And the journey continues. After the initial 200-300 odd mile run in, I dropped the run in oil, adjust tappets (again) and ensured the tappet cover wasn't leaking at the rear. Decided to take the old girl for a good run to Charlton to visit an Aunty and Uncle. Incidentally I purchased the car from them when I was a young fella in 1987 or should I say, they gave her to me. The last time the car had been there was after the initial resto 33 years ago.

The trip was about a 220-mile round trip. Gee it was great to drive and just enjoy the experience. No problems (or I thought) for the journey. Decided to take some pics outside the Old Holden Dealership.











Damn Cruze ruined the pictures!

Had a slower trip back to avoid "skippy" but it just added to the experience.

Gave her a check over yesterday and damn, leaky rear main (or I thought) and the coolant was down a reasonable amount. Could see the coolant but it did take 3/4 of a litre. Bugger. I thought of the head / head gasket. Knowing that she purred, I took myself back to the basics. I remembered some time ago in the Ute I had an issue with the radiator cap. I got my pressure tester out and low and behold, the cap would barely hold 2 pounds. I cross checked by testing the one on the Ute and it was holding 6-7 pound. Purchased a new one today (yes Tridon, not CPC which the problem cap was, like it was with the Ute years ago. It held pressure nicely. Took her for a run and when I go back, I had coolant loss out the overflow and wasn't took worried as I may have overfilled the system slightly. What was interesting, was once I pulled the cap, I had the coolant level was the same as before the run. I suspect I now have an air block somewhere. After another good run to open the thermostat, I did park the old girl on an incline and let her run for a while with the cap off to hopefully purge the air. Wasn't successful. Getting back to the old cap. I only had myself to blame as I should have purchased a new one rather than use the one, I had. I identified it was an issue almost nine years ago in this thread- https://forum.fefcholden.club/index.php?topic=25724.msg162196#msg162196

Now to the "rear main" leak. On my earlier run-in period, I did have a leak, but this was from the tappet cover gasket leaking. I checked this again and I could not feel any oil at the back of the motor, so was resigned to the rear main now leaking. Ok by me as if I didn't have a leak, I would be worried. Haha. On close expectation I could see a film of oil near the driver side rear of the motor near the timing inspection plate and it was along the moving downwards along the gearbox inspection plate. A job for another time but it must be coming from the side cover of the distributor.

Have a ripper. Rod

Wow, what a great car. There is going to be some great enjoyment in this resto. There is nothing better than a dad and son team in any resto. I look forward in following your progress Zac. All the best.

Gee Rob,

Going by your post of looking to have the shell off the rotissiere by the end of the year, I am sure you are doing more than nothing. You must be getting excited to get to the point of having the rust repairs done and moving onto the next stage.

Thanks for continuing to share your journey.

Cheers Rod

Continued....

 I removed the carby again, to find some minor warpage with the main carby body and air horn. I carefully lapped these on a piece of flat glass but no, there was no improvement. Next step was to take the manifold/s off. There was leakage but this was evident with the exhaust ports. Closer inspection indicated that there was some warpage in the manifold, particularly the exhaust one. The inlet manifold mated up to the head perfectly, so I wasn’t confident that there was sucking of air at these locations. I did a backyard, agricultural, outback shoring up of the warpage using a Whetstone and got it very good with a straight edge across all ports. I didn’t have a new gasket, and I was impatient, so I made one out of an exhaust sheet I have had for many years. This is thicker than the aftermarket gasket and I am sure any residue warpage will be accounted for by the thickness of the gasket. Anyway, you know the story. I reassembled and the “hunting” was still present.

I resorted in taking the carby off again and found some warpage in the bakelite insulator and the main body spacer. I lapped these true and you guessed it – “hunting” persisted.

I was resigned to pulling the carby off again to double recheck the float level and accelerator pump travel (there has been very good squirt). I had previously set these but who knows….. However, I held off and decided to read Harv’s Carby bible from head to toes again. What stuck me was that the Power Bypass Jet might not be the right size and even though the Main jet was 051, with different octane fuels now compared to when the old girls rolled of the factory line, may be a slightly larger jet was needed. Rather than take the air horn off to check, float level, accelerator travel and Power Jet, it was much easier to take the Main Jet out and replace it with a larger one. With the many jets I have, the majority are 51’s and the next largest was a 58, being far too big. I then did some research on the approximate metric size drill to bring a 51 up to 52.

