59ab needs clutch in 40 tudor

K

kurt v

Well-known member
Way to much chatter (new mounts front and rear and steady rods) are the plates and disc all made in the same place or is there one better than another?
Don't think i can get mine rebuilt anymore.
thanks
kurt
 
I have had terrible luck with the new clutch kits (the ones without the adjusting bolts at the end of the fingers). I end up getting NOS disks from ebay and good used or rebuilt pressure plates. Others must be getting better results than me with the new stuff or it wouldn't still be selling, right???
 
john in illinois said:
I have read that they no longer rebuild flathead clutches. They just sell new.
Looking at web site seems to confirm it.
Click to expand...


I VERY recently read about the same thing from an unhappy customer, that someone on the phone had admitted that they had essentially turned into offshore, off-the-shelf parts pushers. Whether anyone has noticed it or not, almost everything good has "fundamentally changed" to not very good at all!
DD

.
 
Yes V8, American industry has "sold out" in so many ways. You can see it in the replacement aftermarket car parts availability for our old Fords. Sadly, it will get worse.
I am resisting the temptation to "RANT".
 
I was told the same thing over the phone by one of there employees who obviously was not happy about it. Unfortunately, when I related my experience on the forums, the response was to "shoot the messenger". It's not the first time that a vendor has become a sacred cow to the hobby.
 
tubman said:
I was told the same thing over the phone by one of there employees who obviously was not happy about it. Unfortunately, when I related my experience on the forums, the response was to "shoot the messenger". It's not the first time that a vendor has become a sacred cow to the hobby.
Click to expand...

Denny, I will proudly stand by your side in your message about vendors selling crap.
They (vendors) CHOOSE to sell crap. They can, if they so desired, obtain quality parts. Personally, I get tired of folks bashing Chinese made goods. Who's buying and accepting this stuff?

It's all part of what our society, by and large has become - "throwaway". Me? I'm will remain in the camp wherein I pay more for a quality product that lasts much longer than the typical "Walmart" quality (lack thereof).
Unfortunately, as Jim has stated in a previous post, the quality being offered will likely become less and less as more folks accept crap.
Instead, all too many vendors choose to place additional profit or customer satisfaction.
Of course, it appears more and more, that folks don't seem to consider quality vs. cost too much these days. Most folks seem to want "cheap" with little consideration to long term costs.
 
So is there a consensus of who makes the best quality clutches and pressure plates now that Fort Wayne is no longer rebuilding them?
 
There will probably never be a consensus, but I have recently had RAM Clutches build me custom LONG style clutches for flathead usage - and specially weighted steel billet flywheels. The guy that I worked with is named Pat Norcia - really nice guy (though busy!). He built a 10.5" clutch that bolts to a 10" bolt pattern (they are the same).

I was able to discuss the application, performance levels, etc. - to get a clutch exactly as I wanted it (along with custom flywheels).

With that said, it will not be as inexpensive as what Ft. Wayne (it seems!) used to do, but I also don't want to run offshore crap where I have nobody to work with me on what I need, nobody to discuss issues with, etc.

You might give them a call . . . no guarantees for your application . . .

B&S
 
for clutch parts try valley friction materials, in North Hollywood California often called VFM.......... they also reline any brake shoe..... had shoes relined for a Delage, french car, and they came out great, they also have clutch cores.....
 
I wonder if Valley friction materials used to be the old Velvet lined clutch company? Just tried to look the old name up. Don't bother, unless you would like to look at millions of women's purses.
 
When I was first building racing Flatheads (early 70's), Joe Reath had me go to 'Long Beach Clutch and Brake' . . . they custom built all my 10" pressure plates. Then also relined, arced and did all my brake shoe work. There used to be a lot of places like that - in most any decent sized town. Now (like radiator shops), they almost don't exist.
 
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