so im new to the chevy world. but on last note i was putting in this 305 1 piece rear main. bought a new flywheel and put my centerforce clutch from my 2 piece rear main 283, was told by my uncles and friends it would work. ive put this damn motor in 4 times. new clutch fork pivot ***** etc. will i need a new clutch will i need to go hydraulic? ive spent so much money on this z bar and other things trying to make it work. clutch wont disengage. if you start it in gear car will move. wont let you get out of gear use the clutch or put it in gear. any help would be amazing ive lost it i never give up on cars but if i have to put this engine in anymore times cars gone. its my daily just cant afford to throw parts at it because everyone is giving me the wrong awnser.

 

No, nothing about the clutch has to change. It's totally the same no matter what pushes on the throwout bearing.

I put the hydraulic system out of (I think) a 84 into my 83 L69 car, in maybe 86 or so. I HATED the Z-bar crap: it was even worse in that car, than it had been in all the 70s Z28s, old Chevelles, early 60s Chevys, etc. that I'd had before. Only thing I had to do was cut the hole for the master cyl to bolt in, and of course change out the pedals and bell housing. I threw the whole Z-bar setup in the trash and never looked back.

 

Ive had 3 cars w the mechanical linkage. The system works fine(ish!). If there is any play in any of the components it wont work. If its not adjusted well it works poorly or wont work. The bellcrank/z bar can crack and then wont work. There are two holes for mounting the adjuster rod. Theres a v6/4cly mounting hole and an 8 cyl hole. If you're in the wrong one it wont work. If its not working there has to be a reason. That said, a hydro system is much better. What trans are you using? A t5/t10 or saginaw? The bell housings are unique in these cars as a result of the trans/mech linkage. I swapped my system to a hydraulic release bearing vs the 84 and up system. IDK what sofa did w his firewall but I doubled up on the metal there where the hydros mount. The firewall in 82-83 cars is thin and flexes a lot. They really need support.

 

Same here except that mine went into a CFI car, but same-same. Put the hyd system in...never had problems.

 

im using a T5 new clutch fork centerforce clutch/throwout new pivot ball

 

To do the hydro swap, your gonna need a 84-up t5 bell housing. Youll also need hydros and pedals from an 84-up. Its totally an easy job but the trans needs to come out. Personally i hate swapping the pedals. Ive done it a few times and i truly find it miserable. Personally, id find the issue w the mechanical linkage. Unless the brackets are cracked, you should be able to get it working.

 

I've had at least a dozen. None of them really worked all that well. I remember one 69 Chevelle SS396 that when you pushed on the clutch, you could see the engine move; changing the engine mounts improved it dramatically, butt it still didn't compare to the hyd systems that appeared decades later. I remember another similar car where I ignored adjusting the linkage for too long and the adjuster rod fell out going over a railroad track one day. Lovely.

It is indeed kinda a PITA. Plenty doable, just, not real fun. Butt IMO totally worth it. Changing to the hydraulic linkage was actually the 2nd mod I did to my car; the 1st was a decent shifter, so I didn't bang my knuckles on the dash going into 3rd gear. I'm not sure which one of those 2 things made a bigger difference; they each made the car MUCH better to drive.

 

Yeah, the hydraulic release system for my t56 is far better, like significantly better. That said, going along w the "pushed the clutch and the engine moved" comment, the old systems work better w the pivot points don't move! I have an old ford bronco now and the mechanical clutch linkage is fine. The older, camaros and trucks I've driven, the mech systems are OK as long as they're not sloppy. I agree, a good hydro system is better.

 

HA HA HA HA HA... Good times! I had a sq body Chev truck that would "jack the cab up", when you pressed the clutch down. That was cool. Had a CJ5/360V8 that had so much frame/body flex that when you were 'wheeling it, that adjuster rod would fall out constantly. Ahhh, climbing into the muck to put it back in place....that was fun.