I bought a father son project. For my sons first car. The previous owner had the transmission bolted in but the clutch and shift linkage were not hooked up. When I went to hook it up I found that the rod that went from the throw out bearing lever to the linkage was about 2 inches short. I called him and he said he didn't know why that would be of course. So I got a few other things hooked up and went ahead and started it. I heard this clank clank clank like something in the clutch area was hitting something. I took the trans out and found no reason for the rod to be short and no signs of anything hitting anything. I haven't taken the clutch off the flywheel yet but it appears to be new. Anyone have any thoughts on why this would be happening?