Clutch Tube Instal

When installing a clutch tube in a pan, you must cut 2 holes in the tunnel so you can do some welding inside. One just in front of the seat belt threads and one just behind the peddle cluster. These will be the 2 spots where the tube will be welded to the inside of the tunnel. Some people only cut the 2 sides and the top and bend the flap down. I like to cut all 4 sides, it makes for a cleaner finish when you are all done.

The next thing is to drill a hole where the clutch tube will exit the rear of the pan. Since the throttle tube exits where the clutch normally does, I had to move the clutch tube to the right and down a little. You have to make sure the hole is drilled in a location that will allow for the tube to exit from the tunnel passing through one of the 2 holes in the opening to the left of shift rod. The next picture should show you what I mean.

Next, you need to insert the tube from the hole in the front end of the tunnel and slide it all the way through the hole you just drilled. Mine goes through the hole closer to the center of the tunnel as the larger whole was already filled with the throttle tube. Once you know the tube is in it's final resting place, make sure to weld it in tight. You do not want this thing moving around on you. They make a nasty noise if they come loose.

It does not really matter where in the center of the tunnel the tube goes through as long as there is a good place to weld it. Mine happened to go through right next to the side wall of the tunnel so I welded it to the wall itself. From the factory they weld a bracket in place that is used as a support for the tube.

The front one is the hardest to weld in since there is not a lot of room to work. It must be secure and it must be in the correct spot so the cable exits the tube where the hook on the end of the clutch peddle sits in the tunnel. Oh yea, and you are welding at the end of a tube so you can very easily weld through. I managed to get this one without burning through, but the tube did have a small chunk missing from the removal process.

All done with the tube. Before welding up the wholes, replace the shift rod so you have easy access to the bushings. Here you can see that I have welded every thing back up.

Picked up the 69 Pan

I picked up a 69 Auto Stick pan that will hold the 57 body. It will of course be converted to 4 speed but I got a clutch tube with the pan so that should not be a big deal. The pan halves are both going to need replaced, but the 63 pan which the 57 is sitting on now has great original halves. Nice and thick with no rust. It' won't be much fun drilling them off the pan, but worth it. You can't buy pan halves like this new.

The blue car in the background is my 56/69 that I built in 1992. It's for sale right now, but I may wind up keeping it... Depends on if someone will pay me enough for it.