Anyone in the greater bay area with a welder?


My clutch tube broke lose (again) this morning with a loud bang as i was shifting into 4th getting on the freeway.

The rear seems OK but the front part is just flopping in the wind.

Looks like it's time to weld in a stronger clamp in the front, my last patch lasted some 15 years but obviously wasn't quite strong enough.

Hydraulic clutch install???? Tube doesn’t matter then.

Hmmm, lets see:

- A sturdy clamp and two spot welds

or

- Weeks of work and lots of $$$ for parts to convert to a hydraulic clutch setup

Hi Andy - Do you need to borrow a welder? I have a MIG that works on 220 or 110.
You're welcome to it.
Or if you can get the car to my place, we can do the repair here.
PM me if I can help.
Chris

@tygaboy Thanks for the offer!

I'm in the process of rewiring my entire house, so i'd rather not try to burn it down by running a welder on 65 year old wiring with no ground.

If i can temporarily rig it up i should be able to make it to your place, i'll do some fiddling with it this weekend and let you know.

A clable clamp can be used to secure the tube up front to the side of the tunnel.
Kind of fiddly to get in and leaves a couple holes in the side of the tunnel but for short term it might be doable.
Don't over tighten and crush the tube.

Jim

Click to view attachment

And a nice smooth clutch with no constant adjustment

I put one of those in Betty's car 30+ years ago when we were dating. We were young and broke, and I didn't own a welder. So that was a quick and dirty fix. It is still there after 300K miles. I know it is not the correct way to fix it, but frankly, it is working. So I am not going to change it now.

Every time I run her car up on the lift, I see the ends of the bolts and I think "Maybe I should fix that right." But I always get distracted and forget about it.

I read several articles on clutch tube repair. What is "the best and correct" method for this repair. Is there a specific article?

Click to view attachment

Not sure what shifter you have, but make sure it does not contact those bolt heads. I had an issue with putting the bolt for the heater lever in wrong and it interfered with the shifter.

JMHO

I put one in my car years ago as a quick fix as well. My clamp is oriented so the nuts are on the driver's side of the tunnel--in the footwell. I was JUST looking at it this past weekend and thinking "man I need to get that out of there and fix this thing right."

There is no 'right'way really, but as you can see, several different solutions that get the job done. Some more elegant than others. This is the one I like. Stuff a #2 phillips screwdriver into the tube from inside the tunnel, so the welding does not burn through the tube wall and block the passage for the cable. drill holes for the welds. Clamp the tube to the tunnel and plug weld it to the inside wall of the tunnel:

Plenty of room, might be the angle of the picture but it's nowhere near the shift coupler.

I used an electrical conduit clamp silghtly blacksmithed to the correct ID, then bolted it to the side of the tunnel. That tube aint goin nowhere !!

Click to view attachment

not necessarily, but certainly weld in in its three breaking points, front, behind the cross member and at the rear firewall

Andy,

This was the set up on 41 when I got it. Only 15 years on the road when it went in storage. Who knows how long it would have worked but I believe it did work as it was still tight when I took it off to weld a new set up in there.

Only use the U and nuts


Bob B

10 electricians, 11 different ways of doing it (this one is a pretty elegant & brave way of repair) - I also have a loaner 120v welder in the Bay Area if needed (but any invitation by TygaB is always the best)

Seen that pic before but never seen measurements where you need to drill ? certainly the best solution IMO.