[DeTomaso] Clutch?

Wed Mar 7 13:51:21 EST 2012

Being in the habit of doing things the hard way, I bought a diaphragm pressure plate for a newer Ford, these seem to be more available.  I have a McLeod flywheel and it had a different pattern for the pressure plate that had pairs of holes at the same radius as the evenly spaced holes in the diaphragm pressure plate.  I attached the diaphragm pressure plate with 3 bolts and used a centering punch to center the other three.  It all looked good, but there was a small amount of play between the pressure plate and the flywheel because the holes in the pressure plate were a bit larger than necessary.  I did a little research and it appears that Ford switched from centering on the bolts to centering on dowels at some point and the diaphragm  pressure plate was made to use the dowels.  So I used a centering punch to center and drill holes for the dowels and it's a very tight fit now, and then had the flywheel and pressure plate re-balanced as a unit.

So, just be careful when combining parts, because there are some non-obvious issues.

Ken

I have been very happy with my Centerforce/Fidanza.  I had the same model in
my 428 Mustang, and I was happy with it too.  It held well.  The weights
didn't make a racket or get stuck. The pedal pressure was so much less that
I had to remove the helper spring on the pedal (Mustang - not Pantera).
With the spring in place, the pedal went to the floor.

The only negative with the Centerforce is the pressure plate hits the little
plastic cover for the inspection hole in the bellhousing.

The only other negative is the pressure plate uses 3/8" bolts.  SBC pressure
plate bolts are shoulder bolts, but you can't use them because the Fidanza
flywheel is fully threaded.  You have to use graded bolts that are fully
threaded.  That's a minor annoyance as you chase down the proper bolts.

My pressure plate is PN DF700000.  It is 11".

The Fidanza flywheel is 12 lbs, and is available at The Mustang Depot for
about $279.
The Centerforce pressure plate is 16 lbs.
The Centerforce disk is 2 lbs.

Here's the e-mail thread from the last time we talked about this:
http://list.realbig.com/pipermail/detomaso/2006-February/069733.html

It looks like DF021057S is probably a better clutch/PP.

I don't know if the Fidanza flywheel will work with DF021057S.  It has 2
bolt patterns drilled.  One is the original pattern with 5/16" holes.  The
other is for 11" PP's and 3/8" bolts. The heat shield mates with DF700000.

Having said that, if I were buying a new clutch, I would call Dennis Q.  I
do not think it is necessary, but I would probably buy his McLeod dual disk.

-----Original Message-----
From: detomaso-bounces at realbig.com [mailto:detomaso-bounces at realbig.com] On
Behalf Of Dick Koch
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2012 10:49 AM
To: MikeLDrew at aol.com
Cc: detomaso at realbig.com; adin at frontier.net
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Clutch?

  I second Mike D's recommendation.  I installed the McLeod dual disk 
clutch from Dennis.  Dennis will advise you what "performance" clutch 
you should use depending on your driving objectives.

I am very pleased with the setup.  You will be too if you go that route.

Dick Koch - Atlanta

On 3/7/2012 11:26 AM, MikeLDrew at aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 3/7/12 8 11 53, adin at frontier.net writes:
>
>
>> Unexpected expense of a new clutch.
>>
>> What is available?  From where?
>>
>> Suggestions?
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
> Some people like the Centerforce clutch.  I don't, for two reasons:
>
> 1)  They use a unique bolt pattern for their pressure plate which
requires
> redrilling your flywheel ($$$) or buying one of their custom flywheels to
> match ($$$$$).  I've seen flywheels drilled incorrectly so that the
clutch
> then caused big vibration problems.
>
> 2)  The Centerforce gimmick is weights on the fingers.  Sometimes those
> weights can stick, causing an imbalance.  They don't really accomplish
> anything productive anyway
>
> (Full confession--I have a Centerforce clutch in my 427 Cobra and it
hasn't
> given me any problems).
>
> Anyway, when it comes to Pantera clutches, I vastly prefer McLeod units.
> They engineer clutches specifically for the Pantera in a variety of
flavors,
> from stock replacement to super-whippy-dippy twin-disc lightweight racing
> clutches.  For street and track use I prefer their diaphragm clutch,
which
> has everything a Centerforce has except for the BS weights, and will bolt
> right to your existing flywheel.
>
> Dave--you said you had a 'clutch failure'.  Was it the entire unit, or
> just the disc?  Because if your pressure plate is still okay, there's
nothing
> preventing you from just purchasing a replacement disc.  McLeod will sell
> you one, Centerforce won't.
>
> Dennis Quella is the main Pantera McLeod clutch dealer--give him a call.
>
> Mike
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From: Will Kooiman <wkooiman at earthlink.net>
To: arkoch at earthlink.net; MikeLDrew at aol.com 
Cc: detomaso at realbig.com; adin at frontier.net 
Sent: Wednesday, March 7, 2012 9:17 AM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Clutch?