I believe the flywheel bolts are .900". So almost an inch long. The flexplate bolts I think are like .6825" long. I like using ARP bolts myself but if you don't want to spend the extra money on them. Go to a parts store and buy some flywheel bolts. Ask for DORMAN 678154 which should be what you need. You'll need 6 of them. You need 7/16-20x.900" flywheel bolts.

The pilot bushing/bearing goes into the center opening on the back of the crankshaft. On the automatics there is a snout on the back of the torque converter that seats into the crank in that area. On the manuals the pilot bushing/bearing goes into the crank there. It supports the end of the transmission input shaft. Before I install them I like to make sure they fit the input shaft on the transmission. Because if they don't fit over the input shaft when it's out of the vehicle, it's just going to be a royal pain fighting with it up under the truck. While cussing and wondering why the transmission won't seat all the way. Mistakes happen and you don't always get the correct parts.

 

 

The pilot bearing goes into the back of the crankshaft.

You can see it in the center in this picture:

 

 

Same thickness - stick or auto. It is not really for spacing stuff as much as it is for precisely locating the C-C distance between the crank CL and the starter motor.

 

 

A good rule-of-thumb is the bolt engagement should be 1.5 times the diameter of the bolt to achieve full retention strength of the fastener. So, for example, if you have a 5/16 bolt you need approx 1.5 x .312 = .468" of engagement in order to develop the full strength of the bolt.

 

 

 

Can you post up a picture of your mounting bracket? 1/2" to 1" doesn't sound like a lot of travel, but I also never looked at mine while the clutch was being pressed to know how much it actually had.
When the clutch is at rest, is your slave putting pressure on the fork? It should be putting as much pressure on it as possible without moving it (ie. no slop).

For your pedal, can you physically pull the pedal back out? Or is its travel limited by the arm on the master cylinder?
Did you make sure the tension spring up underneath the dash is in place?
If so, and you can pull the pedal out, you may still have air in your lines.

 

When I do the conversion I switch over everything from a 84+ truck/Bronco. I swap pedals, bell housing, etc. That way I know it was designed to work with each other stock.

 

 

It's not just a bracket. You need the bell housing which has a couple mounting ears for the bracket. Then there is the metal bracket and a plastic horse shoe clip that holds the cylinder to the bracket. So I would get all that plus the clutch fork out of a 84-91 full size Ford truck or Bronco with a 300 or 302/351W with a 4spd.

I also don't remember if there was a difference on the clutch & brake pedal assembly between the 80-83 and the 84-86. If there was it would probably be a different arm that the clutch linkage or clutch master hooks too. Which could be part of your pedal returning issue. I just changed out the whole assemblies when I did the conversions. I don't remember if the 87-91 pedal assemblies were the same as the 84-86 either.

 

 

The only thing that's different between the 80 - 83, and the 84 - 86 manual pedal assembly is the rod that the pedals rotate on.

The rod on the mechanical linkage has a square end that the clutch arm goes onto. The square makes it so that it only goes on one way.

The hydraulic rod has a round splined end so that the clutch arm can go on any direction, and be adjusted. (Side note: the clutch engagement arm can only be installed one time. If it's removed, you have to get a new one, which are no longer available!)

The bracket, etc. is the same for all of 80 - 86.


And no, you can't use the arm on the mechanical linkage to activate the hydraulic master cylinder. Been there, tried that.
The mechanical arm is simply oriented in the wrong angle. It's meant to push a rod down into the floor, whereas the hydraulic is toward the firewall. It'd work if it was facing the right direction, but it's not.
And since it's keyed to match the clutch pedal, you can't change it's rotation.