Stan,

Then I don't think you have a problem! However there is supposed to be about 3/4 inch of downward motion of the pedal before the throwout bearing touches the clutch fingers. You should be able to push the pedal down this amount using one or two of your fingers. Do you have this easy-to-push movement?

Per

If you have freeboard about 1", the clutch engages and disengages, and doesn't slip I cannot see the problem.

The Hudson mechanical clutch linage is set up so that the clutch starts to engage about halfway up when the pedal free play is set to about 1 to 1-1/2". If you are used to driving a modern car with a short throw pedal and hydraulic actuation, you will need to get used to the extra movement in the old long throw mechanical clutch linkage. If the movement is actually excessive, then you need to look at the clutch linkage at the cross shaft for wear and slop where it passes through the rubber isolated bushing on the stanchion at cross member. Also check the rubber pads at the yokes on bell housing, and the rubber bushing for the cross shaft at bell-housing. Another source of excessive movement would be loosened taper pins that hold the throw-out fork to the shaft in bell-housing. Another thing that would cause weird adjustment problems would be the throw-out bearing flipping upside down on installation (It is top heavy and will easily do this on installation).

I seem to have no freeplay as soon as I touch the pedal, I fell the resistence and the paddle starts to move.. I just read Kenneth"s, reply and now it has me wondering about the throw-out bearing. Does anyone have any thought along this line. Thanks again for the advise.
Stan

Stan,

Is it correct that with one or two fingers you cannot make the pedal move at all? This would usually mean that you have no free play.
However, you may have a strong spring connected that is holding the pedal up a bit more firmly than is usual.
As best you can judge when using your foot, does it get significantly harder to push part way down? If this is true, then I think you do have free play. But if it feels equally hard to push all the way down, then you don't have any free play.

Per

the further down the pedal goes. the harder it is to push., so I probely do have some free play.. So ,you think it would be alright to put everything back together? I still have the floor plate out until I decided what to do. thanks again. I really appreciate all the help
stan

This is a shot in the dark, but have you tried contacting any other Hudson owners who might live in your area (especially if they own the older cars) to ask if they know any good Hudson mechanics? Or, maybe some of them are mechanically minded. The point is, if you could entice someone to come over and take a look at your adjustments, that person might be able to help you out. You're working alone on this, which is difficult.

As Kenny and so many others have posted here. I few simple checks . Is the floor pan still out of the car? If it is, simply look down between the engine and the bell-housing to insure the throw-out bearing is in correctly. You should be able to see the throw-out yoke engaged into the t-bearing. Make sure it isn't cocked, clocked or in the wrong position. If it is installed correctly, plan to take the trans.back out, and inspect what is wrong. We always recommend replacing all the clutch components-pressure plate, disc, t-bearing, always inspect and replace if needed the clutch cross-shaft and bushing assembly. Always check the engine and trans mounts. If these are excessively worn, it allows too much movement in the engine when the clutch pedal is depressed, subsequently you loose a bunch of clutch pedal adjustment/ travel .. Yes, it cost more, but when you don't, you usually wind up still messing with it, or it is just never right. If you don't have the funds to do it right, then don't do it. Find something else on your car to cut cost on, preferably something much easier to repair or do ! We carry all the parts for these and have them all in stock, ready to ship. We spend and have spent, many days/weeks and years trying to make the best reconditioned Hudson wet clutch parts and pieces. Contact us if we can help, Thanks Doug

[quote="Kenneth Ufheil" post=16855]The Hudson mechanical clutch linage is set up so that the clutch starts to engage about halfway up when the pedal free play is set to about 1 to 1-1/2". If you are used to driving a modern car with a short throw pedal and hydraulic actuation, you will need to get used to the extra movement in the old long throw mechanical clutch linkage. If the movement is actually excessive, then you need to look at the clutch linkage at the cross shaft for wear and slop where it passes through the rubber isolated bushing on the stanchion at cross member. Also check the rubber pads at the yokes on bell housing, and the rubber bushing for the cross shaft at bell-housing. Another source of excessive movement would be loosened taper pins that hold the throw-out fork to the shaft in bell-housing. Another thing that would cause weird adjustment problems would be the throw-out bearing flipping upside down on installation (It is top heavy and will easily do this on installation).

Stan,

I just checked the pedal of my 1935 Hudson. With one finger I can push the pedal down about 1 1/2 inches. With two fingers I can push it down about 2 inches. It has always disengaged fully and not slipped. When I first had it, the clutch chattered while engaging. Then I had to work on the transmission. At that time I measured the distance each clutch finger was away from the clutch housing. There was a difference of almost 40 thousandths of an inch between the closest finger and the furthest finger. Without removing the housing, I was able to insert shims under the pivots of two of the fingers, to get them even with the one that was furthest in. I got the difference down to about 5 thousandths, and the clutch engaged smoothly. This was about 20,000 miles ago, and the clutch continues to work well.

Per

You said something that brought a thought to my mind . You said the farther you push the clutch down the harder it is to push. There should be a big helper spring on the outside of the frame basically under the drivers left foot . Clutch will work without one but requires much extra push.
Roger