0.051 (1.2954 mm)
0.052 (1.3208 mm)

I was able to get a 1.3mm drill which is so close to a 51 than a 52 but I thought I would give it a try. Bingo!!! Opening the 51 this small margin has rectified the issue. Wow- the old girl runs beautifully now (or should I say for the moment). I must clarify before the carby was put on the motor, I fully tore it down and given her a though clean. I also put all parts through an ultrasonic cleaner including the jets. On the last dissemble, I did clean again and using air, cleaned out all ports, including the main jet. I am not sure why removing such a small amount from the jet would yield such results. I am only speculating on reasons but I’m not complaining, so now I can enjoy the ride (for the moment).

Oh, I forgot, the tappet cover gasket is leaking again – another job. Oh, and while I am at it, what about adjusting the valves again. Oh – should I retorque the head with the new redesigned Rob and Harvs head gasket? I can’t find a definitive answer on this one.

If you got to this point, well done in getting through all my rambling. To be honest, I wasn’t going to give an update for things so trivial but for me it is all about keeping the traffic alive on this forum. We all know this is becoming a challenge.

All the best. Have a ripper. Cheers Rod

Hi All,
It’s been a little while since I have last posted. Well since having the old girl back on the road, I thought it would be just a case of getting in and driving. I was wrong. It has been a time of attending to teething problems.

Firstly, as I had made all new brake and fuel lines, I had to attend to leaks. The brake lines were a matter of nipping up the fittings and the leaks ceased. As for the fuel lines this was a little more complicated. I nipped up the join halfway along the inner sill panel and thought I was good to go. Not so. I struggled to get fuel into the pump bowl and then realised the flexible line from the main fuel line to the pump was sucking air. Made up a new one and thought (you guessed it), I would be good to go. Hey, hold on Rod, more challenges to come. After doing this I was met with a strong smell of petrol. Now I had covered the main areas where air was being sucked, this put pressure on the final join- the pipe going into the petrol tank. This was now leaking significantly. Nipping the joint up didn’t work and I had to remove the pipe and remake the flare.

The fuel issues continued. While all the leaks and points of air sucking had been rectified, the fuel pump always needed significant time in order to suck the fuel up from the tank and would always drain back to the tank between drives. I pulled the pump apart and found a faulty valve and this solved the fuel issues or so I thought. More to come shortly.

The next issue to present which hadn’t been there during the early periods of the run in  was the generator light coming on. This wasn’t the normal flutter we are all familiar with. It was spasmodic. The light would come on constantly at unexpectant times at all engine speeds and then would go out and then when I thought I was good to go, on she would come again. I found a loose fitting on the generator and this didn’t fix it. I then cleaned all the joints up but still no luck. I reluctantly took the generator off as it had only been professionally reconditioned not too long before I took the car off the road. What I found was that one of the brush springs was not seated correctly. Rather than pushing down from the top, the spring was slightly off centre and pushing from the side of the brush which caused the brush not to seat correctly on the commutator. I suspect that it didn’t cause any issues previously, but through pure coincidence in the timing of the issue, the brush had worn to the point where contact was lost causing the light to come on.

Now was the time to enjoy the ride. This was short lived. After a period of time, while the old girl was purring, I would get to about 55-60 mph and the motor would “hunt”. If I pulled the choke out very slightly this would go away. For me this indicated the motor running lean at those speeds. I nipped up manifold and carby nuts and bolts with no improvement. While I had no issue at idling, I did note that the throttle shaft had wear. I purchased an oversized shaft and reamed the throttle body to take then new shaft. Still the issue persisted.

 I removed the carby again, to find some minor warpage with the main carby body and air horn. I carefully lapped these on a piece of flat glass but no, there was no improvement. Next step was to take the manifold/s off. There was leakage but this was evident with the exhaust ports. Closer inspection indicated that there was some warpage in the manifold, particularly the exhaust one. The inlet manifold mated up to the head perfectly, so I wasn’t confident that there was sucking of air at these locations. I did a backyard, agricultural, outback shoring up of the warpage using a Whetstone and got it very good with a straight edge across all ports. I didn’t have a new gasket, and I was impatient, so I made one out of an exhaust sheet I have had for many years. This is thicker than the aftermarket gasket and I am sure any residue warpage will be accounted for by the thickness of the gasket. Anyway, you know the story. I reassembled and the “hunting” was still present.

