Projects Help With Hydraulic Clutch

A bodys started in 61. All /6. tight!
by 64, they had 273 SBM V8s. they were the same basic chassis, but had some changes to fit.
67 was an updated design, which was modified in 68 for a bit more strength and room.
OP hasn't said which year, but even 64-66 which had V8s are not easily able to handle increased HP with headers, more power (heat) and having a clutch just adds more stuff in the same area.
Here's a 65 Dart GT (HAMB correct, barely) Tight, especially down around the frame rails. One of the things people that modify don't like is that on Mopars, the steering, starter and the clutch if equipped all are on the driver's side.
It can be considered roughly the same as similar Novas or Falcons.

 

Sometimes it's just better to start over and fix it right than waste your time and try to do a work around, that in the end doesn't work. I would put the stock exhaust manifolds back on, and put the factory mechanical linkage back in it. With a new, stock clutch fork.

 

The first place I would start is with the clutch (pressure plate & disc).
The shortened fork to clear big tube headers probably doesn't help, but it did last 1000 miles.
Back when I had my off topic Plymouth with the built up small block and 4 speed, I would have been thrilled to have any clutch last 1000 miles (I drove it hard).

Get the car in the air, get a transmission jack (or man up) and pull the 125lbs trans out. Fix the clutch (pressure plate, disc, and throw out bearing), and all the linkage you screwed up trying to force a bad pressure plate/disc to work.

If you wanted to improve things farther, dump the big tube headers for normal 1 5/8" tube headers (the above Plymouth did very well with small tube headers), and replace the fork with one that is the correct length.

 

This had crossed my mind too. It is possible that something else is out of whack. Only one way to tell... start taking it all apart. It could be the fork pivot in the bellhousing.

 

Small update,
I haven’t been back to the car, but my friend (the owner) made a new pushrod out of a grade 8 bolt.
The new pushrod isn’t bending, and it is pushing the piston, and the slave cylinder is moving the fork.
But the clutch is not releasing
He thinks it’s just out of adjustment.

I’m pretty confident the transmission is coming out, but I’m not doing this in the driveway where the car is currently sitting. It’s likely to snow soon.

we have a friend with a hoist in a heated shop, and I have a trailer, but it will be a while before we can get back to this project, so you probably won’t hear from me for a while.

thanks for all the advice.

 

Best of luck!
Your friend sounds like the type that says, Just needs recharge, Ran when parked, and Could use a tune up.
If the heat and hoist guy is his friend too, you might want to consider