Modern Driveline Offers An Easy Solution For Clutch Engagement Woes
It has been at least 30 years, but I will never forget my old Wimbledon White ’68 Mustang fastback, a Detroit car with significant amounts of floorpan and torque box rust-and this was in 1977. I had just installed a fresh 289 built by Jan Morris at Precision Engine Machine. Jan fitted my 289 with a new Hays flywheel, clutch, and three-finger pressure plate, a 3,000-pound monster designed for drag racing.
When it was time to take my 289 out for a spin, you can imagine my disappointment when the clutch equalizer bar folded over like a wet piece of pasta. I ordered a new equalizer bar from my Ford dealer and it, too, promptly bent over, rendering the Hays clutch useless and stopping my fastback right in its tracks. I had the car towed up to Belair Phillips 66, where Mike Smigielski welded reinforcement iron to my equalizer bar. I never had a problem with the clutch again, except for extreme left knee joint erosion in traffic.