Hi Jolls,
I was the fella posting up about issues in synching twin carby’s and questioning Australian vs USA built carbies. Here is the link - Two Issues - Help (possibly related) (fefcholden.club). I never got a definitive answer or was able to problem solve if there is a difference between the carbies. I suspect there may be, but couldn’t be certain because each carby “sucked” differently. Ie: one was lean and one was rich. I did make sure the “tops” matched the “bottoms”. I could never to get the carbies to sync properly. They would sync at idle but would be out of sync on the throttle. The moment I synced the carbies on the throttle, the performance and fuel economy improved significantly, to be on a par of a single carby for economy.

Another point to note, when I used a unisync (CARBURETTOR BALANCER SYNCHRONISER AIR FLOW METER SU WEBER CD SOLEX BUBBLE 4025 | eBay) at idle one carby would always “rich out” and the motor would stall, while with the other carby, this would not occur. The unisync measures vacuum.
 
To overcome this I purchased a device similar to this ( CARBURETTOR SYNCHRONISER AIR FLOW METER SU WEBER CD SOLEX SYNCHRONIZER | eBay) which measures air velocity rather than vacuum. I did purchase a silicone tube, with a reducer to attach to the top of the carby which allowed the airflow meter to be used. This isn’t the exact one (APS Straight Reducing Silicone Hose 38-32mm Black Reducer Stepper Joining Pipe | eBay) but it gives you an idea.

Using the airflow meter was a dream to use and made it much easier in my situation to sync the carbies on throttle. I hope this may be of some assistance. Oh, the venturi restrictors are a must as is Harv’s Carburettor Bible. We are for every grateful for the time he has put into these guides.

Mmm. This reminds me I need to do some work on my single carby that I have put on my FE now she is back on the road. She purrs at idle, but misses / struggles when accelerating at speeds of around 50 mph. If I use chock, she flies, which indicates that she is running lean. I have kitted the carby and checked the accelerator pump (leather) and she is squirting fuel into the manifold nicely. I have purchased a new oversized throttle shaft, and I am going to have a crack at reaming the throttle body to match. The worst that can happen is I will stuff up (probably likely) but I will learn. Lucky that I have a number of carbies to go to. I am hoping the manifold gasket is not leaking / sucking.

Sorry for rambling on.

I got my power jets and main jets from the states when I couldn’t purchase them readily in Australia. Try this link for jets - Stromberg Carburettor Main Jet (Pair) 0.046" Suit 97, 81, 48 & 40 Series | eBay
Try this ebay seller as well for kits - HOLDEN SINGLE BARREL STROMBERG CARBURETTOR REBUILD KIT SB-652 | eBay. I have received carby gaskets from them and they have been excellent. They appear to be in Sydney.

Here is another ebay seller that I used for the throttle shaft. They are in Echuca, Victoria and come with good reviews - ALLCARB CARBURETTORS | eBay Stores

All the best. With every question you ask, you are one question wiser.

Have a ripper. Cheers Rod

As the title to this thread says: Engine Freshen Up to this........"



and this



and this




I got wheel alignment done today after I did my best in doing so before taking her in. In driving her beforehand I felt she drove better than she did before the refresh. I said to "old mate" I would be interested how far off I was. Before he any took any measurements or adjustments, he said it won't be far off. I asked him how he came to that conclusion. He said as soon as he pulled the pins out of the turn plates, he knew it was close as they came out easy. Apparently if adjustments are needed the pins are tight in the turn plates. In the end he had to only adjust the toe slightly. A delight to drive even in the hurricane winds that we were having today!

This thread won't be the end of the refresh. I have all these little jobs to do now - quarter vent rubbers, bailey channels, door strips, door trims back on, strip / clean of the underfloor and seal and on and on. Part of me is now regretting getting her to driving stage again because these little jobs more than like will get put off. Oh, I forgot an exhaust leak which I was sure was at the tailpipe join but maybe not. That is a priority even though its not significant. I've done tappets last weekend, but I have one or two still with a tick.

