To clutch or not to clutch, wear is the question Options

[iankarr]

Hi Guys,

The engine is out on my '74 and I'll be refreshing my trans with the evil one at his clinic in December.

My question is...should I replace the clutch "while I'm in there?". The car unfortunately has limited service records. It drives well and I haven't experienced any clutch-related issues so part of me is in the "if it ain't broke...." camp. Especially since I don't know if the flywheel has been previously resurfaced and buying a new flywheel probably means splitting the case so everything can be properly balanced, no?

That said...the date on the pressure plate is 1991. I know the car was in long term storage before I got it, so my rough guess is that the clutch has 15K miles on it. But it IS 26 years old.

One other tidbit...

Although the case is original (per COA), some SOB converted it to hydraulic lifters. It runs excellent so my thinking was to just keep it that way until something wears out and I need a full rebuild. But I couuuuuld use this opportunity to go back to a good cam and solid lifters.

Clearly this is a rabbit hole. Please keep me from falling in!

[Dr Evil]

^^^ This.

Measure the disk and flywheel, inspect the plate and bearing. Leave it alone if it aint broke. Also, you don't have to split the case to balance the wheel, the wheel can be/should be balanced and you should be able to bolt it on. Changing the parts takes an afternoon, so consider if your time is worth more or less than that should your parts wear out before you expect.