I got it all back together and it is now running very well, tranny-clutch wise. I will list the details and pitfalls that I encountered along the way.
To recap, I'm using the LS1 T56 with a Mcleod 8710-10 SFI bell for a 2 piece block (454 in my case) along with modified OEM hydraulics from ATS. I coupled this with a 168 neutral balance Mcleod flywheel, 12 in clutch, and pressure plate. The setup was nice, but it has a couple of issues.
The 12in clutch/PP from Mcleod requires a total of 1/2in travel in order to fully disengage the clutch. The stock hydraulics, in my case, only traveled a total of 1/4in by itself. In order to increase the travel I had to fab a shim or buy one from a clutch vendor such as SPEC.
I ended up having my metal guy at work make me 2 shims, 1 - 1/8in and 1 - 1/4in. I then installed the 1/8in shim behind the slave using longer bolts, that wouldn't bottom out early but increased the thread count in the faceplate. I reinstalled the T56 and using 4 bolts to hold it I started the car and tried to put it in gear. It would go into first gear, but it required a significant amount of force to get it there. Getting it into reverse was almost twice as hard. At this point I knew the 1/8in shim wasn't enough giving only 3/8 total travel.
I then pulled the T56 again and installed the 1/4in shim in place of 1/8 shim. This would give me a total of 1/2in travel when the clutch is pushed. I reinstalled the T56 and bolted everything back together again. Once started the tranny would go into any gear easily, including reverse. The rear tires would not spin anymore with the clutch depressed and in gear. The clutch pedal also has about 1.25-1.50in of play before the clutch disengages so it is in a sweet spot for me at least.
If I would have known how much travel this clutch needs to disengage, I probably would have went with a 11in clutch that needs less travel. So far I have been happy with the clutch and the break-in period seems to be going well. This is my first clutch install so I'm unsure if I will feel anything different after 500 miles, but so far so good.
The T56 is a sweet setup and the guys at ATS and T56rebuilds.com were great and always helpful with my questions and tips. The only recommendation I would give is to call the clutch maker first and ask how much travel is needed from the slave before you install everything. Then you can just measure you distances from bell to pp and bell to slave to determine your travel as is and how much shim you will need the first time.
This is my first clutch install so I'm unsure if I will feel anything different after 500 miles, but so far so good.
Kerry, by the way you dug into it and found the solution, I would have never guessed it was your first time. Congratulations on getting it done and thanks for letting us know the outcome.
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
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