Technical Hydraulic vs mechanical vs cable

I put a cable in my A with a flathead and T-5 and F100 pedals. For me it was the simplest setup and I thought it had good feel to it. Used a $5 Subaru cable off of fleabay cause I’m cheap

 

Cable to a T5 in my coupe. It’s worked great for six years , no complaints whatsoever.

 

John, I used the quadrant and cable from the original mustang and I haven't had any problems, but I recently ordered a new cable and quadrant from Summit and I intended to replace the old one.

My main concern isn't the cable but the mustang quadrant, the original one is made from some type of plastic & is 36 years old, common sense tells us that any type of plastic gets brittle with age.

The new high performance quadrant is made of aluminum snf should be a lot stronger, I don't think there will be any real difference with the exception of replacing what could potentially be a weak link in the clutch. HRP

 

When I was a kid on the farm, we had a '58 F-250 with a hydraulic clutch that was forever leaking by. I learned to drive it by slamming the clutch down and shove it in gear and be ready to go as it leaked by. That forever set in my mind NOT to have a hydraulic clutch.

So, I originally set up my '32 with a cable, but I could never get enough movement from the '37 Ford PU pedals and the cable was always spongy and out of adjustment. It acted just like the hydraulic from my childhood. Besides that, the cable would always wear out the sheath. I lost 3 cables in about 15,000 miles. Not good!

So, I changed it to a mechanical with a bellcrank behind the pedal assembly and it worked perfect ever since! I have almost 100,000 miles on it now.

Then it started fraying the throttle cables quite often and wadding them up!. SCARY! Come to find out, I needed a better ground strap from the engine to the frame, as it was grounding through the clutch cable and melting the outer sheath. However, I will never go back to using a cable again. Lesson well learned...

 

Get a firewall adjuster if you don’t have one.
The stock mustang quadrant is self adjusting, but the aluminum quadrant won’t be.


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I prefer mechanical linkage but could deal with a cable but if its hydraulic it must be a external slave cylinder system,would not like having to pull the trans to change a leaking hydraulic throw out bearing.

 

Thanks, I was made aware of the difference when I ordered the new racing type quadrant & cable, the new firewall adjuster fits where the original cable goes through the firewall.



The original has a plastic paw that holds the correct tension on the cable, on the new aluminum quadrant the paw has been eliminated and the adjustment for the cable is located on the firewall. HRP

 

Here is my cable set-up in my Model A sedan. T-5 and a SBC. Got the idea from member D-Russ who did it to his Model A Vicky. He did a thread on how he did it.
I am still building the car so I have no real world experience with the set-up, but it operates pretty smoothly, with little effort..

 

My '40 coupe has a hydraulic setup with the internal slave intregal with TObrg..that was there when I bought the car, and so far it works OK. But I'm not real happy with it and don't like the feel and it is a bit stiff for my worn out left leg.
My "A" Hiboy on Deuce rails I bought as a "sorta" mocked up rolling chassis had a hybrid hydraulic setup, using an external slave and a reg. arm operating a regular TO brg. Hind sight is said to be 20/20, but if I had it ti go over again, I would have pulled all that rig except the pedal assy. which BTW interfered with the X member, requiring a lot of work to clearance. Now running a McLeod full hydraulic system including the intregal slave and TObrg.
Fact is, I've had problems and spent more money and work after initial build on the clutch, trying to improve it, than on all the rest of the car put together! Next up before roadster weather (no top) is a McLeod dual disc clutch, in an attempt to get a clutch that will hold the torque of the engine and still be comfortable for my weak 82 yr. old left leg.
If that clutch helps as much as it has for some of my friends, I may in future look into the same clutch for the '40.
Getting old now and a trip on and off a creeper is rough, but I also sure would like to go to cable linkage similar to D. Russ and others while I'm at it.
Sure wish I had a lift.

