I have a 68 Plymouth GTX 4spd, Anyone have a problem with the Z bar linkage after installing a Lakewood? Mine seems to be not perfectly straight across and tight and binding(not a smooth movement) when I'm trying to let out the clutch slowly. Any soulutions or ideas? Thanks

I have seen that on an E body before , it's the bellhousing , you might try elongating the hole on the frame bracket with a rat tail file or you'll have to move the bracket on the bell. I did trim a little off the end of the Z bar at the bell end on the E body as the Zbar was hitting the side of the ballstud and causing it to bind a little .

Does anyone make offset Zbar ball ends?

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Does anyone make offset Zbar ball ends?

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Yes ... YOU .

Never seen one and how would the maker of such a part know exactly how much offset to make for a production line built vehicle ?

I have a '69 RR with 11" clutch. The problem I had was the z-bar tube was too long. Had to remove one arm, move it over, reweld and shorten the tube.

How "not straight across" is it? Alignment doesn't have to be bang on. Disconnect all the linkage and move it by hand to find the bind spot. May just need a little trim.

I had to buy a McLeod hydraulic throw out bearing set up.
Now its perfect.
Come by and take a look.
I added hydroboost for the brakes too.

I have had the same problem! Z bar checked out fine. Actuated the clutch fork without linkage and it still bound up. I found the problem to be the clutch fork pivot bracket not square to the centerline of the Lakewood bellhousing. When you press the clutch, the clutch fork tries to align correctly with mis-aligned pivot bracket resulting in the fork putting a side load on throw out bearing causing binding and wear on the input shaft bearing retaing tube and the throwout bearing. Your problem may not be the linkage. I struggled for weeks trying to figure this out, solved it last night. No more binding at all. Worth checking out! Good luck..

I think I have the same problem, How did you fix it? I sprayed some grease only on the back of the fork at the pivot point, seemed to help but not sure if problem is solved??? What did you do???

...I'm going to guess he slotted the holes on the little angle bracket & that let the fork pivot more true. Just a guess.

Yes, that is how I corrected the misalignment of the bracket. I slotted one of the holes with a carbide burr which allowed for adjustment. The bracket is hardened and a file hardly scratches it. All the lubricant in the world will not solve the problem. I have seen many bearing retainer guide tubes worn out along one side. I think this due the blade type pivot bracket not properly aligned. Very little clearance to accommodate any bracket misalignment. I made a little chipboard square that allowed me to set the bracket square to the centerline of the trans by centering off the IBR hole in the bellhousing.