My $60 Cable clutch conversion

ForceFed70 · Mar 3, 2007

So I needed to install some clutch linkage for my auto - T5 swap and was too cheap to spend the $250+ on a kit. So I made up my own that works great!

Costs are as follows:
New fox body clutch cable - $30
New Steeda firewall clutch cable adjustor - $25
Misc nuts, bolts, and a few small pieces of steel - $5

So I started out with the fox body clutch cable. I shortened the cable 12" and cut off the metal piece at the clutch pedal end of the cable. I then put a piece of shrink wrap on the cut end to keep it from fraying.

To shorten the cable, you'll need to pry open the crimped piece of metal holding the firewall bulkhead on. Remove the bulkhead, shorten the cable, then crimp the bulkhead back on.

Here's what the shortened end of the cable looked like when I was done (Transmission end stays stock)

ForceFed70 · Mar 3, 2007

Next I needed to figure out a way to "pull" the cable using the clutch pedal.

I ended up bolting a couple of small pieces of steel to the clutch pedal in order to do this. The 1.25" square tubing acts as a spacer, while the 1" angle iron with the holes drilled in it is where the cable will attach. The different holes in the angle iron were put there so that I could adjust the amount of "pull". Using a hole farther away from the pivot point will make for more cable travel. It also allowed some vertical adjustment in case I didn't drill the firewall hole in exactly the right spot.

There is also a small piece of metal that is used as the cable "clamp". This will hold the cable in place.

Here is a pic of the pieces of metal that I bolted to the clutch pedal.

ForceFed70 · Mar 3, 2007

Here's a pic of the clutch pedal with metal pieces bolted on.

ForceFed70 · Mar 3, 2007

Then the challange of connecting cable to pedal.

I ended up using a hole saw to cut a hole in the firewall. (Measure 3x cut once).

I then mounted a steeda adjustable firewall thingy. The cable is adjustable at the pedal, but getting under the dash to do it is really difficult, so I wanted an easy way to adjust the cable.

Here's a mock-up pic:

ForceFed70 · Mar 3, 2007

Here's another pic with everything in place. The placement worked out perfectly.

ForceFed70 · Mar 3, 2007

And finally, here's a pic of the cable at the transmission end.

Clearing the headers turned out to be a challange. You can see where I added a bracket to keep the cable from touching the headers. I also put some heat sleeving over the cable to try and protect it. As you can see, this is a pic with the engine out of the car. When in the car, the way the cable is routed keeps the upper part away from the headers, it's the lower part of the cable near the transmission that is a problem. My plans for next year involve a complete exhaust system swap, so hopefully I'll be able to get a better fit come next year.

ForceFed70 · Mar 3, 2007

Overall I'm very pleased with the results. It works perfectly.

It did take a lot of "Figuring" especially when it came time to connect cable to pedal. But now that I've done it once, it would be MUCH easier to do it again.

bnickel · Mar 3, 2007

sweet!!!

BB1966 · Mar 3, 2007

Great job but why shorten it?? If it was still long you could have run it around front of the headers then right???? Thats how my Mustang Steve kit is.

68stang351 · Mar 4, 2007

BB1966 said:
Great job but why shorten it?? If it was still long you could have run it around front of the headers then right???? Thats how my Mustang Steve kit is.

My Ron Morris kit is like that also.

Keep up the threads like this though. I love making my own stuff and also finding out what others are making. I may duplicate your kit on my wife's 68. It makes me feel a bit like I'm "sticking it to the man" when I make my own stuff.
For example, I'm so glad I didn't pay JME 900$ for a guage cluster, when mine looks just as good and everything works correctly, even though it was quite a bit of work.

ForceFed70 · Mar 4, 2007

The way my headers are, going around them wasn't an option. There was no space on the other side between the headers and the block.

tylerrocks · Mar 4, 2007

pretty headers

latamud · Mar 4, 2007

Not trying to jack the thread just wanted to add how I did it on my Falcon. I've done three T5 swaps and used a different way each time.

BB1966 · Mar 4, 2007

Gotcha Bottlefed,Thats pretty slick to Latamud!!!

jikelly · Mar 4, 2007

Looks good. Is your booster stock?

bnickel · Mar 4, 2007

BB1966 said:
Great job but why shorten it?? If it was still long you could have run it around front of the headers then right???? Thats how my Mustang Steve kit is.

i've always though that the ones that run in front of the headers don't look too good. it's an aesthetics thing.

ForceFed70 · Mar 4, 2007

jikelly said:
Looks good. Is your booster stock?

Thanks, and yes it is.

BB1966 · Mar 4, 2007

You can hardly see my cable.

retep69 · Jun 26, 2011

hi forsefed, i just joined up, pleasure to be here. i like your clutch cable kit. im building a 69 fastback, 429 big block, g force 5 speed, shorty headers. im running the rod and custom motorsport front suspension, no more shock towers. i have the cable and quadrant from mustang steve, but he says it wont work on a 69. my question to you is , how did you reattach the end that you cut off? im using a lakewood scattershield which i modified for the fork to pull instead of push, i had to make the fork a little longer. do you need a special tool to crimp the end back on. you said you cut the end that goes to the fork, right? thank you

retep69 · Jun 26, 2011

hi forsefed, im building a1969 mustang fastback. it has a 429 big block, witha gforce 5 speed, and im running shorty headers. i have the quadrent and cable from mustang steve, but he says it wont work on a 69. i like your setup. do i need the firewall adjuster? and how did you reattach the end you cut off? im using rod & custom motorsports front suspension, no shock towers. im also using a lakewood scattershield which i modified so the fork will pull now instead of pushing. thank you

My $60 Cable clutch conversion

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