Z-Bar?

All the stuff under the car, Transmission, Brakes, Suspension & Steering
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DesertRat
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Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 11:23 am
Location: Moses Lake WA

Z-Bar?

Post by DesertRat »

I am putting the Borgeson power steering conversion on my 1965 Cyclone 4 speed car. What is the preferred clutch actuation mechanism with headers or cast exhaust manifolds? I am working with John at Opentracker racing on all the suspension and the only thing we haven't closed up is the Z-bar modification required. I know hydraulic is an option but I do have all the stock stuff intact and Opentracker can mod the Z-bar any way needed. Everything is for Mustang and Falcon and the 65 Comet is different as you all know. Any help appreciated-thanks!
DR
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poboyjo65
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Re: Z-Bar?

Post by poboyjo65 »

I have the borgesen box, & I used the stock z bar, but a highly modified z bar .took a lot of cutting ,testing ,& welding.as far as I know I'm the only dumbass to do it so I would not recommend it . I have dougs headers . but mainly the problem I had was the box clearance with the z bar. with the hyd lines in the way I made a guard to cover them so the clutch linkage nut that attaches to the rod doesnt get on or touch the lines. then I had to get the engine sitting just right & I still get a vibration when backing up a hill or too fast, I can feel the vib,, feels loud like a header. theres lots of pressure on that zbar so you gotta beef it up good if you cut & reweld it.


Hard to see in this pic because its black but if you blow it up you can make out the top of the z bar attached between the 2 nuts on the threaded clutch rod.also the black guard I made to protect the lines is L shaped.so tight in there it needed something between rod connection & lines. at the back of that guard is a clover above the rag joint barely visible,to keep debris from falling in there .rag sits in a tight little cover I made on the inside so I didnt want any rocks or whatever getting it there & locking up the steering.
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If I ever have to pull the motor or trans bell again I'll go hyd clutch or cable. :roll:

:roll: :roll:
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Johno

popscomet
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Location: Jacksonville, Arkansas

Re: Z-Bar?

Post by popscomet »

I have a every thing stock 4spd comet.....a 64 comet 4spd with a hyd throw out bearing...and a 65 cobra kit car with a cable....I really don't know which is my pick.....I do know that every after market Z bar I have seen needs to be rewelded after some use....most ALL have been for a GM.....on the stock set up ,it got less pedal effort after I went to a diaphram pressure plate,,,all is JMO....pop
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lavron
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Re: Z-Bar?

Post by lavron »

popscomet wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 12:08 am
,it got less pedal effort after I went to a diaphram pressure plate
The main reason I ended up putting the 250 in my Comet instead of the 200 was the flywheel difference a diaphragm clutch for the small 200 flywheel was hard to find & $$$$$ and I needed some kind of adapter to install the T5, so down the rabbit hole I went, so far I don't regret my choices except the 250 is a bit harder to find parts for, hopefully I built it well enough I won't need any rare parts for a long time :roll:

With my hydraulic setup, the clutch is super easy to push, even a little girl could do it (my wife complained the old clutch was too hard to push) and it is a way bigger clutch than before, I am super glad I did not do a Z-bar, besides I don't how you would do that on a T5 bell, I think I followed RedHotComet's instructions over on a different forum and it worked great with the Land Cruiser master and Mitsubishi (I think - it is Isuzu Rodeo) slave cylinder instead of doing a cable clutch, it just took a little testing to figure out where to exactly mount the slave for the proper stroke to completely disengage the clutch, I think it is probably easier to use the hydraulic throwout bearing like Pops is talking about the only reason I did not do one was I read about them potentially leaking and having to pull the trans out to replace them and the clutch because it is soaked in hydraulic fluid, I talked to Pop's son Dwayne when they brought Old Rusty to PF and he convinced me I would have been fine with the Hyd T-O but I had already bought all the stuff for the current one so I went ahead and installed it. (because I am super cheap and the stuff I got was super inexpensive)

See Ya,
Mike
Mike's build thread
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13058
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popscomet
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Location: Jacksonville, Arkansas

Re: Z-Bar?

Post by popscomet »

we have a couple of dirt track cars that have had a hyd throw bearing in them for 4/5 yrs,,,never a leak and they sit during the winter,,,so far so good,,,but it could all south the next time we fire them up :? :shock: pop
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