Anyway, enough of my rambling.

Have a ripper. Cheers Rod

Hi Clay,

Thanks for your response. I know I will have leaks in the long run, but I am surprised thus far. I was anticipating a rear main leak. Someone once said there is something wrong with a grey that doesn't leak from the rear main. Secondly, I was expecting one form the rear of the gearbox. So far so good. Thirdly, I thought a leak from the diff would have been the first spot as its had oil for a while now (yes, I have checked the box and diff for oil - it wouldn't be the first time I have missed something). I would be lying if I didn't have a leak or two. The sump plugs of the motor and gearbox had a slight leak. While I used new copper washers, I used Rob's technique of annealing the copper and now those leaks have ceased. Time will tell.

In my previous posts I should have mentioned more about the tappet cover. I did use a very good used one I had with the view, once I have given the motor a good run, I would adjust the tappets and put the new gasket in. While I had flattened the contact surface of the cover before installing, I don't think it was as flat as it should be at the rear. What I did was removed the gasket, placed the cover back on and carefully flattened the mating surface with a wood drift against the surface of the head. It did need flattening. However, I noted another possible cause for the leak. The head has been shaved and with this, the side plate sits above the flat surface of the head. I think this is preventing the cover to be torqued down as far as it should on the driver's side. I will know more once I put a new gasket on after adjusting the tappets. Thanks for the tip about gluing the gasket to the head. I don't think you can get neoprene gaskets for greys.

Thank you, Clay. This thread has just clicked over to the 8th page. I remember posting on your thread just as you were ticking over to 100 pages. Gee, you aren't far off 300 now. What a wealth of knowledge you have shared with so many people on your journey which is invaluable. I don't think I am going to get to 10 let alone 100 or 300. Thank you.

Have a ripper. Cheers Rod

Part 3 – Continued from previous post
The following photos are for reference purposes of the Exedy kit (GMK6021). The first photo is of the pressure plate which is identical to an OEM plate. The second picture compares the OEM clutch plate against the Exedy plate. Interestingly there is only one significant difference, and it is not the diameters of the plates. The only notable difference is the replacement has six springs rather than the four from the OEM. Interestingly the Exedy kit is advertised as being 200mm, not the 8 inch (203.2mm) of the OEM. While it was a little difficult to measure the plate as I don’t have a big enough caliper / vernier and the centre hub gets in the way, I can confidently say the plate measures about 204mm, definitely not 200mm.




Finally, to the throughout bearing. The throughout bearing of the Exedy is identical to the OEM bearing for all measurements in a longitudinal direction. Ie: total length but more importantly the distance between the fork contact surface and the face of the bearing. Now for the differences. The OEM and Clutch Industries have the same diameter of the face of the bearing, while the Exedy is smaller to these. I ran with the Exedy one even though the face was smaller.

Top – Exedy, Middle- Clutch Industries, Bottom – OEM


Left – Exedy, Middle- Clutch Industries, Right – OEM


I think this completes all my observations of my clutch experiences. Jolls I am with you. This forum is an absolute ripper. I know I have received much more than what I have been given. In part this thread is not about documenting my journey but about hopefully giving something to others in their journeys. I am not going to name names because I am surely going to miss someone but there are some significant people on this forum and over at the FB EK forum who give much more than they receive. They are the salt of the earth, and I am extremely grateful for what they have offered me and others. I am sure you have learnt who these members are.

It does sadden me somewhat that the traffic and contributions on this forum has been waning overtime. We can put this down to social media I feel. While I don’t do Facebook for personal reasons, I am able to see the posts in that medium. To me it is not a patch on what this forum is. At least there are years of wisdom that have been imparted and shared on this forum that can be searched into the future.

Can I pass on my sincere thanks to those that have assisted me on these clutch issues. I think I can now install the grill and bonnet and start to enjoy the ride even though there are a lot of little things to do. I will update this thread with what I did in getting the front seat serviceable.

Until then. Have a ripper.

Cheers Rod

Part 2 Continued from previous post.
Hi All,

I write this to note some finding I have had with the clutch saga.

