I have recently just installed a 383 stroker from blueprint engines, and have gone through the break in period with no issues other than this. The trans will go into all gears when the engine is not running. Although once the engine is started, it won't. But if I give it a little force into first gear the car will roll an inch or two and that's it. I've adjusted the clutch rod from the pedal to the z bar all the way down to the end of the threads. The clutch pedal engages right away so their is no play in the pedal whatsoever. Otherwise I would have gotten a longer push rod but I'm sure this rules it out as not the issue here. The pedal feels like a normal clutch pedal until you get about 3/4 of the way down and then it gets soft and if you keep going down in the pedal travel, it picks back up again and becomes stiff again.Possibly uneven force on the pressure plate fingers? Its the stock clutch linkage and I left the pivot ball untouched as it was working with the engine it had in it before this one 2 months ago. Same clutch fork as well, but got a new throwout bearing in the clutch kit that I purchased.
I know their is multiple threads on here with other people that have had the same issue, but I just want to make certain that I know what the problem is before I most likely have to pull the tranny(right?). It's super frustrating(as most of you can imagine) because I just want to drive my corvette that I spent thousands of dollars and endless amounts of time working on.
Thanks for any help you guys can provide me with!

 

Do you remember how you put the TO bearing on the fork?

 

Yes I made certain that I put it on the correct way because I have done it in the past.

 

Mine did this wound up at the end of my adjustment rod. Really should have went for the longer rod but, I'm getting by like it is. I even measured the assembly while it was out no real difference in height was noted.

 

Yeah I probably would've also done that. If it actually went into gear lol.

 

Which clutch kit did you get?
Some clutches need a different length pivot ball
Some clutches just won't work with the Corvette linkage (I tried this myself, removed the transmission three times, got down to 45 minutes to pull the clutch and transmission before I replaced the new clutch)

 

This is likely it - very common!

 

This is the clutch I got. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ZZZ-MU5505-1A

I was suspecting it was the pivot ball. Which pivot ball did you guys end up going with and where did you get it?

Will I have to buy all new linkage?

How do I know what length to set?

 

Hi Nick

I saw your post here and thought I would offer a suggestion. When I did a four speed conversion on my '65 Impala, I was working with a lot of non-stock parts. I had the same problem as you are experiencing now. I got an adjustable pivot ball after trying two other ones that didn't work. Solved all my problems. It does take some time to get set up, but you can get it pretty close without having to install and remove the transmission a bunch of times. If your upper or lower rod is adjustable, then you make the final settings with them.

Scott Liggett
BluePrint Engines
1(800)483-4263
www.blueprintengines.com
info@blueprintengines.com

 

How do you change the pivot bal without taking the tranny out ? I didn't think it was possible but then again I haven't tried it.

In other words if I thought I needed a longer or shorter pivot ball I would automatically think I needed to pull the tranny

 

Hey MotorHead

You do have pull the trans off the bell housing, as the pivot ball screws in from the outside. They all do. You can set up the linkage with the adjustable pivot ball to be darn close with the trans off. Then, put the trans back in, set the final linkage adjustment on the rods and go.

I know it doesn't sound like fun, but neither is a trans that isn't shifting correctly. During my 4 speed conversion, I had it running 4 times and had to pull it all apart 4 times in order to get everything set up right, and modify the shifter and clutch linkage. Boy, was that a drag, but I was also using parts from everywhere from the swap meet, junkyard, and the restoration houses. Those complete swap kits didn't exist back then.

One other thing to be sure of, is making sure the shifter to trans linkage rods are set up correctly. They have to be adjusted correctly, or shifting will be impossible.

Scott Liggett
BluePrint Engines
1(800)483-4263
www.blueprintengines.com
info@blueprintengines.com