How much play should there be off the bump stop? I guess the really important thing is to keep the throwout just off the clutch when running, or suffer a premature bearing failure?

I originally had maybe just over a inch away from the stop pedal play, and at that point the forward rod nut was only a couple of threads on.

You've got me thinking of reasons why this would have been.

 

I should add that this thread has pretty much run it's course. I hope everyone enjoyed it a little, and maybe picked up a few pointers for their own conversion.

A big part of these things for me, is chasing the parts and learning how they work, as fun as actually using them!

Short of reporting on how the system actually works on the road, I probably won't post much more... but it's safe to say it's been a really enjoyable project and I'm excited to try it out!

 

Cheers and thanks to those who posted their own info to it.

I was looking tonight at pictures of the repro hump. If anyone is looking, it appears there is still no change in the piece of crap aftermarket hump that is offered. Prepare to spend an afternoon reworking it if you buy one. 

 

For sure he can rework it. I would still buy one and rework it if I had it to do all over again but the initial thought I had when I took it out of the box was "why did they even bother?"

I had to alter the opening as well, not just the shape. When you get the shape right the opening ends up in the wrong spot. As you can see in this picture the opening is clearly hand-cut and pretty rough.

I was very satisfied with the final result but it took a few hours out of an afternoon to get to that point.

A few years back Jon Krogh from Wisconsin hand built some really nice ones and I think they were around $175 US. It seems to me someone told me or I read it somewhere that he wasn't going to make any more because it was just too much work for the revenue he generated. 

He's the same guy who reproduced the bench seat floor shift boot and same deal, only made them a short time and then quit. 

I know, talk about a limited market. The humps I guess are all the same, bench or bucket but that boot, 2 years only......

could we just make a 3D printed one out of plastic? the part gets no stress on it

A small update, and a buyer beware.

I'd heard talk about the cheap offshore firewall rod seals splitting/failing very quickly. Well, sure enough mine has.

I'm hearing a little click or ping when I depress the clutch all the way down. Opened the hood to have a peek. Felt down around the boot and discovered it has split completely around the end where it curves inward. This isn't related to the click.

This was a China part sold by Classic Industries, and really seemed to be good quality. Not a big deal and I'm not too worried about leaving it like this for a while, but is there any though as to a part that might last? Did the GM part go out fast as well? Maybe even a different style might be better? More of a pleated bellows kind of thing, or open the hole up more to allow the rod to slide and not bind in the boot.

 

I'm pretty sure it was Classic. Maybe not?

Anyways, here the Luttys listing for 65-68

https://www.luttyschevy.com/i-20837670-clutch-rod-boot.html

 

Thing is, I have heard it more than once that they fail very fast. Why?

Absolutely.

Maybe check if Metro makes one, or at least markets one. Their rubber stuff is usually well reviewed.

I've noticed on my original one the boot follows the rod but I've often thought it would last a lot longer if the rod would move through the boot.