z-bar question

-
dart67

dart67

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2004
Messages
490
Reaction score
4
Location
NH
Hi I am new to this site. Does anyone have a picture of the clutch rod that goes through the firewall and attaches to the z-bar? I bought all new parts and the rod doesnt line up with the z-bar. It's a small block 4-speed.
Thanks
Mike :?
 
dart67 said:
Hi I am new to this site. Does anyone have a picture of the clutch rod that goes through the firewall and attaches to the z-bar? I bought all new parts and the rod doesnt line up with the z-bar. It's a small block 4-speed.
Thanks
Mike :?
Click to expand...

First of all, welcome aboard! After the mention in Mopar Muscle we have many new friends. Enjoy! :thumrigh:

As for the Z bar issue, I'll ask the obvious: Are you sure they're for an A body? With the exception of free play in the clutch fork and the overcenter spring in the pedals ( which may be throwing you off...) it practically falls in. You have to pull on the pedal a good bit to over come the spring pressure. This is what keeps the pedal feel balanced and provides the return spring. Where did you get your parts from? I've had good experience with Brewers and Passon for my 4 spd. stuff.

This link should help as far as illustrations goes:

http://www.moparts.com/Tech/Archive/clutch/13.html

These should be tucked away for future reference:

http://www.passonperformance.com/

http://www.brewersperformance.com/default.htm

This may help too:

http://www.slantsix.org/articles/4-speeds/ODA833fourspeed1.htm

Good Luck ! :thumleft:
 
How soon do you plan on doing this. I have a slant six with 3spd on the tree i am about to yank out i can get a pic to you but the car cover is a sheet of ice. ( cant Wait for spring).
 
Thanks the links were very helpful. Someone had ran the z-bar from the bell housing to the middle of the frame and the picture looks like is should be on the top of the frame. :scratch: Which would move the z-bar over and make the clutch rod line up.
I will check tomorrow to see.
Thanks again for the links
Mike
 
Does any one know how long the lenght of a z bar is? (smallblock)I got mine new from PADDOCK and it seems to be about 2' short,(same as the old one) the previous owner bent the clutch pedal rod thru the firewall so it would attach to the z bar but it's not a straight shot and effects the clutch pedal (won't come back all the way).I can't figure out what's wrong :(
Thanks
Mike
 
dart67 said:
I got mine new from PADDOCK and it seems to be about 2' short

Thanks
Mike
Click to expand...

Call Jamie @ Passon.... I just bought a new Z bar about 3 months ago and it fit perfect! Unforntunately I don't have any measurements handy.

The Z bar cost me about $80-odd dollars...
 
On the subject of Z bars. I'm told that if you have a big block, that the z bar is different than for a small block. Is this true? I plan on calling Passon as you suggest but please answer if anyone knows.

I have actually thought long and hard about using the keisler juice clutch setup as people seem to rave about the low pedal effort. Are there any issues with using the hydraulic type (like pressure plate compatibility). I heard the fingers on the pressure plate need to be of a certian type and I don't know if that type is up to shifting when connected to a stroked 400 BB.

Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread. If I use the juice clutch, I won't even need the Z bar :).
 
My recollection of the rod from the pedal to the z-bar on my Barracuda is that it's not straight. The ball stud that goes through the sub frame has a fixed location in side the z-bar. The spring pin that warps the z-bar fits into a groove in the two piece plastic bushing to locate the z-bar (when this pin is locked in the rod is centered in the hole in the fire wall). The ball stud on the bell housing side is allowed to slide inside the z-bar to compensate for engine mostion.

When I swapped from a \6 to a 360 I used the \6 z-bar (cut about 1.5" off the bellhousing side) and used the \6 fork in the sb bell housing. Everything seem to line up correctely but I have an issue that when the clutch is adjusted for 1-2" of pedal play and the pedal is on the floor something inside the bell housing touches (fork contacts pressure plate of fingers touch disk). When adjusted so this doesn't happen the pedal does not return all the way (the over center spring holds it on the far side).

I will be sorting this out this winter with either a proper sb z-bar or clutch fork.
 
I sold a small block z-bar recently and I believe it measured about 5.75 inches long.The clutch rod should be the same for bb or sb. Z-bar ,clutch fork, fork pivot,and adjustment rod are all bb or sb specific. If you want some expert help call Brewers Performance, they know their/your stuff!
 
The big block and small block z bar are different. The small block piece is 7" long and both arms are straight. The big block piece has one straight arm and one that is, closest to the bell housing, curved. I haven't measured one so I don't know how long it is. The rod that runs from the pedal to the z bar has an offset around 1/2 to 3/4 where it comes through the firewall.
You can see a pic of the big block z-bar and the inner fender whell bracket in the tech articles on http://www.bigblockdart.com/techpages/4sptech.shtml
 
Here's another pic of the whole clutch ***'y, I found it to be of great value with my 4 sp setup

hoffmanswinnercircle.com/images/clutch
 
The Brewers zbar will not fit with underchassis headers.It hits my TTI on my 440/4 speed 73 Duster.Trying to modify something on this set-up right now. Dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top