Return to the BUILD
“Next you’ll add the clutch onto your engine. The control spring in this stage can be difficult to attach, take your time to connect it!”
Contents
Parts
Materials: All of the parts in this stage are plastic.
Build
The Clutch Mechanism
Step 1
Fit the two pins of the Clutch Bell into the matching posts of the Clutch Bell Cover and firmly press them together, as shown:
Step 2
Retrieve your Engine assembly from the previous stage. Firmly press the center pin of the Clutch Bell assembly into the post at the rear of the Engine Base.
This step requires a bit of force to make the Clutch Bell assembly sit completely flush. Also, there are no alignment pins, so you can either align the seam of the Clutch Bell to the horizontal plane of the engine (yellow line below) OR align the bolts to the castings on the engine like I did (red arrows below):
Step 3
Firmly press the two pins of the Clutch Master Cylinder into the matching holes at this location on the Engine Base.
Just for fun, I ‘painted’ the two connections on the Clutch Master Cylinder with my Metallic Gold Sharpie:
This part would technically be the clutch slave (remote) cylinder on the real car:
Step 4
The Clutch Control Rod has two different sized pins. Firmly press the larger pin of the Clutch Control Rod into the matching hole on the Clutch Bell and the smaller pin of the Clutch Control Rod into the Clutch Master Cylinder, as shown:
Step 5
The Clutch Control Spring has a hook at either end. Using tweezers, connect the downward facing hook of the Clutch Control Spring to the small matching hole of the Clutch Master Cylinder. Then, connect the upward facing hook of the spring to the Clutch Control Rod, as shown.
This took a few tries to get it right, so just be patient and go slow:
Step 6
Finally, slide the two tabs of the Clutch Release Mechanism Cover into the matching slots of the Clutch Bell, as shown:
Thoughts
It is too bad that most of the beautiful clutch mechanism is hidden by the cover, but you can still just barely see the spring peeking out. No matter, I know it is in there!
Next Up
Stage 22 – Water Pump, Oil Filter/Connector Pipe, Engine Support, Starter Motor, Dipstick, Carburetor Petrol Pipe/Connector