Tired of the loonnngggg travel clutch (Mustang Steve conversion)... any options?

why is there a need to "preload" a T-5 clutch anyway? I could drop the pedal down by just loosening the cable but sence it needs preload I have to have something for it to rest against...

 

Not entirely true. Here is a setup that a buddy of mine brewed up. His car is a 63 Falcon, but its pretty similar to the Maverick. Im in the process of putting an external slave setup on my 65 Comet, so Ill report back when its done. I had a cable clutch on my Falcon, and I wasnt impressed with it at all.

http://tffn.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=11491&hilit=hydraulic+clutch

 

Ok so let me get this straight I say the only way that they are expensive is when you install an internal slave cylinder setup....

Well I still agree with that staement I made and I stand by it whole heartedly..

So to start out for a direct fit setup I know the Mcleod makes a nice high quality internal slave here is a direct bolt in setup for a that would work with his car for $425http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MCL-13195/?rtype=10 it includes MC, slave cylinder and the hydraulic line.

Now remember the $425 price tag thats for a direct fit setup.. there is no cobbling together parts, there is no cutting down the bearing guide they made everything match up together with the stock transmission bearing guide so its a bolt in application. The average joe can go out and bolt it up to his transmission and have it installed in an afternoon..well atleast a weekend depending on how much beer in involved.

Now lets get his setup..

$75 for bearing retainer (I must add a disclaimer the bearing retainer he used will not fit on the cupped/tapered input shaft like found on the cobra T5's, it also only fits the WC T5 transmissions, if someone trys to use that on a non WC T5 or on a tapered bearing style input shaft without further modification of the bearing retainer to match it can cause premature failure and be potentially dangerous if the transmission decides to blow itself up while the vehicle is in motion.)
$60.38 master cylinder
$92.18 slave cylinder

$227.56

Now his little money quote is not accounting the Hydraulic line running from the MC to the Slave. It looks like he is using the factory style plastic line, now if he is using the plastic line for a 1990 ford pickup like the MC he is using those run about $31.79..bringing the total to $259.35 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RNB-628-201/
He said he got his from the J/Y considering the low cost of the line you might as well just buy it new.
Of course when I posted the price for my stuff it included a stainless braided line to run from my MC to my slave, sure does look fancy and it made it really easy to run.

Then because the bearing retainers are different dimensions he had to re-shim the input shaft, and then he had to make it so the slave cylinder would even bolt to the front of the bearing retainer..

to quote him directly

"You must reset the zero end play. I had to drill and counter bore one bolt hole. "

So for those people that arent mechanically inclined they would have to pay someone else to do that... Then we go with the shortening of the guide tube that he is using... well again if you dont have the right tools to do it yourself then it will cost more money once again.

So with all the extra time and money which one is cheaper especially since the external setup is just a bolt in, heck even the mcleod setup is just a bolt in, so for the delay of the people that have to send their parts into the machine shop and then have the transmission guy take all the slop out of the input shaft on the transmission, depending on the shop you could be two or three days waiting for each different shop...

Now knowing time is money and either you pay for your projects with your time or you pay for other peoples time I still stand by my original statement that its cheaper doing an external setup then messing around with an internal setup.


To defer the subject a little I was looking at his master cylinder setup I noticed he didnt have any backing plates on the inside of his cab. Eventually those bolts holding the master cylinder will stress the thin sheetmetal and wallow out the holes causing the MC to wiggle and eventually release from the cab, especially with those silly aluminum spacer plates he has squished on one side of the MC in the engine compartment, he would have been better off making a whole new mounting point instead of shimming only part of it up. The trucks that the MC was installed in originally had extra reinforcement there from the factory so they didnt have to worry about that problem. But if he is mechanically inclined he should make himself a backing plate to strengthen up the inside, they make them for the willwood MC's like I have and the CNC MC's also, but where his was originally a factory application then they probably dont have anything made for that. Here is what mine looks like so you can see what I mean..oh and its also included in the kit I priced...



Now the really really sad part about all of this, is that setup he did wouldnt even have a chance at working with my 5 speed, I am just doing all of this in reference to a T5.