Clutch fork?

[moose]

Hi guys! New to the forum, just bought my '79 Monte a few months ago!!! I'm far from a mechanic and am having my uncle and cousin do some work for me since they're far more experienced.

Having them drop in a sbc 350 and swap out the auto for a Muncie they pulled from a '60 something Corvette, along with the bellhousing, clutch and fork that came with it. They think this combo will work just fine in my car. On the other hand I have read that g-bodies need the g-body clutch fork because of a certain bend it supposedly has, or the clutch will burn out in a few weeks. Lookin for a third opinion here so we can hopefully make it work right the first time!

 

[85_SS]

This page lists the bellhousing/fork combos that will work in a g-body:
http://www.garage-scene.com/t5-into-ag- ... ousing.htm

...I believe the problem is interference with the floor more than anything. F-bodies mounted the trans on an angle for the same reason - this is what I am running with a hydraulic clutch linkage in my car.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

What puzzles me looking at that site, is the apparent disparity in length of the pedal shafts from F to G body. Do the pedals sit at a comfortable position, or are they much higher in the dash than the stock G body stuff? They do not appear to be correctly positioned for heel-toe downshifts. I also wonder if anyone has tried the pedal assembly from a 4th gen F body in a G body, and how that worked out? I am starting to plan my 5 speed install and am trying to find the best/cheapest way to do it. I am also going with a hydraulic clutch, but will be researching other hydraulic setups as I have never had much luck with the plastic stuff GM used. I may try to use a Nissan cast iron set since in 295,000 miles of stop and go, I have never had a failure with my Frontier.

 

[85_SS]

I used JohnB's clutch pedal... not cheap at $175 (IIRC), but it's a bolt in for the GM hydraulics and I didn't want to reinvent the wheel when I knew it would work. You use your stock brake pedal and just cut it down to size. Installing the pedals/hydraulics are the worst part of the job, so anything that cut down on that time was money well spent IMO I used brand new 98+ hydraulics with the braided steel line. Not crazy about the plastic master & slave, but it does the trick and bolted in nicely.

I was originally going to go with a mechanical setup, even snagged a 606 bell/fork, but decided hydraulic was the simpler way to go for the T5.

Here's John's pedal bolted to my stock bracket/brake pedal:

 

[moose]

Thanks for the link...waiting for the word from my cousin, I have a feeling i'm going to be disapointed just like when i left left every salvage yard empty handed when looking for a clutch pedal assembly...considering the lakewood option, but would that be overkill for a car that's going to max out at a little less than 500 hp?

Also, when shopping for my clutch pedal, i naturally bought the cheapest set i found- $300 at musclecarsonly.com. Another site- dixiemontecarlodepot.com had a kit with a $475 price tag claiming that this was of "superior quality" metal. Anybody have any input on either set? Is dixie just using scare tactic marketing?

 

[85_SS]

When I was going to go with mechanical linkage - I too was going to get the musclecarsonly kit. The dixie and elcaminostore kits have a couple more parts, but definitely not worth the money. No idea if they are actually better quality or not.

 

[fodoimp]

I used 85 camaro pedals and it seems like they are going to work out great. just had to remove the left support rod off the canaro pedals so it would clear the fuse box. I ran the clutch master through the cruise control hole.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The earliest I will get started on my setup is probably December, over winter break. I think I will accumulate a number of different clutch pedals and hanger brackets in the meantime to try and find a cheaper alternative. Occasionally the junkyard has a half-off day, and I will use that as a way to cheaply buy several pedals, etc., as well as Camaro and alternative hydraulics to try and come up with my own solution. That, and I don't have $175 to spend on my car all at once. Thanks for that pic, it helps me visualize what I need to do.

 

[moose]

This page lists the bellhousing/fork combos that will work in a g-body:
http://www.garage-scene.com/t5-into-ag- ... ousing.htm

...I believe the problem is interference with the floor more than anything. F-bodies mounted the trans on an angle for the same reason - this is what I am running with a hydraulic clutch linkage in my car.

So my cousin finally got his camera working and sent me some pics of the bellhousing. There were no markings of any kind so i had to image search the net. Mine looks exactly like this one except mine is red.
http://nextgenparts.org/serverfiles/fbs ... de=4&trk=1

To me, its looks similar to (casting 563441; BOP) and i'm really hoping that it would would work with the A/G body fork. Criticism, comments, anyone?

Also, are stock bellhousings like the 606 "safe" enough to handle disaster from a mere 450-500 horses, and what does BOP stand for?

 

[85_SS]

That's an aftermarket bellhousing, which is typically stronger than a stock aluminum bellhousing. Many prefer to go with aftermarket units with higher HP/TQ. I don't know much about them, but you may need to use an aftermarket fork that is matched to the bellhousing you mentioned.

BOP = Buick/Olds/Pontiac (the bolt pattern is different from Chevy)