My 76 F100 was originaly a 300 w/ manual 3sp. I converted to 302 w/ C6 a couple of years ago. That engine went bad last summer and the tranny is out of the truck as well. I have two other possible donor drivetrains in a 69 F100 (390/T18) and a 79 F150 (302/RugOD). Since both are manuals, and I'd really rather have a manual, I'm getting serious about putting the clutch back together. On the 76 when I disassembled the clutch pedal, it had a return spring (heavy) under the dash, as well as another between the Z bar and frame crossmember. The clutch pedal was mounted to a stud that went through the brake pedal and served as the brake pedal bolt. I looked on my 79 and the pedal assembly looks different. The clutch doesn't go through the brake pedal. It also doesn't have a spring under the dash. It looks like maybe there once was, but like my 76 it may have been broken in the past while disassembling. The only spring I see in the 79 is a heavy spring between the thowout fork and the front crossmember. I have been remembering that I broke a mounting bushing for the heavy under dash spring on the 76 and am now thinking that I may not need to fix that if I use the spring that the 79 is using between the throwout fork and frame crossmember.
Also, the shifter boot for my RUG OD is kinda bad. Any ideas where I might get a replacement? This isn't like the usual granny 4sp. It's location and look or more like a transfer case shifter. But w/ a bigger oval footprint in the floorboard. Most likely I'm going to put the 302 in the 76 since it isn't an oil burner, and because the truck is setup for 302 now w/ nice custom dual exhaust system. The other dillema I had is that there was no tranny tunnel access panel in the 76. I took the 79's off and laid it in place on the 76 and it fits perfectly, I'll just need to mark the holes and cut hole. There are even depressions in the 76 where the threaded clips for the hold down bolts are. Right now the 79 is getting 13mpg w/ OD and a 3.73 rear. The 76 has a 3.50 rear in it so I hope for improvement there as well. I guess my question would be if I really need an under dash return spring?

BBT