'64-66 clutch pedal (brkt) pin (replace ?)

[Wayne M.]

There was a thread years ago, IIRC, about changing a worn pin. Apparently these surface-hardened (?) pins are available elsewhere and it's just a question of pressing the old one out. Maybe junkyard donors, if used across the board on GM manual tramsmission cars ?

A recent discussion about clutches morphed into examples of clutch linkage failure (usually at the most inopportune moment) has got me thinking that it's time to do something about mine. I know these brackets are probably available in repro, but I like to keep the original components, no matter how worn, with the exception of safety items.

The bracket on the left is my '65 small block, with the '65 BB on the right.

How about the '67 (-up ?) design, with the pin directly on the pedal arm; same pin ? same issue ?

[Joe L.]

Re: '64-66 clutch pedal (brkt) pin (replace ?)

There was a thread years ago, IIRC, about changing a worn pin. Apparently these surface-hardened (?) pins are available elsewhere and it's just a question of pressing the old one out. Maybe junkyard donors, if used across the board on GM manual tramsmission cars ?

A recent discussion about clutches morphed into examples of clutch linkage failure (usually at the most inopportune moment) has got me thinking that it's time to do something about mine. I know these brackets are probably available in repro, but I like to keep the original components, no matter how worn, with the exception of safety items.

The bracket on the left is my '65 small block, with the '65 BB on the right.

How about the '67 (-up ?) design, with the pin directly on the pedal arm; same pin ? same issue ?

Wayne-----


The pin on the original brackets commonly wears in just the manner shown in your photos. The exact same thing occurs to the welded-on clevis pin on 1967 and 68-81 pedals. The only difference is those are so much harder to replace, necessitating the removal of the pedal from the car. Even then, extreme care must be exercised in performing the replacement since the pin MUST end up EXACTLY perpendicular to the pedal shaft. I recommend spot facing the area where the head of the pin seats on 67+ pedals.

In any event, the bracket attached to the pedal for 63-66 Corvettes (there were 2 slightly different brackets, one for 63-66 small block and another for 65-66 big block) were unique to Corvettes and not used for other Chevrolet models. So, you won't be able to get one from a non-Corvette donor car.

Especially considering the ease of bracket replacement for 63-66 models, I think I'd just get one of the reproduction brackets, install it, and be done with it. However, there are other options:

1) Simply replace the clevis pin on the brackets you have. This would be similar to replacing the pin on 67+ pedals, except, of course, you only need to remove the bracket from the car and not the pedal. Once again, you would need to be certain that the pin is EXACTLY perpendicular to the bracket, or;

2) Install the pedal pushrod so that it contacts the bracket and interfaces with the UNWORN area of the pin. You will need to install shimming washers on the outside, between the rod and the retainer so as to maintain the rod's contact with the unworn area. This is what I recommend for 67+ owners that have this problem (all do) and want to avoid the need to remove the pedal from the car.