 

Hydraulic, mechanical, cable? How about a chain?
This setup is in a 35 Ford coupe with original 39 pedals, Muncie, 327, Sachs clutch and T and F shifter.
The 39 pedals are installed in the usual way, and clutch shaft is rotated 180 degrees (pull instead of push). The now down facing clutch lever is extended about 1 and 3/8 inch to get the required travel to the clutch fork, about 1 inch.
The clutch lever is connected to the clutch fork lever (shortened to avoid the brake pedal) with a piece of used duplex timing chain (from the scrap bin) with clevises adapted to each end, which runs upwards over a Teflon lined ramp (bolted to the Muncie) to keep the clutch pull alignment straight. The clutch fork lever requires a spring to keep the throw out bearing clear of the clutch plate, and there are adjustment holes drilled in both levers.
I have only driven this on test runs, however it feels great to drive, was cheap to build and I am very pleased with the result.

 

I used F-1 pedals and fab'd up my own Z-bar. Used Speedway motors hiem joints with an early 50s chevy fork.

 

The old timey Ford throw out bearings had a lube fitting , this left with time also . I can remember my first 289 Mustang clutch replace , throw out bearing had a grease fitting and a solid bell housing , a really sharp engineer was at work doing his best I suppose .

 

in my 46 I replaced part of the original mechanical linkage with a cable, I like, and haven't had any problems with it. I intend on running a cable in my 33 as well

 

Almost all of our equipment on the ranch has grease fittings on the throw out bearing slide area. Great idea, but Oem decided it cost too much on cars in about the fifties. Would have saved me a lot of headaches if they had put one on our OT feed truck!








Bones

 

That is thinking outside the box, please keep us up to date when you start driving the car regularly.

 

That is a unique way of doing it but whatever works. HRP

 

This looks like it was well thought out. HRP

 

Thanks @bjinx. A cable actuated clutch is super easy, very adjustable and can have a very light pedal depending on the return spring you choose. And they're great for tight spaces. I've got about 8,500 trouble free miles on it so far.

 

In my Plymouth I dropped a 360 and AX-15. The trans uses a hydraulic slave cylinder. Smooth as butter and great pedal feel.

 

I know all of the Hilton-built As and '32s with engines by Ross Racing use a hydraulic throwout bearing, and they never have any trouble and drive the piss out of those cars.

 

I have one with a hydraulic master / slave and one with the cable.

@HOTRODPRIMER I had the factory Mustang cable and quadrant in a Factory Five Cobra. The plastic stripped when I was in south Charlotte on a Friday afternoon in 5 o'clock traffic..I cut it off at stop lights and started it in gear, but I made it home to Cornelius.

 

Did you replace the quadrant with a aftermarket aluminum piece, like Summit sells? HRP

 

I did but I didn't use the firewall adjuster. This was probably 1998 and I bought the aluminum quadrant and an adjustable cable. It worked well. The car I have now has the firewall adjuster but I think I like the adjustable cable better.

 

Is this what you are referring too? HRP

 

I used a bell Crank and slave in my F1 Stock peddles..

 

That’s it,
Otherwise you have to crawl under the car to adjust the clutch.


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I go for a cross shaft/lever system first. It’s fun designing and fabbing all the parts and I make it adjustable so I can vary the motion and feel. I’ve also used the external slave hydraulic setup and it was - ok. I would certainly try a cable setup if the occasion arises but I wouldn’t use a hydraulic throw out bearing setup for several reasons, mainly having to pull the trans to replace it and because you hear of so many leaking. Not a fun roadside repair. Also the limited amount of motion available.


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made My own ,incorporating original extension housing flange machined flat ,adaptor plate for clamshell ,,machine shaft splines ,it mimics the 39 trans setup ,,

 

Prefer mechanical but have had a GM truck with the hydraulic slave cylinder that worked well. The image below is from the Novak Adapters site. Would never even consider a hydraulic throwout bearing. With the quality of most replacement parts circling the drain I'm not interested in pulling a driveshaft and transmission to fix a clutch linkage.