4spd clutch return spring

[Wayne G.]

60 vette 4spd...
It appears as someone has removed the clutch return spring and the bracket on the car. Was this a common practice back in the day, it has a spring inside the car that just pulls the pedal back... it is real real easy to push the pedal this way. I was going to get the bracket and springs and remove the in car one. I was wondering what the bracket and clip was on the frame and figured out its for the clutch return spring and read up how its a over the center design. I was thinking at first the clip was for the emergency brake cable... LOL...

[Terry D.]

Re: 4spd clutch return spring

Wayne
Yes this was a very common practice. What would happen is people would replace the stock clutch with a heavy duty aftermarket one only to find under hard acceleration and fast shifting that the pedal would stick to the floor, not good for the motor, so off came the spring and one was added inside to keep the clutch fork from riding on and wearing out the throwout bearing. If you have a diaphram clutch you should have no problems with original spring. If I remember correctly there have been discussions on this board on how to solve the pedal sticking to the floor. Might want to search the archives for this info or maybe someone else will chime in.
Terry

[John H.]

Re: 4spd clutch return spring

there have been discussions on this board on how to solve the pedal sticking to the floor. Might want to search the archives for this info or maybe someone else will chime in.
Terry

Terry -

Typically, the "clutch pedal stuck to the floor" syndrome resulted on C1's at high rpm when the original 3-finger Borg & Beck coil spring-type clutch was replaced with a "flat-finger" diaphragm clutch; it didn't occur with the "bent-finger" diaphragm clutch, which was the only design ever used on Corvettes (and was used on all '63-up Corvettes).

[Clem Z.]

Re: 4spd clutch return spring

Terry -

Typically, the "clutch pedal stuck to the floor" syndrome resulted on C1's at high rpm when the original 3-finger Borg & Beck coil spring-type clutch was replaced with a "flat-finger" diaphragm clutch; it didn't occur with the "bent-finger" diaphragm clutch, which was the only design ever used on Corvettes (and was used on all '63-up Corvettes).

the diaphragm pressure plate can also stick to the floor if it is pushed in too far. clutch adjustment is very important so not to over center a diaphragm pressure plate. most of us who drag raced and power shifted,never lifting off of the gas,used a clutch pedal stop to prevent over centering.