# Clutch Pedal Mod's -1968



## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

*Clutch Pedal & Rod Parts List*

1 - Grade 5 7/16" x 5" Bolt
2 - INA SCE78 Shell Type Needle Bearing 7/16" ID x 5/8" OD x 1/2" W.
1 - Kit (4 pcs) Clutch/Brake Pedal Shaft Bushings
2 - 1/2"-20 Thread x 1/2" Dia. Hole Right Hand Heim Joint
1 - 3/8" ID x 1/2" OD x 1" L Steel Spacer
1 - Grade 8 3/8"-16 Thread x 2" Flange Bolt
1 - Grade 8 3/8"-16 Flange Lock Nut

*WARNING! *This set-up will require fabrication skills and tools to do the job. I used a high-speed die grinder with cut-off wheel, 1/2"-20 thread die and handle, and welder. Always wear ear & eye protection.

My '68 Lemans has over 176,000 miles on the odometer. In its disassembled state, I wanted to refurbish the clutch & brake pedal assembly. This may apply to other years as well. The diagram is from the Factory Manual that shows the pedal bracket, pedals, pedal shaft bolt/steel & plastic bushings, clutch rod, and the counter shaft with all its parts to operate the clutch.

Pic #1, #2, & #3 is my pedal assembly & clutch rod. You can see in pic #2 how the pedals are attached to the bracket. The pedals themselves each have a pinched tube on them that a steel spacer goes into, a plastic bushing fits on each end, and the long bolt and lock nut runs through the bracket & steel spacers to bolt everything together.

I sandblasted all my parts to get them clean, sprayed a coat of Self Etching Primer, followed by a couple coats of Rustoleum Ultra High Temp Black. Mine got a little bumped & bruised, so they got one last coat of paint when I was done with everything.

Pic #4 shows brake pedal and the location of the brake switch. You can see 2 holes on the brake pedal. The top hole has the pin in it that the non-power master cylinder brake rod attaches to. If you have power brakes, or add power brakes, the master cylinder attachment point is the lower hole. The top hole provides more leverage which is not needed for power brakes and may make your power brakes a little touchy - and the master cylinder rod may be of a different length versus manual brakes which could also make for braking problems.

Pic #5 & #6 show how worn out the clutch pedal rod attachment hole is. The factory diagram shows a bushing used on the end of the rod's attachment point - long gone on my car and the metal-to-metal contact elongated the hole. The attachment pin on the end of the clutch rod that goes into that hole was also badly worn. Just a matter of time before either the clutch pedal attachment hole broke through or the clutch rod end got weak enough to break off. Using an aftermarket pressure plate that requires additional pedal effort will accelerate the wear.

Pic #7 shows how the bracket that the clutch rod attaches to is spot welded to the clutch pedal. I felt it needed a couple additional welds just as a precaution and because I am using an aftermarket clutch set-up that'll need a little more pressure effort to push in.

Pic #8 shows how I repaired the elongated hole that clutch rod attaches to. This would not work if you are using the stock type rod as it will add thickness to the bracket and you won't be able to install the spring clip. If using the factory rod, I would have filled in the elongated hole and then re-drilled the needed size for the clutch rod end pin. With my use of a heim joint replacing the factory rod pin end, I am using a 3/8" bolt that will securely clamp the heim joint to the bracket. I probably could have gotten away without welding on the additional 1/8" piece of flat steel. I used a 1/8" flat piece of steel that was a little over sized in shape, marked with a Sharpie where the attachment hole was to be located on the plate, then drilled my 3/8" hole into the plate. I then bolted the flat plate back onto the bracket and used the Sharpie to mark the edges where I needed to trim the flat plate so as to follow the edged of the bracket. I trimmed as needed with my die grinder, and then welded along the edges.

Ready to re-install my pedals, I only needed to swap out the steel spacer on the Clutch Pedal which was to be replaced with the Shell Needle Bearings. The Brake Pedal will be as factory as it is not being modified - and I don't see any need/benefit to do so. Pic #9 shows the factory set-up at the top, and the new plastic bushings, needle bearings & new bolt at the bottom. The needle bearings will ride on the smooth shank of the new bolt. The steel spacer measures 1 3/4" in length, or 1.75" The width of the 2 needle bearing stacked sid-by-side came up to .992", or almost 1". In order to use the needle bearings and keep them in place at the end of the clutch pedal bushing, I needed to add a spacer between the 2. I needed to cut the factory spacer down from 1.75" to .758". So I measured this out and used a piece of masking tape to create a line to follow when cutting the spacer with my die grinder. It can be seen on the left side factory steel spacer. OF course I cut it too short! LOL. So my suggestion is to cut it longer and then grind the spacer end to fit. I had to make small/narrow spacer to get things right.

