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OK, here's an "I don't see why it wouldn't work" idea. I have really bad arthritis in my left knee, and working my clutch in traffic for any length of time makes it so I can hardly walk the next day. I REALLY don't want to switch to an automatic. I've seen hyd. slave cylinders listed for 61-66 trucks. Once I have fabbed a bracket to mount it to the trans, would it work to use a power brake booster and cylinder to power it, making the clutch pedal easier to push, kinda like power brakes for the clutch? The boosters for these trucks look pretty narrow, I think there'd be room for them side by side. If not, I can always make an offset rod for the clutch side, if I have to mount it off to the side for clearance between the boosters.
It should work ok. If you can find a late 80s-early 90s Toyota Landcruiser wagon in a junkyard, some had a small booster on the firewall for the clutch. It made the pedal real light, like a small car. One of these should adapt ok.
Well, I really just prefer manual transmissions in trucks. Also, I bought this truck because my Dad had one when I was younger, and it was the truck that I learned to drive stick in. Fond memories, I guess. Plus, I just want to see if I can do it.
When you push on the brake pedal you only push about 1/3 of the way down. I think you would have to push the pedal down farther down to get the clutch to release all the way. But I'm not sure and it sounds very interesting specially if it works.
i road race bmw's as a hobby, even with racing clutches the pedal is very light compared to mechanical linkage in older cars. you might try a hydraulic setup without boost and be pleasantly surprised
66, I admire your tenacity. I have health issues also, and prefer a stick too.
I never looked to see how the truck clutch pedal is set up, but my '67 Mustang had a really stout spring going more or less vertically attached to the dash and the pedal that would assist your push once you had moved the pedal an inch or so. It pushed so strong that if you happened to push the pedal when it was disconnected, you had a hell of a time pulling it back up! Something akin to a compound bow. This could possibly be used in your application, alone or perhaps in combination with other methods.
Due to the increase in gas prices I am now driving a ranger, with it's hydraulic linkage, which is very light. I also have an '84 tbird V8 that has a King Cobra clutch in it.
In spite of the description of the product in the catalog,
That sucker is so bad I think my leg will buckle every time I push it. I had thought of going to something like you are thinking, but I have a different project in mind, so will probably be selling or dismantling the 'Bird
I hope you post any ideas you find to work!