hard clutch pedal

[steve_mel]

hi guys just purchased a 70 charger. Question why the hell do i have to stand up on the clutch pedal to get to down. Guy told me he put a mild race clutch in but damn. almost to hard to drive comfortably. I got under and tightend up the gap between the fork but had little effect but to raise the pedal off the floor. Any thoughts

[Cooter]

Sounds like
1. Either he miss-matched parts like the wrong Z-bar (Leverage issues)or
2. he bought a "Race" clutch and it's too much pressure(Prolly a 3-finger style which has huge pedal effort in racing apps)...

[elacruze]

Likely somebody removed the clutch assist spring and couldn't get it back on.

[Chryco Psycho]

I agree , is the overcenter spring on the clutch pedal under the dash ?

[steve_mel]

Thanks guys I will get under it this evening

[Rolling_Thunder]

sounds like a missing over center spring and a high pressure clutch

[steve_mel]

Ok so I checked it out no spring. Now I see where it goes on the clutch pedal but I don't reconize where the other end goes. And you know of course I do not have the spring in hand. So its tuff without ever really putting eyes on I have seen it in a couple web stores for sale 49- 69 dollars. So I will try putting pic up. All comments welcome.

[Cooter]

Spring hooks up inside that bracket and to the pedal. You can install it, but I bet the effort is still there....

[elacruze]

The far end of the spring hangs on a pin, which fits in a pair of holes in the clutch/firewall bracket. You can see which easily because they are pear-shaped to capture the pin, which has slots to fit in the metal of the holes.

[FLG]

Dont some clutches have you remove the spring? Might want to ask him what clutch he put in. I could be wrong though.

[Chryco Psycho]

If the pedal is that hard you need the spring , the spring does 2 things , pulls the pedal up [overcenter] to take the pressure off the release brg so it will not turn all the time & aids in pulling the pedal down when pushing the clutch to lighten the pressure needed 

[steve_mel]

Thank you all for your post reply's. I did buy a spring and shaft my son installed it and boy what a difference. It's like a a new pedal and it feels drivable now.
Again thank you all for your input.

[c00nhunterjoe]

Glad its fixed. The "old school" 3 finger style needs the spring. Diaphram clutches do not

[elacruze]

Dont some clutches have you remove the spring? Might want to ask him what clutch he put in. I could be wrong though.

I installed a Centerforce dual friction clutch, and ran it without the spring for the first 1/2 of the power tour. It seemed stiff enough (and my left knee hurt bad enough) that I re-installed it, and haven't considered taking it out since. There's enough effort to know what the clutch is doing, but light enough that my SO can drive it. It's about the same effort as the hydraulic in my '68 D200 pickup.

[c00nhunterjoe]

I'm running the dual friction in mine. Its a nice pedal until you get it up in rpm, then it gets stiffer. Centerforces calls for removing the spring with that clutch. You can probably push it down with 2 fingers.