Clutch Cable, Quadrant, & Firewall Adjuster

The clutch pedal feel has been rather inconsistent with the Mustang.  I expected the clutch cable was worn and stretched which was contributing to the problem.  The Mustang also retained the original plastic clutch quadrant which also wasn't helping the situation.  Today, I handled both by replacing the clutch cable (Ford Performance #M-7553-C302), clutch quadrant (Maximum Motorsport #MMCL-6), and added in a firewall clutch adjuster (Maximum Motorsport #MMCL-3).

I started at the transmission and worked my way up to the clutch quadrant.  I was surprised to find the clutch fork cover was in horrible condition and had rust holes through it completely along the bottom.  With it removed, it was rather easy to remove the entire clutch cable including the connection just above the gas pedal.  There wasn't anything visually which made me believe the cable was bad or excessively worn.

Removing the original clutch quadrant is a little challenging... even with the front seat removed.  This is mostly due to a spring designed to hold the adjuster into place on the pedal.  What was then more challenging was the installation of the new clutch quadrant.  The mounting hole was slightly too small.  After considering options and trying a few different things, I ultimately put some 320 sandpaper on a 3/8 extension and it slide into the mounting hole which allowed me to just slightly expand the opening, so it fit perfectly.

With the quadrant installed, I worked on the firewall adjuster.  I'd considered using the LMR adjuster that came with the firewall brace I purchased but prefer the black anodized one from Maximum Motorsports (see below). I was going to install the LMR firewall brace but found that it doesn't really match the contour of the firewall and leaves a gap between it and the firewall.  I decided I'd just install the Maximum Motorsport part without the firewall brace and return the LMR kit.

The firewall adjuster requires almost nothing to get it into place.  The original stock cable retaining screw is removed, That same screw is used in one of the two mounting holes with the new adjuster.  You then drill another hole for mounting the other side.  I'm typically opposed to drilling any holes in a car but did it anyway and mounted it with some #8 - 3/4" black screws.  

I ran the cable from the transmission, mounted it to the driver side frame rail area using the integrated bracket, and then ran it through the adjuster.  There is a unique spacer you need to install on the cable according to Maximum Motorsport so I took care of that job.  The cable then easily slid onto the quadrant.  I've mostly adjusted the clutch just using the stop nuts at the transmission end leaving all the adjustment at the firewall for later use.  

I then a Maximum Motorsports document on how to setup the firewall adjuster.  They suggest you spin it all the way in, leave the frame rail mount off, fasten the clutch cable at both ends, and pull on the cable towards the front of the car.  As you do so, the transmission side of the clutch cable sleeve is mounted so it stays in place.  You will find a gap form at the firewall adjuster, and you need to adjust it out to fill that space.  I did that and adjusted a little at the transmission and now the pedal starts to engage at 2 or 3" off the floor.

While I was at it, I the speedometer cable was leaking at the transmission.  I checked and found that I still had an O-ring for the transmission in my '67 Mustang parts.  I cleaned up the area a bit tonight and swapped out the O-ring.  The leak wasn't bad but I expect it was the O-ring as it was a little on the hard side and seemed to have shrunk slightly compared to the new O-ring.  

I drove the car for a day or two and all seems reasonably well.  That also gave me time to get a new clutch fork cover as mine was in horrible shape and actually had small rust holes.  I picked up a E6ZZ-7513 which is made by Daniel Carpenter.  These never fit great as I used two on my '67 and they generally need some metal forming on the front to fit into the bellhousing.  On the positive side, it included the screw which normally isn't included (LRS-55981S2-1).  With it now in place, this project is wrapped up and the clutch works a bit better now.  

The car now has 81,927 miles on it which is 301 miles more than when I purchased it.