Hello all, I'm in the process of installing a muncie 4 speed with stock bellhousing and clutch in my '67 Camaro conv.327 (removed the TH350).I'm having a problem with the clutch fork hitting the firewall. I've read many posts that explain several options to solve the problem including a different clutch fork, a tall throwout bearing or different engine perches. I've ordered the "stock" fork from gmpartsdirect but I'm still conncerned that my engine sits too far back. The top bellhousing bolts are about 1/8" from the firewall. The stock distributor does clear but is very close. The trans crossmember had the slots enlongated and the trans mount bolts are at the very rear of the crossmember. All indications that the engine is too far back. The car was an original 6 cyl so I thought that I had the wrong frame mounts. I ordered the small block mounts from Ricks (EP-4) and these are the same as the ones currently in the car. The current fork is hitting the firewall even before I depress the clutch pedal. The new fork may give me a little room but I don't think it will be enough. Any other way to move the engine forward? Different motor mounts?

If your body mount rubbers are shot, that will reduce your clearance some. Do you know if it is the original ball stud in the bellhousing?

The body mounts are fine...About 3 years old. I'm not sure about the ball stud. It all looked stock...It came out of a '67 Camaro. The only new parts added are the clutch, fork and TOB.

Wait till you get the new fork. I had a big issue with this a while back. The fork that came in the car was wrong and the repro that I ordered to replace it was wrong. Got the correct replacement GM fork and it worked. What trans crossmember are you using? Are your motor mounts correct? You shouldn't need a tall throwout bearing.

Yes, I had this same problem while trying to make one of those Lakewood forks work!, I mean, I got it to work by dimpling the floorboard, near the gas pedal, but I decided to go with a stock GM fork, however it's not as thick and heavy duty looking as the Lakewood fork!

If your bushings are only 3 years old I am going to say you have the wrong fork also. I seem to remember that there are a few different styles depending on application but it has been awhile.

kknapp433

If you have the correct frame mounts and factory 3892632 clutch fork and the fork is hitting the firewall, the bell housing bolts are 1/8" from the firewall and the stock distributor is that close, I would say almost for certain that your frame is not properly located on the body. This can easily happen over time and or if the frame was removed for any reason and not put back in the correct location. Check the alignment holes in the welded subframe body mount brackets. The holes are (.610") a little smaller than 5/8" and are located on the outboard edge of the sub frame bracket closest to the firewall. There is a corresponding hole in the body on both sides. Use a metal rod or wooden dowel and put it through these two holes. The dowel should be perfectly 90 degrees to the frame on both planes (looking at it from the side and front or back). There is a diagram of this in the front of the assembly manual available at most Camaro parts retailers.

Along with GMJim's suggestion, the harmonic balancer should be directly over the front sway bar. If no sway bar mounted, the subframe will still have the holes for the brackets, use them for a guide.

I checked the holes in the subframe-to-body. They do line up correctly. The harmonic balancer is definetly rear of the swaybar. At this point I'll wait for gmpartsdirect to deliver the new fork and see where that gets me. New problem though....I broke the clutch pivot ball stud off. I'm tring to find a way to drill a hole in it and get an easy-out in. Pretty hard metal. Broke several bits including cobalt bits....never easy....

I checked the holes in the subframe-to-body. They do line up correctly. The harmonic balancer is definetly rear of the swaybar. At this point I'll wait for gmpartsdirect to deliver the new fork and see where that gets me. New problem though....I broke the clutch pivot ball stud off. I'm tring to find a way to drill a hole in it and get an easy-out in. Pretty hard metal. Broke several bits including cobalt bits....never easy....

I did this when removing my engine and it took the machinist about 20 minutes to get it out. That steel is hard. Your going to have a rough time getting that out in the car. Good luck with that.

Have you checked out David Pozzi's website on motor mounts? He has a ton of great info on the subject. It really helped me out when I went to buy my mounts. http://www.pozziracing.com/camaro_engine.htm

The new GM fork should fix your problem with it hitting the firewall, if your mount problem is resolved.

I broke the clutch pivot ball stud off. I'm tring to find a way to drill a hole in it and get an easy-out in. I did this once on a '64 impala I had. I got a foot long 1/4" dia rod, stainless steel, and ground a point on one end, much like a pencil point.
Thank you, Grandfather for the tip.

Then I took a small ball peen hammer, my new pin punch, and slowly caught the very edge of the broken stud in the block and slowly unscrewed it from the block. Took 5 minutes. took a couple days to get a replacement stud; found it at a 30 mile distant Buick dealer, $1.37 each, I bought two. Still have one.