A slow day on the mgs list so it looks like a good time to ramble on about
the clutch saga. To recap the action, a month ago I posted my story of the
death of my 71BGT when the slave cylinder popped open, leaving me without a
clutch.
I knew that either excess travel or excess pressure was at fault. I had
hoped that someone would say that some vent hole was plugged or some other
simple scenario. But in reality, if the clutch was well designed, it would
have to be excess travel due to wear. Bob Nogeira suggested I use a penny to
temporarily take up the slack as a quick fix, but after some thought (plus
the cold Montana winter), I opted to do a complete clutch repair. Besides,
Moss had the clutch assembly on sale.
Then to further delay the repair, my 12 year old son seemed to take an
interest in the repair. And after visiting Jay Tilton's homepage and seeing
how he learned to appreciate LBCs at a young age, I knew that it was time.
So while I took care of the tough bolts, I had my son handle some basic
wrenching - removing the stick, taking the air filters off, and even
detaching the drive shaft from the transmission. (got to raise the kid
right, don't I?)
Finally the transmission was out! I immediately noticed that the release
bearing was completely worn even though I replaced it two years ago.
Inspection of the pressure plate revealed the reason - the collar had
disappeared, accentuating the wear of the bearing. But I was covered since I
knew the pressure plate was old twelve years and 150k miles ago when I did
the engine overhaul.
Now it was time to reassemble. But since my son was hanging around, I
decided to show him the working fundamentals of SU carbs. While taking it
apart, I noticed a lot of sediment in the float bowl so now I have decided
to disassemble and clean them (they were overhauled in 1988 or 1989).
Meanwhile I went to the local BAP/GEON store to get some brake fluid and the
carb gaskets only to find out they only carry Lucas brake fluid! Inquiring
about this Lucas phenomenon (he sold me a Lucas alternator for my Toyota
Landcruiser a few years ago), I find out that not only is he a Lucas
distributor but Lucas has taken over Girling. And he even offers to sell me
a Lucas pressure plate to boot. Whatever Lucas is doing, they have certainly
made a comeback in the last decade or so.
Well, the reassembly continues - I still have to install the starter,
exhaust, carbs, and bleed the clutch. The car should be back on the road in
a few days - in the conclusion to follow.
Stay tuned to clutch part 3 - the return.
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David Councill
dcouncil@imt.net
http://www.imt.net/~dcouncil/home.html
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