''I'm going to fix it up someday'' The resurrection of a '74 Dart Sport......
Did you come to any conclusion on the Centreforce clutch setup you used Tom, happy with it? Pluses and or negatives?
Dan
thanks for the question, Dan.
Yes, i am now happy with it, (now that it's broken in).
I resisted getting on it for 600 miles, and followed the break in procedure to the letter in the instructions.
Then i finally got on it last fall before i put the car away for winter, and it hooks and feels good!
I believe that it is a good clutch set up for a car under 500 H.P., and will last a fair amount of time at that power level.
It is as good as advertised.
Good and bad?
Well, i'll try to explain my experience to you.
First the good:
-Easy installation. No problems whatsoever.
I love the way it engages, it is mellow to drive with no finessing or special technique needed at all. I bet you couldn't stall the car unless you really tried.
-It really locks up when you get on it from say 4000 rpm and dump it. Smooth initially for a split second while the front end lifts slightly, and then boil the hides off. No slipping, and no smells of burning clutch material.
-It definitely isn't an ''on off switch'' type of clutch. Actually, it's quite the opposite.
Now the bad:
-It's tricky to get it adjusted just right.
My setup uses 100% stock linkage with a nearly new flywheel. Initially i had about 1/2'' of freeplay by hand at the top of the pedal. That was too much, as the clutch wouldn't disengage fully even with the pedal pushed all of the way to the floor. I ended up with about 1/4'' by hand and it JUST disengaged enough to fully release just before the pedal hit the floor. Now that i have some miles on it, you have to push the pedal almost to the floor to release it, (i would say about 3/4'' from the floor), which is about right.
-Removing the over center spring in the car is a pain in the ***.
I ended up using a cut off disc on a die grinder for this. I'm an old man and not a contortionist, and i cursed this part immensely!
-The pedal feel isn't as light as everyone claims it is.
I was told that it's lighter than stock, and that is B.S.
The original clutch i had in the car was a stock replacement Borg&Beck for a 340, and it
was lighter feeling than this one. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning......
A few more footnotes:
My (maybe) 300 horse 360 won't even phase the capabilities of this clutch set up. If i had a 600 horse setup, i would probably look into something different, but up to say 450 horses, i would definitely recommend this clutch to anyone.
The clutch works as advertised, and the car shifts well, so i feel that it is engaging and disengaging properly.
In the past i have used McCloud street and strip Borg&Beck clutches and they worked very well and took a lot of abuse without failing or any problems at all for that matter.
The pedal stiffness was slightly more with them than with this set up.
I run Pennzoil GL4 Syncromesh oil in the transmission, and it works very well.
The transmission is a '71 833 out of a 340 Duster that is all stock and in good shape.
I also would recommend the Dakota pilot bearing that installs in the crank register and remove the pilot bushing. Some people say don't do it, but, i have had zero problems with it.
The whole set up including all of the minor mods i made makes no unusual noises or vibrations associated with the clutch throwing off the balance of the engine etc.
Overall, i'm happy with it.
Thanks again,
Tom.
P.S.
We could exchange phone numbers and talk some more if you want........or you can come down here and try it out and see how you like driving it, and make your decision for yourself! :D