Firstly, I will discuss the spigot bearing. When I put the spigot bearing in, I installed it up to where the taper at the opening of the crankshaft ended ie: straightened and ran parallel to the shaft. This was done so because this is where it was on an old shaft. In reading many posts here and over at the FB EK Forum, one issue that was presented for the clutch not disengaging was due to the spigot shaft not being driven in far enough and possibly mating with the taper on the end of the input shaft. With this in mind I did drive it in further when I had the motor out the second time (I think) and I had my reservations about doing so. To investigate this on this occasion, I took the clutch off the flywheel, reinstalled the gearbox to the engine and took off the upper inspection plate so I could investigate the bell housing to see the input shaft mating with the spigot bearing. The photos below aren’t great but does give some insight.

These photos show the spigot driven in a far as it can go into the crankshaft. Ie: past the taper point I spoke about above.



As you can see, the spigot bearing is past the contact surface of the end of the input shaft. While the spigot was new, I removed it and replaced it with another that was included in the Exedy kit. While I forgot to take a photo after doing so, I installed the spigot up to the end of the taper in the shaft and I can report that more of the mating surface with the shaft is now occurring and it is a significant distance from the taper on the input shaft ie: Binding won’t occur with the input shaft if the spigot is installed up the end of the taper in the crankshaft.

Now for the clutch fork. After replacing the fork and putting in the Exedy kit, the movement possible for adjustment of the fork is significant. The photo below shows this prior to installation, but I can report that there is a lot of thread now showing for potential adjustment (better than my ute). This could be just the fork or a combination of this with the new clutch kit.

[PART 1]

PART 1

Well, it’s time for an update. I am pleased to report that over the last two weekends I have taken Effy for her first drives in almost five years. Needless to say, this was done so without the bonnet and grill. I wasn’t going to post until I was confident in doing so. They weren’t pleasant drives at all due to the car wandered all over the place, even though I had completed a rough wheel alignment to the best of my ability. More to come below.

On receiving the Exedy kit I compared it to the original. I will give some findings below. I decided to use this along with the replacement fork rather than “risk” using the Clutch Industries or one of the originals I had. I recon I can now pull the motor and box out blindfolded, but I would have gone mad if I had to do it again.

Having said that there was an added bonus when I pulled the motor out all these times. Even though I spent a significant amount of time ensuring the that the rear main was installed properly, I notice the dreaded rear main leak after a few fire ups (prior to the first drives). Grrr or so I thought. With the motor and box out and having to remove the clutch cover plate I looked closely for the leak. What I noticed is that the oil was only at the bottom of the plate which indicated that it wasn’t coming from the rear main. Looking at the rear of the head / upper part of the motor it was revealed that the leak was coming from the rear of the tappet cover. After some more massaging of the cover and a light smear of sealant, the leak has been resolved and pleasing to note I haven’t had one drop from the rear main as yet. If you are interested in my unconventional way of installing the rear main, refer to page 6 of this thread.

Back to the driving experience. As mentioned, the car wandered significantly. Oh, I forgot to fit the sway bar. After installing this, I took her for drive this weekend. Improved but still nowhere near how my FC Ute drives. Oh, I had the steering column out for a clean-up etc…In looking through this thread again, I did make note that I was going to do “final adjustments” once the column was back in. And you guessed it, I didn’t. After adjustment this weekend and another drive it sticks to the road like glue and was fun to drive just like the ute. This is a vast improvement on how she drove prior to this “little rebuild”. I have her booked in for a wheel alignment next week. Let's hope all plays out well.

I will continue with Part 2, shortly with some of the findings I have found with this clutch episode.
Until then. Cheers Rod

Hi Fella's, thanks for your responses.

The horse may have bolted as today I ordered the Exedy Kit. I did wonder if a 'longer' throughout bearing was available Clay. Rob, this morning (after I ordered the kit), I came across a number of other pressure and clutch plates which I think would be servicable in addition to the one in the pictures. Now for the embarassing moment.

