I am putting the Borgeson power steering conversion on my 1965 Cyclone 4 speed car. What is the preferred clutch actuation mechanism with headers or cast exhaust manifolds? I am working with John at Opentracker racing on all the suspension and the only thing we haven't closed up is the Z-bar modification required. I know hydraulic is an option but I do have all the stock stuff intact and Opentracker can mod the Z-bar any way needed. Everything is for Mustang and Falcon and the 65 Comet is different as you all know. Any help appreciated-thanks!
DR
Z-Bar?
Re: Z-Bar?
I have the borgesen box, & I used the stock z bar, but a highly modified z bar .took a lot of cutting ,testing ,& welding.as far as I know I'm the only dumbass to do it so I would not recommend it . I have dougs headers . but mainly the problem I had was the box clearance with the z bar. with the hyd lines in the way I made a guard to cover them so the clutch linkage nut that attaches to the rod doesnt get on or touch the lines. then I had to get the engine sitting just right & I still get a vibration when backing up a hill or too fast, I can feel the vib,, feels loud like a header. theres lots of pressure on that zbar so you gotta beef it up good if you cut & reweld it.
Hard to see in this pic because its black but if you blow it up you can make out the top of the z bar attached between the 2 nuts on the threaded clutch rod.also the black guard I made to protect the lines is L shaped.so tight in there it needed something between rod connection & lines. at the back of that guard is a clover above the rag joint barely visible,to keep debris from falling in there .rag sits in a tight little cover I made on the inside so I didnt want any rocks or whatever getting it there & locking up the steering.
If I ever have to pull the motor or trans bell again I'll go hyd clutch or cable.
Hard to see in this pic because its black but if you blow it up you can make out the top of the z bar attached between the 2 nuts on the threaded clutch rod.also the black guard I made to protect the lines is L shaped.so tight in there it needed something between rod connection & lines. at the back of that guard is a clover above the rag joint barely visible,to keep debris from falling in there .rag sits in a tight little cover I made on the inside so I didnt want any rocks or whatever getting it there & locking up the steering.
If I ever have to pull the motor or trans bell again I'll go hyd clutch or cable.
Re: Z-Bar?
I have a every thing stock 4spd comet.....a 64 comet 4spd with a hyd throw out bearing...and a 65 cobra kit car with a cable....I really don't know which is my pick.....I do know that every after market Z bar I have seen needs to be rewelded after some use....most ALL have been for a GM.....on the stock set up ,it got less pedal effort after I went to a diaphram pressure plate,,,all is JMO....pop
pop/glenda
Re: Z-Bar?
The main reason I ended up putting the 250 in my Comet instead of the 200 was the flywheel difference a diaphragm clutch for the small 200 flywheel was hard to find & $$$$$ and I needed some kind of adapter to install the T5, so down the rabbit hole I went, so far I don't regret my choices except the 250 is a bit harder to find parts for, hopefully I built it well enough I won't need any rare parts for a long time
With my hydraulic setup, the clutch is super easy to push, even a little girl could do it (my wife complained the old clutch was too hard to push) and it is a way bigger clutch than before, I am super glad I did not do a Z-bar, besides I don't how you would do that on a T5 bell, I think I followed RedHotComet's instructions over on a different forum and it worked great with the Land Cruiser master and Mitsubishi (I think - it is Isuzu Rodeo) slave cylinder instead of doing a cable clutch, it just took a little testing to figure out where to exactly mount the slave for the proper stroke to completely disengage the clutch, I think it is probably easier to use the hydraulic throwout bearing like Pops is talking about the only reason I did not do one was I read about them potentially leaking and having to pull the trans out to replace them and the clutch because it is soaked in hydraulic fluid, I talked to Pop's son Dwayne when they brought Old Rusty to PF and he convinced me I would have been fine with the Hyd T-O but I had already bought all the stuff for the current one so I went ahead and installed it. (because I am super cheap and the stuff I got was super inexpensive)
See Ya,
Mike
Re: Z-Bar?
we have a couple of dirt track cars that have had a hyd throw bearing in them for 4/5 yrs,,,never a leak and they sit during the winter,,,so far so good,,,but it could all south the next time we fire them up pop
pop/glenda