1971 LT-1 clutch - suggestions
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Joined: Jan 2008
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From: Sandy Springs, Georgia
1971 LT-1 clutch - suggestions
The clutch on my LT-1 with under 35,000 miles came apart yesterday. I wasn't beating on it or anything. I was picking up my son from work as a Caddy. I pulled into the country club parking lot and noticed the pedal didn't want to depress. It was binding. Then there was a howling noise like a bad throw out bearing.
I parked in an aisle blocking another car. I was afraid I was going to have to push it to start it again. Instead I put the car in 3rd and restarted the car in 3rd gear and drove it home without shifting. I finally stopped at a traffic light and put it into 2nd and finished my ride home. Stopping and then restarting the car in gear. Thanks to the 4.11 gears,they made the restart easy.
I will pull it apart later today. My previous experience with my old Chevelle LS-5 when it did the same thing, was that one of the springs in the hub of the clutch had torn out and now the whole pressure plate and clutch disc are all bound up and cannot release.
I am condering a new Center Force dual friction . Is the LT-1 an
11"or 10 1/2 " clutch ? I would imagine the flywheel will have holes for either size correct ? Thanks for any suggestions. I wish this happened before I put my new exhaust system in.
I parked in an aisle blocking another car. I was afraid I was going to have to push it to start it again. Instead I put the car in 3rd and restarted the car in 3rd gear and drove it home without shifting. I finally stopped at a traffic light and put it into 2nd and finished my ride home. Stopping and then restarting the car in gear. Thanks to the 4.11 gears,they made the restart easy.
I will pull it apart later today. My previous experience with my old Chevelle LS-5 when it did the same thing, was that one of the springs in the hub of the clutch had torn out and now the whole pressure plate and clutch disc are all bound up and cannot release.
I am condering a new Center Force dual friction . Is the LT-1 an
11"or 10 1/2 " clutch ? I would imagine the flywheel will have holes for either size correct ? Thanks for any suggestions. I wish this happened before I put my new exhaust system in.
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Joined: Dec 1999
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From: Forked River NJ
The LT1 clutch is an 11 inch clutch. I don't think the stock flywheel is drilled for both but I could be wrong. I ran the Centerforce stage 1 in my LT1 and it took a tremendous amount of abuse. I now run a Centerforce DF but I have a lot more power and I still abuse the clutch and it works fine.
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From: Sandy Springs, Georgia
Thanks for the info Gordon. I'll order the clutch right now. I just wanted to confirm the size. I have the ralley Wheels that you sold me on the car with a fresh set of T/A radials. I was so ready to put some miles on the car with the beautiful weather and all . I guess it is a good day to work on the car.
The car felt really good with the fresh tires , new grand touring suspension, and the 2 1/2" exhaust and the Magnaflow mufflers. I was just starting to get the feel of the car when the clutch came un-done. I can't wait to see how it feels with a new and improved clutch. I guess somewhere along the line someone was dumping the clutch on this car for the spring to tear out of the hub like that.
I'm getting the car ready to run it in the Stock appearing drags at Englishtown in November. It should be more than ready by then.
The car felt really good with the fresh tires , new grand touring suspension, and the 2 1/2" exhaust and the Magnaflow mufflers. I was just starting to get the feel of the car when the clutch came un-done. I can't wait to see how it feels with a new and improved clutch. I guess somewhere along the line someone was dumping the clutch on this car for the spring to tear out of the hub like that.
I'm getting the car ready to run it in the Stock appearing drags at Englishtown in November. It should be more than ready by then.
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Joined: Aug 2006
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From: SE PA
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 91
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From: Sandy Springs, Georgia
I looked at the rules on the stock appearing drags website . I didn't see anything in there saying no fiberglass springs on Corvettes allowed. In the fast class there is an L-88 clone that is running a T-350 instead of the T-400 that would of been behind a big block. I realize the FAST class is a bit more loose with the rules to get stock appearing cars to run so fast.
I am also missing my A.I.R. system. In the pure stock class it says that I can run without it. To tell you the truth I don't think that they will be looking that closely for the rear spring to be steel.
I will be installing the clutch as soon as it gets here . Center Force reccomends a 500 mile break in period prior to driving it hard. This will give me a good excuse to drive the car daily for awhile.
The Grand Touring suspension kit most certainly improved the ride and the handling. I have no idea if it is an improvement for drag racing. I guess I'll find out. I never pulled a hole shot with this car yet.
I am also missing my A.I.R. system. In the pure stock class it says that I can run without it. To tell you the truth I don't think that they will be looking that closely for the rear spring to be steel.
I will be installing the clutch as soon as it gets here . Center Force reccomends a 500 mile break in period prior to driving it hard. This will give me a good excuse to drive the car daily for awhile.
The Grand Touring suspension kit most certainly improved the ride and the handling. I have no idea if it is an improvement for drag racing. I guess I'll find out. I never pulled a hole shot with this car yet.