I have mentioned about minor differences but I supposed they all add up in the end. In my plan, beginning at point 1, I decided to revisit the fork. I found another as well. In comparing the three, the profiles looked exactly the same. There is no visable crack or bend in the current fork. I thought I should try some measurements. What I did was layed the clutch fork on "its back" on a flat surface and in this case it was on a flywheel. I then measured the height of the end of the fork and the also point where the rod goes into the fork. Embarrassingly, I think I have found the problem - a bent fork. There is 5 to 6mm difference between the current fork and the two spares I measured against. My thinking was the same as yours Rob, that this will then equate to more movement than the measured amount. I will assemble using the "new" fork and complete the same measurements as yesterday.

I thought more about this as I had it in my mind that the fork should be right as it was ok when I was last using this box. But on further discussion with myself, the logic tells me that there was every possibility that it was bent because of the "hard clutch" I previously had as the clutch plate was on back to front. The hard clutch to disengage the clutch possibly could have led to the bent fork.

Here is a left of field thought. The two fingers on all of the forks have a groove in them, which could be up to a mm in depth, where they make contact with the throughout bearing. Would it be over thinking it by welding up these grooves and then grind to a flat surface OR are these grooves there from new and are required.

I am feeling a little more confident in moving forward in finding a solution.

I sincerely that you for all of your help. It is much appreciated. I hope the next time I report I have taken the old girl for a run.

Cheers Rod

Hi Rob,

I know what you mean by the interior being a motivational barrier. I couldn't find a trimmer that was willing to repair the horizonal part of my front seat where the wire attachments points had rusted and rotted the calico part of the seat. Secondly I had some of the pleats let go and they said it was too difficult to do. This back and forth with trimmers zapped my motivation and held my current project up because I felt this could be repaired and I was not willing to have my entire interior replaced because of this.

I found an old school trimmer in another town who was willing to replace the calico attachment points with more sturdy material but was reluctant to have a go at the pleats with his machine as it would weaken the vinyl because more holes would be made. When I got the covers back, he was able to repair a couple of the pleats very well but couldn't get access to the others. Not to be outdone, I spent a few hours hand sewing the other let go pleats ensuring I used the old holes and not to make new ones. I was happy with the end result and now the interior doesn't look out of place.

Knowing that someone is willing to do the repairs will now reenvigourate in moving forward. Keep up the great work. I know you inspire others in sharing your journey.

Cheers Rod

[Old Clutch]

Well engine and box is out and to be honest I am none the wiser.

I measured the distance from the rear of the folk to the box housing at the point where all free play was taken up. I did this with an old clutch plate and pressure plate and compared it to the new one that I put in. The results are as follows.

Old Clutch - About 8mm to housing.



New Clutch - about 5 to 5.5 mm.


The pressure plate seems to be practically the same as an old one, particularly from the diaphram fingers to the facing of the pressure plate.

Old


New - Yes it is a 220mm plate.


Please note each clutch plate was of a similar thickness. The old one was possibly slightly less.

I measured the machined flywheel with an old one and it is about 0.5 mm thinner.

I think the measurements are marginal at best and I can't see how these minimal measurements would have an impact. One thing that I did notice was that when torquing up the new clutch it took much more effort to torque the pressure plate flat to the flywheel than the old one. I put this down to the internals being more "chunky" than the old one and the old one is used and the tolerances have increased.

I think this is going to be my plan in moving forward.
1. Complete the same measurements again but this time using the other clutch folk I have just to be sure that the current fork isn't bent (I am fairly confident that it isn't though)
2. Order the Exedy Clutch Kit as you suggested Rob, install and complete fork measurements again.
3. Put a washer under the fork ball - thanks Rob
4. Consider die grinding part of the box housing to allow more travel
5. Consider placing two washers (one for each bolt) under the slave cylinder mounting points to allow more adjustment of the adjusting rod. If so point 4 would need to occur I think.

PS: Can anyone tell me how far the spigot bush should go in the end of the crank? Initally I had it where the taper going into the crank concluded but when I last had the motor out I was able to install it further 3mm until the bush bottomed out. I just hope I haven't put it in too far.


This won't beat me.

Cheers Rod

Well time to pull the motor again tomorrow

I have resolved myself to the fact that the pressure plate is the issue. When I read this thread over at the FB EK Forum, it makes mentions that the Clutch Industries (which mine is) is a low profile pressure plate which would explain the difficulties I am having in adjustment.

https://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22862

All going well I will have a a direction to move forward by tomorrow evening.

