<VV> Clutch slipping

[Roger Gault]

Paul,
My experience is that there's not much margin in the Corvair clutch
adjustment, so that could definitely be your problem.  You should have about
3/4" of play as you push the pedal before you feel the cable tighten up.  If
it's not "really easy" for the first 3/4" or so, it's probably too tight.
Too loose and you'll find it hard to shift because the clutch doesn't engage
completely.

You can just loosen it a few turns and see what happens, but I'd strongly
recommend going through the entire manual procedure, since there are all
sorts of ways to get it wrong and still have it look right but work wrong.

On my 280K mile hard driven and abused '65 convert, I discovered that the
clutch pedal was twisted a little so that the left hand edge of the pedal
hit the carpet and stopped travel before it should have.  I just grabbed it
with a 12" crescent wrench and bent it up so the bar down to the pedal was
what was limiting the travel.  This gave me enough more travel to make the
adjustment easier.

Good Luck,
  Roger

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Abel" <pbob63 at frontiernet.net>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Friday, November 17, 2006 1:59 PM
Subject: <VV> Clutch slipping


> I sold my 65 Monza 4 dr and just purchased a nice solid 65 500 coupe 140
> / 4sp, non original engine. The PO removed the secondaries, and covered
> the holes. I just replaced the plug wires and installed an igniter 2. It
> runs good now, much like my previous 110.  When under load in 3rd or
> 4th, the clutch is slipping. I notice that the clutch doesn't engage
> until the pedal is almost all the way out. I think it should engage
> within an inch or so from the floor. The PO says he replaced the clutch
> when he swapped the engine and trans 2 or 3 years ago. It was originally
> a 95 / 3sp. I'm not sure which parts he replaced. My question is, is
> this an adjustment issue? Will following the shop manual with regards to
> clutch linkage adjustments fix the problem assuming the clutch disc is
> OK? Or, do I need a new clutch. I haven't driven a manual trans in about
> 10 years, my last was a 90 Grand Prix 3.1 5sp. I seem to recall the
> clutch in that engaging much sooner than the Vair's.
>
> Paul Abel
> Rochester, NY
> 65 500 coupe 140/4
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