Hi Fellow Hambers, I need some help with an issue I am having. I recently had a 1939 ford three speed gearbox rebuilt (78 casing) to replace a 1938 gearbox which was having issues to go in my 1935 ford pickup. I have installed the new 1939 gearbox and have figured out that the '1939 pedal assembly' I have is actually a 1938 pedal assembly! This makes sense considering the gearbox I replaced was also from 1938. Not nice considering I was told it was all 1939 gear when I bought the pickup. It was hard to verify as I was buying the car sight unseen and took the guy for his word and in fairness to him - he may not have known himself. Here is the problem - my clutch push rod now does not line up with the clutch lever on the clutch release shaft. Things I have tried - I tried using the 1935-38 clutch lever (part # 48-7511) as it is straighter and this does line up with the pedal assembly however it hits the gearbox casing before the throw out bearing even reaches the pressure plate fingers and I don't have enough adjustment to make it work. I then tried the 1939 clutch lever (part # 91A-7511) which would clear the gearbox casing if it was pushed but it does not line up with my clutch push rod linkage. As per below photo. Below is a photo of the rough offset (40mm or 1.5inches) I would need which I mocked up by bending some wire. I also tried adding a spacer to clutch clevis on the pedal assembly to bring it in line with the clutch lever but this interfered with the brake pedal. If I push the brake pedal it would hit the spacer and would push the clutch pedal in at the same time ever so slightly. Which is obviously undesirable. Help needed - Is there a kit you can buy for this issue? Does anyone sell an adapter to make 1938 pedals work/line up to a 1939 gearbox clutch lever? Or do I have to fabricate an offset linkage? I don't want to have to buy a 1939 pedal assembly as what I have now works fine and is set up well for my brake master cylinder which I don't want to change. Am I best to heat and bend a threaded linkage rod similar to my mock up above or should I fab something like the below which I found on the interweb? Any tips/tricks/help would be great! Thanks.
I've seen dogleg clutch rods before. As long as you have enough threaded adjustment for mild wear and initial set up I see no reason not to bend a straight one. That adapter gig pictured? I'd never trust it to stay put. Looks like it would cantilever out of whack easily.
What am I missing? What's wrong with heating the arm on the Trans and just line it up? I think your making to big of a deal out of it. The Wizzard
Thanks Wizzard/Pist-n-Broke, but as I mentioned I already tried using 1935-38 clutch lever (part # 48-7511) which would be the same as heating the arm as you have suggested as they are the same length just different angle. However it hits the gearbox casing before the throw out bearing even reaches the pressure plate fingers. I'm not trying to make a big deal of anything, I just want to tap in to the wealth of knowledge here on the Hamb and I am sure there are plenty of guys here who have much more experience and better ideas then me.
OK, Maybe something else is missing here. What do you have for a motor and Pressure plate. You may have an internal issue between pressure plate fingers and the actual bearing, IE to much space. The Wizzard
Thanks Wizzard, I probably should have mentioned that I have a SBC with a Wilcap (307EFM) adapter and Wilcap B&B pressure plate and clutch. There does seem to be some excessive space between the pressure plate fingers and throw out bearing but Wilcap did set it up knowing my combination - pretty standard set up for them.
OK, I think the combination may be your issue. I know when looking in the clutch housing on a stock Flathead unit there is about 1/8" between pressure plate fingers and the Bearing face. That equals minimum travel at the arm/clevis point. I'd get some better info on your specific unit. That arm on the Trans is made to travel in an over center arch not all one direction. The Wizzard
Thanks, the throw out bearing and collar is the stock ford unit. Do I need a different one for my set up?
Willcap has been around a long time and one of the better Co's. to deal with. I would say this is a conversation you should be having with one of there Tec guys. There may have been some miss comunication or a miss marked part that got into your order. It's bound to be a minor correction for them, it's not there first Rodeo. Let us know how that turns out. The Wizzard
Thanks, I'll let you know how I go. Wilcap were good to deal with so I hope they have some tips for me.
As far as I remember it Ford from 35-48 only had one front bearing retainer and also just one T H Bearing. On the other hand G-M short and tall T H Bearing depending on what Pressure plate you used. Probably some where in that combination is your issue and answer. The Wizzard
I had to do something similar to this on my '34 Chevy (283/t-5) and it has been working well for the last 4-5 years.
Just bend the threaded stock Ford part near the eye to line things up. You might have to add some length to the rod to have enough.
Let me just add this. You have a limited amount of travel on the Front bearing retainer. If you push the T H bearing past that you will then have another issue to deal with. The Wizzard
I am just waiting on Wilcap to get back to me as I took some measurements last night. There is 1" of travel before the throw out bearing hits the pressure plate fingers and I would be able to get it closer with adjustment of the clutch rod to clutch lever. Then to disengage the clutch it needs approximately another 1/2" of travel. Flywheel, clutch disc and pressure plate, adapter all installed correctly. From what I have read the travel measurements I have stated above seem to be ok. Therefore, I would assume there is no issue with the length of travel of the throw out bearing. I keep thinking that an offset clutch adjustment rod from the clevis on the pedal assembly to the clutch lever on the gearbox clutch release shaft should do the trick. As I said earlier, I thought changing the clutch lever would be the simple fix but using the 1935-38 clutch lever (part # 48-7511) hits the gearbox casing even though it does line up straight to the clevis on the pedal assembly. Using the 1939 clutch lever (part # 91A-7511) gives me all the clearance I need but necessitates the need for an offset clutch adjustment rod as it does not align to the clevis on the pedal assembly. I'll see what Wilcap come back with regarding my measurements, if they believe they are correct for my combination/application then I will try an offset clutch adjustment rod.
For what its worth; I am mating an industrial chassis pedal system into my 32 (direct bolt in) The 32 clutch arm is the wrong shape so in my hunt for a 39 arm (still need one if anyone has one) I found this picture of the different clutch arms. It might help. My small brain likes the pictures that compare things. The picture illustrates the offsets.
Thanks 37 Millrat, I came across that photo on the Van Pelt website also which was a great help in the fact that I learnt that none of the other arms would help me in my issue. Over the weekend I had an adjustable linkage rod bent up and it looks as though it will do the trick. Thanks for all the help Hambers.
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