Pic # 10 & #11 show the completed pedals and a view of the attachment bolt. I found that the brake pedal was a little sloppy and this may have been due in part that I did not cinch down hard on the lock nut to squeeze the bracket/pedal assembly together. I corrected the slop by adding a 1/16" washer to act as a shim on the end of the brake pedal plastic bushing and ran the long bolt through it. I also trimmed the long bolt end as it was longer than the factory bolt. I used the factory lock nut to secure everything. Seemed to work well, so hopefully no issues in the future.
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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Pic #11 is attached here.

To modify the factory clutch rod, I wanted to install heim joints on each end to again make clutch pedal movement smoother and easier. I could have used a hardened steel threaded rod, but wanted to keep the factory contours of the clutch rod. The clutch rod is 1/2" in diameter, so I purchased a pair of heim joints have a 1/2"-20 threaded hole which meant a 1/2" attachment hole at the joint which was much larger that I wanted for the attachment point at the clutch pedal bracket. I did not want to re-drill the clutch bracket to a 1/2" hole as I felt there was not enough material around a bolt hole that size, so a spacer was to be used to size the 1/2" hole down to 3/8" so I could use a 3/8" bolt & nut to secure it to the clutch pedal bracket.

I first measured the length of the clutch rod from attachment point to attachment point. It measured exactly 14". I then laid my heim joints along side of the clutch rod aligning the rod attachment end with the 1/2" holes of the heim joints. This gave me where I needed to cut the clutch rod so that the end would install up into the heim joints sufficiently to hold and still allow for up and down adjustment of the heim joints if I needed to lengthen or shorten the rod. This turned out to be a clutch rod length of 12" when the ends were cut off.

Pic #12 shows the clutch rod with its ends cut-off, the threaded ends, my 1/2"-20 die and handle I used, and the length of th rod as finished. I ground a slight taper on the end of the cut rod so I could start the die. I clamped the rod down tight, and using some Marvel Mystery Oil as my cutting oil, I turned the die about a 1/4 turn or so at a time until you could feel a stiff resistance, then I would stop, reverse the die to clear out the metal chips, and repeat until I got it threaded. Generously keep adding your cutting oil.

Pic #13 shows how much I threaded the clutch pedal rod end - about 1 3/4".

Pic #14 shows the counter shaft end of the rod. It has a slight bend to it and I threaded it about 1 1/2".

Pic #15 shows the heim joint ends installed and matched to the original ends length of 14". I will add 1/2"-20 nuts to lock the heim joints into place once I know I have the correct length for my set-up.

Pic #16 shows the heim joint, spacer that fits inside the heim joint hole, and the bolt & nut. I ran into a couple problems when I installed the rod/heim joint to the clutch pedal bracket due to the size of the heim joint used. First, the bolt head was too thick and hit so the pedal would not swing its full motion. I ground down the head, about 1/2 of its original thickness to get my needed clearance. The pedal swing worked, except problem #2 popped up. The heim joint hit the inside of the pedal bracket and limited the return travel, ie when you take your foot off the clutch. I ground a slight bevel where it once had a more defines and sharp edge. Did not grind much, just enough to roll the edge so it tucks up tight










































er into the bracket's side. This took care of the interference, but it still hits the inside of the bracket as it comes to its full pedal extended out position. Should work fine as is and this was without the rubber bumper installed that the bracket hits upon when it returns back up into position. My options could be to heat and dimple the bracket where it hits, or cut out a window on the bracket and weld a new section of metal around/over the heim joint end, but I think it'll work as is once I install a new bumper stop.

Pic #17 is the clutch rod bolted to the pedals.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Oops! Here is Pic #11 from my first post showing the clutch pedal bracket & bolt.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Here is the factory diagram for the 1968 clutch pedal & linkages.


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