off to bare metal. I got my Fusick repro tail light bezels assembled. They look nice. The paint has arrived but I have yet to look at the color yet. When I do open the cans I want to mix it all so the colors in each can are similar in case there were different batch lots made which may vary in color. i need to get some empty gallon cans first.

jims2000lt

Nice work. Cant wait to see the finished product.

Oldsmaniac

Thanks...You and me both!

Oldsmaniac

Once again its grass cutting season and yard work time as well as household project time. I did take a peek at the Spanish Red paint and it looks like a good match. Even sampled some and put it next to what was on the car originally at cowl area. Paint is just about stripped off the body. Need to finish sand the metal and go over old repairs found. Seems like a lot to do yet before primer...

kjr442

Your hard work is paying off now, she looks real nice.

MDchanic

Wow. Nice work, Joe!

I remember doing the same thing to a Skylark convertible once - it was not fun.

- Eric

Oldsmaniac

Thanks again guys for the kind words. I cant wait till the paint is done but I must remember to take my time..... thats hard to do for me and its a big hurdle as I am not real comfortable with paint and body work but can get the job done as I have before.

Chesrown 67 OAI

Joe - Love yur pot-belly stove!!

Eddie Hansen

Just read the whole trials and tribulations what a great thread. Doing a super job btw. I was wondering if your doing any clear over the red, when I sprayed lacquer I use to add some clear to the color, then a little more and finally finish off with about 2_3 coats of clear ( to allow for wet sanding) I was going to shoot lacquer on mine when the time came but pretty much have been talked into BC/CC because of the toughness but that means I'll need to find a place to spray. Anyway kept going your inspiring us all

Oldsmaniac

Thanks Eddie, I will just spray the red then buff it out good and hopefully produce a factory style lacquer finish. Nice for you to read my thread and comment!

Tweed glad ya like the stove! Its great. I have a double wall heat shield with air gap in between each to reduce the clearance to wall.

Oldsmaniac

I dropped off the rear armrests at the upholstery shop for recovering. I had to root thru my stash to find some that weren't rotted at the bottoms. They came out pretty good for the $150 they charged me and I supplied the correct vinyl that I got from SMS. I am glad to say the body is just about ready for primer. I checked my filler work with a darker primer and sanded it like a guide coat. I will do this again for real after it is primered. I still need to do some sanding on the door jams and around door hinges. Yes it would have been easier to do with the doors off but then I would have to hassle with alignment which can be a real pain.

MDchanic

Lookin' good, Joe, as usual.

- Eric

442_Mustang

Just a tip, not sure if you know this but if you block sand the vehicle as a whole with all panels lined up and fitted, and sand down the whole side at one time, the lines and everything will flow very nicely. After its painted and reassembled it will look like its one solid thing. I've seen some very nice cars that each panel was straight but didn't flow into the next.... I love your project. :-)

Oldsmaniac

I am not a body guy so any tips are welcome.... not that I will follow them all, they are welcome. Thanks!

As usual Thank You to Eric as well.