65 GALAXIE CLUTCH LINKAGE

[cajun65]

Looking for a lil info on my 65 galaxie ,Im using a quicktime bell, i have a stock clutch fork and the rest of the linkage ,will the stock fork work, what does it take to hold it in place ??will a stock throwout work?

[BruceS]

Cajun,
If you haven't seen it already, go to the thread in member projects started by 65er called Galaxie/TKO.  This is the story of his conversion from auto to manual and 5-speed on his 65 Galaxie daily driver.  Lots of good clutch linkage stuff in there! 

[65er]

Not to contradict ya Bruce, but there are some important differences between my installation and what Cajun65 wants to do.  I used the full depth quicktime bell housing instead of the shorter Galaxie sized one, and I used the quicktime fork. I don't know what the length difference is, or how much it will affect the installation.  As Alan Casida pointed out, the stock fork is longer than the Quicktime fork.  I also had to work one of my header tubes over  a bit to clear the ear on the bell housing, and also to clear the end of the clutch fork. I had already bought the parts when I discovered that the Hooker 6130 headers are listed as a non-fit for manual transmission, and that along with the rest of the combination of parts I got made for a fair amount of fabrication and massaging stuff into place.

Hopefully Alan will see this thread and shed some light, but he has been using a stock fork with a Lakewood and Quicktime bell housing.  It obviously works, but I think there is more than one fork and more than one Quicktime FE housing.  Here is a link Alan posted for the correct fork...http://www.ebay.com/itm/65-FORD-GALAXIE-CLUTCH-RELEASE-FORK-1965-352-390-FoMoCo-LTD-XL-FE-/321004074985?item=321004074985&pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item4abd5577e9&nma=true&si=kqF%2BZPQgBgSgjZqoYOvaH6wGM70%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Please excuse the cross reference here, but when I went searching for pics this is what I ran across. http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=7057690&an=&page=&vc=1   My fork pivot angle looked similar to the one at the bottom of the bottom pic, except the leg with the bolt holes has a radius so it's fairly obvious which way it's supposed to mount..  The mount (in my case at least) has a thick spacer and bolts through the spacer to the bell housing.  Without the spacer, the fork has no room to move.   The flat spring on the back of the fork fits through the window on the pivot angle to hold the fork and throwout bearing clear of the pressure plate when the clutch pedal is released. 

[BruceS]

65er, +1 to all you've said here.  Cajun is going to benefit from your "been there done that" first-hand knowledge and the links you've provided.  I know they've helped my understanding! 

[cajun65]

Thanks guys for the info very helpful

[cajun65]

@ 65er my clutch fork is like the one on eBay , doesn't have that clip on the back that goes threw the window type pivot , my ? Is, is that all that holds it in place is that lil crooked spring and pivot with the two ears just seems a lil lose, I'm just tring to gather all the parts at the moment for future restoration , I have two 65's , end product will be a z-code 390 car with xL exterior and interior package ,with a 5speed tremec

[65er]

The flat spring/clip is what holds mine in place and it sounds like your crooked spring might have the same function.  If I can see a picture of it I can probably tell how it is supposed to go together.

[cajun65]

this is the fork i has suposed to be a stock 65 fork ,the pivot is what i got with my quicktime bell the spring came from dear born ,it seems like im missing some parts ??

[cajun65]

2nd pic

[cajun65]

3rd pic

[65er]

Looks like your fork is the same as the one in the ebay ad.  Searching around I found this truck thread that may help.... http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/818804-clutch-fork-problems.html
It's hard to see exactly what's going on in the pics at the end of the thread, but it looks like you'll need a different pivot bracket and that the spring you have will catch the ears on the outside of the bracket instead of sliding through a window.

If Alan Casida doesn't post a response here you may want to send him a private message.  No doubt he knows exactly how those things go together.  I've never had my hands on an original fork, pivot or bell housing.

[cajun65]

looks like i may try and get a fork with the clip and window type to me a much better design ,where did you get yours from?

[cajun65]

by the way 65er how does your car run with that 5 speed and what rear gear are you running ?

[AlanCasida]

I am using that style fork(oem 66 Galaxie) on a Quicktime 460 bellhousing right now with no issues. Your QT should come with a couple of different spacers for the throwout fulcrum. I can't remember now if I used one of those or if I made one. I also liked the springclip-through-the-window fork retainer a lot better than the old bent wire retainer so I just modified my fork to accept one. I had a spare truck fork that had the clip and I robbed it and just drilled a couple of holes in my fork and bolted it in place using a couple  8 or 10-32 button Allen head bolts with lock-tite on the nuts. 
Hope this helps and good luck.

[cajun65]

Yep that sounds like the most logical thing to do , that lil crooked wire just doesn't impress me to much