Cheers Rod

Hi Rob,

Thanks for your reply and kind offer in doing some measuring for me. Please hold off at the moment. I don't want you to go to this length. Once I get the box and motor out (again) I will do some comparisons with some old kits / flywheels that I have.

Ive looked at a couple of Youtube videos where it said to be on the lookout for clutches that don't disengage which could be due to machining of the flywheel and diaghram finger height of new pressure plates. Mmm this is my current thinking. I have already found the tolerances in the throwout bearings is different. By going back to the original there was a slight improvement in the amount of adjustment that could be had.

Your suggestion of altering the pivot ball height sound a great idea. Please correct me if I am wrong but I seem to recall reading somewhere in all this research, that this adjustment should be considered in the earlier humpy boxes.

The option of a new kit is looking more likely. I just need to be sure the heights are correct before doing so. The one I put in was a Clutch Industries and I am sure it was the 200mm plate. I will see when I remove.

Thanks again. I will let you know how I get on after I wake up from the nightmare.

Cheers Rod

Thanks Clay. It has me stumped. Looks like engine out again. At least I hadn't reinstalled grill, bonnet etc... Must have thought there was going to be an issue.

All I can gather it is the fork but there is no sign of damage (bent of broken), it s profile is exactly the same as a spare I have (unless its bent but cant see any sigh) and there was no problems when the gears box was previously in before rebuild.

I think I need to do some investigation with the pressure plate.

Here is a photo which shows I am out of adkustment. This is excessive compared to my ute.



As a bonus I adjusted the linkages and now can select reverse.

Have a ripper Rod.

Well that was an eventful exercise.

Motor out and back in and the issue still persists. When I assembled the fork, it was closer to the front of the box when it engages with the pressure plate fingers than with the new throw out bearing. But when I reinstalled I just had a feeling it still wasn't far enough forward. Sure enough, when I put the slave cylinder on I practically ran out of adjustment at the point where I had spec'ed free travel. It just seems if the fork is bent but there was no sign of this and it compared exactly to a spare I had.

I am trying to figure why this would be the case. The flywheel has been machined but surely this minimal amount would not effect it. The only other thing that comes to mind that I may have been sold the wrong kit ie: pressure plate is thinner than standard which would make the fingers closer to the flywhee. I am really only "clutching (like that one) at straws". The only way I will know is by pulling the box again, measure the pressure plate thickness and compare this to an original.

To recap, I can place into gear when the motor isn't running but can't when it is going. I can start it in gear but it wants to run. Interestingly I tried all four gears but can't get reverse when starting. I will adjust again tomorrow but I don't like my chances of getting to the bottom of this.

Have a ripper. Cheers Rod

Took motor an box out today to investigate the clutch issue.

1. Stuck Clutch - check. All clear.
2. Bent / cracked fork - check. All clear. Compared against another fork and the profile is exactly the same.
3. Clutch plate - check. Correct orientation. Checked anyway and it can't go the otherway round. The plate is a little different to the original ie: its much more 'beefier" on the side that needs to be opposite the flywheel.
4. Thrust bearing - While they look identical, the was replacement was 2mm short and also 2mm short from the mating serface of the fork and bearing to the face of the bearing. The old old is more thatn servicable, so I will just reuse this.
5. Spigot bearing - check. Mmm, might be the issue. I rememebr investigating another post where the spigot wasn't inserted far enough. I checked and I was able to drive it home another 3mm. I clearly remember doing this when I first installed it and I compared the distances against another crank. I was confident it was in the right spot but possibly not. I had it installed up to where the taper of the crank finished. Now it is in 3mm further than this spot. Gee I hope I haven't put it in to far.

I hope to reassmebly tomorrow I hope.

Cheers Rod

Rob,

I continue to be inspired by your skills and your repairs. Reminds me when I was a young fella having a "hotted up" XB Falcon. The exhaust leaks made it sound better than what it was. Nothing like some tin moulded to the contour of the pipe, some mufler putty and some hose clamps. The repairs would outlast the rest of the pipe, which would fall apart arount it.

I look forward in following future updates on your current project.

Cheers Rod