1968 Ford F-100 - The Bumpside Build Off -Tech

There are two things going on here: one is the floater ring that is machined on both sides because the clutch disc underneath touches it too; the other is the floater's red mounting ring. The small straps that hold the two rings together eliminate clutch chatter. The floater's red mounting ring locates on the flywheel via three little dowel pins, and there are multiple patterns in the ring for different flywheels. I'm using the stock Ford nodular steel flywheel, but McLeod has replacements and aluminum versions, too. The red outer ring's bolts are torqued to 30 lb-ft in a star pattern. If you don't have the stock bolts, they are available from McLeod or ARP-and remember, they're metric.

The second disc of the RST Street Twin goes on top of the floater ring, and also needs to be installed with the flywheel side down. McLeod supplies a clutch alignment tool with the clutch, which will be quite handy.

Before the pressure plate goes on, make sure the raised area goes over the straps that hold the floater ring to the red mounting ring.

Lee told me to snug down the supplied pressure plate bolts to 25 ft-lb in a star pattern, of course, and then sent me off to install it on my motor.

To get the proper clearance between the hydraulic throwout bearing and the levers (or fingers) on the pressure plate, we need a few measurements. First, we need to measure from the rear face of the pressure plate's levers to the rear of the engine block. The level's wide face helped it sit across the levers. Using a machinist's scale (ruler), it measured 3.550 inches.

We also need the measurement from the edge of the bellhousing to the face of the throwout bearing. My first measurement was the same as the block to level measurement, which meant the levers and the bearing would be touching, but McLeod calls for a clearance between the two of 0.100-0.300 inch. This is why it's good to use a scale that shows increments in tenths of an inch (0.100 inch). To add more clearance, slide the bearing off the collar, turn in the adjusting screw shown earlier, and recheck the bearing to bellhousing measurement. I set mine up with 0.200-inch clearance, which is right in the middle, so it should work. If you have any questions, McLeod supplies good instructions, but they have a knowledgeable tech line if you get stuck.

But first, he wanted to show me the discs for the RST's big brother-the RXT! The RST has an organic facing on each side of the clutch discs that's good to 800 hp, and the RXT features a metallic facing that'll hold a whopping 1,000-plus ponies. Pretty impressive for an easy-to-push street clutch, eh?

Take a look at the braided stainless lines coming out of the throwout bearing in the last picture; make sure the bleeder line is on top, or else you'll have a tough time bleeding the system. I ran the two lines out of the hole where the stock line exited the bellhousing. The bleeder line is identified by the fitting on its end that looks like a brake bleeder. The other line will connect to the clutch master with an additional piece of braided line that Mcleod has in short lengths all the way up to 48 inches; I wound up using a 36-inch piece. The last step is to bleed the clutch just like you would a brake master. If you're tired of messing with your clutch and its messy mechanical linkage, you'd better call McLeod today!