Clutch Restoration- Part 2

If you are just jumping in to this post you can quickly go here to catch up from the beginning. At any rate. I finished preparing the plates and planned to use old school friction material. The original asbestos material is really the best stuff  but for obvious health reasons cork is the only alternative. I could have used modern bonded plates but I was curious as to how the oldtimers did it and really didn't feel like paying and arm or a leg for them either. With a few tips from none other than Rick Parkington at Classic Bike magazine I got on with it last week-end.

Here's me at the stove boiling up corks to soften them up for fitting much like you would corks for a petrol tap. This is definitely the one time that something I cook tastes like it should! Great care should be taken when fitting because the corks while soft are thin and fragile. The cork inserts will have uneven thicknesses after boiling due to the different densities of cellulose in each piece therefore I just centered them in each plate. 

Once completed, I let the the cork inserts thoroughly dry and will sand them flat and to size. I haven't figured that out yet but Rick Parkington said it was knucklebusting stuff. Stayed tuned for a full report.