Has anyone attempted (or thought to try) mechanical linkage?

Doober

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Jun 2, 2003
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I know the LS motor doesn't have a boss like a Gen I SBC, just wondering if anyone has ever tried (or at least considered) going with mechanical linkage. A bracket wouldn't be very hard to make, I'm just not sure the offset would be too much to bolt the z-bar up correctly.
 

t5montecarlo

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Oct 21, 2007
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Yes, I know a guy who installed mechanical linkage in an MCSS with an LT1 T56 and LT1 bellhousing. The ballstud for the fork is not in the right place for proper mechanical geometry, so the pedal was extremely hard, so he did not keep it.

The guy went by the name "Crazy Bill"; so you may know him from other boards/lists. He has since died, so there is no way to follow up.

I would think to do it properly, the fork ballstud would need to be located in the same location as any other GM mechanical linkage. Of course, this would require some fabrication. With enough patience, I am sure a kit could be designed.
 

Doober

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The route I considered with mechanical linkage was to keep the bellhousing, run an LS1 T56 with the adapter plate for older bellhousings (there's a place in MI that makes them), and the adapter flywheel to use an older style trans... similar flywheel/clutch setup to what 388bu has (383/T56 to 6.0/T56). He has a hydraulic setup though I'm pretty sure. I may have the trans before the engine though, so I'd basically be going the same route he is, but trying it with mechanical linkage on an LS motor. So long as the clearance is there for the bracket on the side of the block (and clearance from the exhaust), I think it's doable.
 

t5montecarlo

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Ahh, I guess I misunderstood. You want to use a regular bellhousing and an adapter, like the one that Liberty makes.

I am not too familiar with the LS motors, but it looks like there may be no hole in the block for bellcrank ballstud? Is that the issue? If so, I am sure a bracket could be fabricated in its place. The Malibu bellcrank may or may not be too long and may need to be cut down.
 

Doober

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That's my thinking. Any pictures I've seen of the side of the block haven't shown the boss the older SBC has. I didn't know Liberty already made a bracket like that. If the external dimensions of the LS motor are the same as the SBC, I suspect not much would need to be taken out of the Z-Bar to make it work.
 

wiseman79

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www.speedhound.com sells a ball stud adapter like you're describing for C3 corvette's. I don't know if it would work on a G-body or if the pic may be useful in designing your own. If you contact them even by email, the owner responds pretty quick and is pretty willing to help. Here's the part- http://speedhound.com/LSX swap/C3Zbar.html
 

t5montecarlo

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I would think the bracket would be the same, unless this bracket places the ballstud at the other location, which is at the side of the bellhousing. It is not clear from the picture.

What years were C3? Was that beginning about 1968-???
 

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