Project: Hot rodding a 69 Nova

[Bill Rose]

So today was a big day. I had all day to get something done. Decided to stick the motor and trans in. The motor went right in/no issues except it's a tight space for a Chevy big block.

Then it was time to stick the trans in. It shouldn't really be a big deal, just put it up there and push.....right? Well I spent 2 hours trying to drive it in that last 1/2" .......no way it was going to go in. I finally decided to pull it back out and look for the problem. Well I found why.

The cheap piece of $hit throwout bearing fell apart. I can believe Summit would sell this piece of junk. My fault for not paying close attention to the bearing that cam with the clutch package. Lesson learned I guess. See pic below. The bearing had a cheap tin foil ring pressed on it, to hold it in place, instead of a steel one piece bearing.

Lesson: Don't use the cheap bearing that comes with the clutch kit!!!



This is what it looked like before it fell apart.


This is after it broke off.