VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 '37 Clutch Adjustments & Action

Thanks to a lot of great help from this forum I have the engine in my '37 Master Coupe running. I actually drove the car about a mile this evening.

I'm trying to figure out the clutch adjustments and how the clutch is supposed to engage. The clutch engages over a very short amount of pedal travel, maybe less than 1”. It’s almost like a light switch that is either on or off. Is that normal?

The shop manual says that there are 2 adjustments. I have the freeplay set at 1" but cannot find any information in the shop manual about floorboard clearance. How do you make that adjustment?

The car has 49,000 miles so one possibility is that the clutch disc is worn out.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Hello Rusty 37 Master,

I have a book called, Chevy Six 1929-'40 written by Victor W. Page, and it shows the floor board clearance adjustment but I believe it's for an older Chevy as my '37 MD doesn't have this or any other adjustment for the floorboard clearance.

First the 1937 and previous had a short clutch throw. When the pressure plate got worn as well as the disc the clutch would suddenly grab and the car would take a jump.
Figure on the clutch being your next project.

Hi Gene, and thanks for the confirmation.

Hope everything is going well in Wisconsin.

Unle Jimmy had told my wife that he thought the clutch needed to be replaced. He had even bought a complete used set up for a diaphragm type clutch. I have the pressure plate, disc, flywheel, throwout bearing, clutch arm, bell housing, and transmission. I think is is a '39 because the flywheel has 4 bolts to connect to the crank flange and it is a column shift transmission. If I remember correctly the flywheel used 6 bolts starting in 1940.

I'm not sure I want to make the conversion. I know it gets a little tricky to get both the starter and clutch linkages adapted correctly.

This will be a nice winter project so I will start rounding up the parts.

Yes, sounds like it is from a 1939.
There is nothing wrong with the 1937 and prior clutch when all parts are in good condition.

Hi Gene,

Thanks for the confirmation that keeping things orignal is the way to go.

In my "infinite wisdom" I started gathering clutch parts a few years ago as they were available. I already have NOS parts for the release bearing and the collar, the clutch levers, and a pressure plate. I can get clutch linings from Bruce Bugay if the disc is still usable. There are lots of places to get the 7109 pilot bearing. I even have a new seal kit for the bell around the u-joint housing.

So about all I really need is the time to do this project. It will be the next major one after I get the new wiring harness installed and everything working electrically.

Rusty

The only way to adjust the floorboard clearance is to install a rubber bushing on the pedal shaft or on the outer floorboard near the 90 bend. I used this to line up my clutch pedal height with my brake. Also helps deaden any bump noise when the clutch pedal releases to maximum height

John

Hi John,

Thanks for the additional information. I wondered if I had missed something in the owners manual.

I do have rubber bumpers on the clutch and brake pedals. You are right about it deadening the bump noise. The pedals are very close to the same height.

I was wrong about the toe board adjustment. I am replacing brakes on my '37 MD and was rereading my manual and found that there is a toe board adjust. The bolt that holds the brake pedal to the brake rod is an eccentric bolt and is used to make the toe board adjustment. Adjusting the clutch on the '37 does not affect the brake pedal toe board adjustment as it pivots on the same shaft but is a seperate entity.

I apologize for not doing better job of researching this info for your project.

Rusty, ain't none of my business but, you might reconsider using an NOS release bearing. It is quite possible the lube in the bearing is dried up and will become noisy very soon as happened on my '41 (that the PO threw so much money at).

The clutch shop I use said Chevy used the same release bearing forever. If your '37 is like the '41 bearing, you can get one at most parts stores. 'Might be better to obtain a new bearing rather than an NOS.

To each his own - - -

His 1937 does not have a ball bearing type throw-out bearing. It is of the old carbon type and should have an oiler on it.

there is a drastic difference between the '37 and '38 clutches. The '38 is the familiar diaphragm with a throw out bearing.

Here is a pic of the '37 clutch assembly.......

There are two advantages of the 1938 style clutch. The flywheel is ligter making for faster acceleration and the pedal is easier to depress due to the diaphragm spring pressure plate.

'Didn't know that about the '37. I'm always learning something new (to me) on here.

Thanks, Gene

Thanks to all for the additional information.

As always Gene is correct. My car has the a lever style clutch with the carbon style flat-face throw-out bearing with an oiler on it. It seems to be working fine. I did put a small amount of 85w-140 gear lube in it while I was servicing things.

My guess is that the linings on the disc are fairly thin. I cannot tell if it is down to the rivets but I am not hearing any noise when it is engaging.

We'll see what I find when I take things apart this winter.

I do have to laugh that I managed to slightly overfill the transmission. I was not sure how much if any fluid was in the area around the u-joint. The ball shield retainer was loose and there was some leakage. So I put in the full amount assuming it was empty and also filled the transmission to the bottom of the fill plug. Obviously there was still some fluid in the u-joint area. The first time I ran the engine I had transmission fluid dripping out the lower bell housing cover. I removed the cover and saw that the fluid was coming out of the front of the input shaft retainer. After running the car a few more times the transmission seems to have found a "happy" level. No more fluid coming out the front and I can just touch fluid when I stick my little finger inside the fill plug hole. That slinger type front seal does not like to be overfilled!

Would you be able to share any pictures of this? I have the same problem but I'm not sure how to mount the rubber bushing.

Thanks in advance.