Thanks for your comments. I will tell the repair shop main mechanic up here in Prescott that is not a "Corvette specialist" per se to start by verifying the Z Bar and rods are correct and the TOB was correct and properly installed.

In defense of the Corvette shop in Phoenix, he did tell me if it continued to bother me, he would have to pull the transmission which would be a much bigger expense.

He told me the clutch was wrong for the car; I did not ask him why. The problem I was having was that I could not shift the gears easily without a lot of grinding and at the end, could not get into 3rd gear or reverse at all. I was hoping all he would need to do was lube and adjust the linkage and shifter (which he did), and I was surprised when he told me the clutch was bad. Despite the current issues, once I engage the new clutch (with difficulty), shifting between the gears is smoother than any time during the 12 years I have owned the car.

I am 66 years old and have been driving stick shift cars since I was 14; (not 16). As a teenager I did have a clutch cable "fail" once, but never have had to replace a clutch since; until now.

Regarding what else is different besides the non matching engine, I think pretty much everything else is "stock" as far as I know. I have the original Muncie 4 speed transmission. I spoke to the original restorer of my car. When her did the restoration in Allentown, PA, it was a matching numbers car. He sold it to a guy who brought it out west and within several years blew out the engine. Instead of rebuilding the engine, he had the engine replaced for 20K a few years before I bought it. I have all of the receipts.

 

That is helpful. I think you either have the wrong TOB (Corvettes use a different one than most) or the correct TOB is installed incorrectly.


Believe it or not, this little bit of difference is enough to cause the clutch adjustment to be maxed out like yours, noise, and a difficult clutch release.

Installed correctly, notice how the fingers of the fork ride solidly on the TOB flange.

 

Thanks so much again. This information is incredibly helpful. I hope the problem is the TOB, either the wrong one or installed incorrectly. I am taking the vette to Dunn's a week from Monday. I will let the group know what they find.

 

Well now I really have a problem. Clutch pedal "sheared off when driving. I was able to safely pull over. The car was towed back to my house in Prescott. I can see the end of the clutch arm through the fire wall.


q


I feel like I have no choice but to have the car towed back to Phoenix.

 

And, therein lies the root of your initial problem...hard to push the clutch pedal in. That pedal assembly has been on the verge of breaking for awhile and binding while you were pushing in the clutch. The "pin" is a known weak point. A new clutch pedal assembly (hopefully) is all you're going to need. Best of luck with the repair and end result

 

... although I assume the noisy throwout bearing in the video still remains so the transmission will still have to come out but it probably means that it didn't have to in the first place. I would love to be wrong in this case.

 

Replacement clutch pedal and pivot shaft assemblies are available for under 150 dollars. I've seen several C2 cars where the pedal to pivot shaft connection fails allowing the pedal to go to the floor without full disengagement of the clutch. I suspect this is what was happening with your car. The pivot shaft and clutch pedal completely separated.

 

The big question is do I still have a problem with the new throwout bearing, (TOB). I am working on getting the car towed to Phoenix tomorrow. I will definitely have that looked at as well.

What a mess!

 

Looks like you basically have 2 separate problems now. The weak pedal connection to your shaft may have contributed to why the clutch was starting to engage so close to the floor and also some of the pedal stiffness as the rod was probably dragging on the hole in the firewall. But noise and possible part of the clutch stiffness are going to probably lie inside the bell housing.

Replacement of the clutch pedal can be a do-it-yourself project if you are inclined. There are several good threads on here with a good description of the process and steps. It’s best to pull the seat and steering wheel for room to work under the dash. I replaced mine without pulling the pedal box but a lot of members prefer to pull the whole pedal box out and rebuild it.

 

If that clutch pivot pin has sheared off, and all of the pedal box assembly is original equipment, there are likely more worn parts in the pedal box assembly. There are nylon bushings that the pedal shafts rotate in that are probably worn out and if they have been worn out for too long, the shafts will also be worn out. At this point, I think it would be smart to pull the whole pedal box assembly out and either rebuild it or replace it with new. It really isn't that big of a job. Just food for thought.

Ted

 

Thanks for all of the helpful comments. Fixing this is way over my head. On the way to Phoenix to go to a dedicated classic Corvette shop. I will post with an update once repairs completed.

 

The entire clutch pedal apparatus was replaced. My mechanic test drove the car and said he did not hear any rattling noises. I questioned the TBO and he did not feel it was necessary to check as it would require a lot of additional labor and time and he felt he had corrected the problem.

I picked the car up early this evening and drove the 30 miles to my Phoenix home without any major issues; the clutch pedal was much more comfortable, shifting smooth as if I were driving a modern manual transmission car. The rattling noise from the shifter was not as noticeable but knowing what I was listening for I could still hear it when I was in gear but not in neutral. I could make it completely go away by putting light pressure on the shifter. I could still barely hear the rattling noise when I lightly touched the clutch pedal whether in gear or not. Not sure what to do. If this is coming from the throwout bearing (TBO) I do not want to ruin my transmission but I am not sure if I am being overly sensitive to what I am hearing. I have been using the same Corvette mechanic for 12 years and he has always done great work. Comments?

 

With the car in neutral if you can make a noise come and go with light pressure on the clutch then that is the classic symptom of a noisy throwout bearing. Bear in mind you may very well have two things you are calling rattles but at least one of them is your throwout bearing if it comes and goes with light pedal pressure. The other rattle could be nothing more than worn shifter bushings especially since you said you could make it completely go away with light pressure on the shifter. It's up to you if you want to pursue this but you don't sound like a satisfied customer. I would go back and explain your concerns and go from there and explain that you don't expect him to shoulder all of the expense. Depending upon the mechanic's hearing he may honestly not hear any problem.

 

Don't have solution for you but the car looks great!

 

Is it the shifter handle itself that’s rattling? Muncie shifter handles were notorious for buzzing and rattling on the road. if you have a Hurst shifter they are usually quiet. There are a number of tricks to quiet the Muncie shifters but I haven’t owned one in 40 years so they aren’t fresh on the mind. But if you think it’s the shifter itself the guys here probably will know of a couple of solutions.

 

Make sure all of the clutch linkage ( mechanical clutch) is tight and all of the " locking keys" are the push on type that tighten up the connections, unlike a cotter key.....

 

Yes I have the original Muncie shifter; it does seem like it is the shifter handle that is rattling and it stops when I hold it. What is concerning is that the noises started after the clutch replacement. I have had the car for 12 years and never had a noisy gear box before.

At this point I can "live with these issues" as long as I am not going to damage the transmission. With the top down which is almost always, my side exhausts are so loud (which I love) I can barely hear anything else; the way it is supposed to be.

 

From reading all the responses, I agree that the shifter itself seems to be the prime suspect. This is much easier to address than a noisy throwout bearing.

To replace the throwout bearing the transmission has to come out, but to inspect or remove the shifter can be done with the transmission in the car. As DansYellow66 notes, Muncie shifters often develop rattles as they age, and there are likely experts out there who can suggest the most likely causes.

 

If you go down to post 5 in this thread, the guru JohnZ describes a fix for the buzz and rattle in a Muncie shifter.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...er-rattle.html

 

In case you are new here, ANYTHING printed by JohnZ is pretty much Gospel on this forum. He is missed every day.