Loose the Cable!
Solve the problem of broken cables.
12-31-09
After a number of posts on ClubCobra concerning cables breaking after a few thousand miles, I decided to look into converting my cable operated clutch (which had not given me any problems to date) to a hydraulic setup. I went to summit and bought the Wilwood Slave Cylinder P/N:WIL-260-1333 for $73.95 and the Wilwood Master Cylinder kit P/N: WIL-260-3374 for $66.88
I then went down to the local parts store and bought 40” of universal break line ($8). The next trip was to Lowes to by a 5/16” steel rod ($5) to extend the shaft of the slave cylinder.
Using a piece of 1 ½” angle iron that I had, I fabricated a braket to mount the slave to the frame. I made a mock-up mount to test for proper clutch operation.
I used the rod end that came with the slave to connect the clutch pedal to the master cylinder. I used the existing hole in the pedal arm which is about as high up on the arm as possile. This gave me enough travel to work the master cylinder. The travel of the pedal is less than that of the cable, but this is a good thing in my opinion because it was excessive before. The force that it takes to press the clutch is a little less, but not a great amount. The first test drive was good but the pedal did not fully return. After I stood on my head under the dash and put my back in a terrible possition, I found that the rod end was binding on the pedal arm because of the slight angle it was at. I used two small washers to space it out from the arm and it now works perfectly.
After finishing, I think this is a very good modification, at a very reasonable cost, about $160! It also seems much easier than correcting the cable problem with another Quadrant or other means. It also eliminates the chance of the broken cable. The cable operation worked well for me and I had no problems so far, but now it feels much smoother and is less work for my left leg!
Update! 12-31-09
I now have had a chance to test drive the new hydroclutch setup and it works wonderfully! If I had to do over, I would install this from the beginning and not worry about the cable setup. It is much smoother and feels even throughout the stroke unlike the cable setup. With the cable, it was somewhat stiff at the beginning and almost felt like it let loose at the end of the travel when pushing on the clutch and then just the opposite when releasing. I adjusted the brake to match the clutch pedal and now I also have an additional 2” or so of leg room which I didn’t really need, but it is now available.
