1951 Hornet Clutch - STUCK

HoustonHudsonHornet

Alright, so I got a little over zealous the other day and decided to see if the transmission /rear end worked. 

Put the rear on stands, fired it up and put it in gear. Rear spins...great...but the clutch does nothing. Drive shaft sounds horrible, but I'm not to the point of doing that yet. 

So what's my point?  What do I do next about the clutch? Is there a trick to getting it unstuck? No trick and I just need to split it and rebuild/replace it? The car is not road worthy at all, so that's out, but running it up on stands again is easy. 

Thanks in advance guys! 

cheyenne7271

I just bought a 16k mile original car but has set most of its life. I took me about weeks of fillin the clutch with solvent, holding clutch pedal down to the floor with a 2x4 against the seat. Everyday I would bump the starter or rotate the engine half turn to let the solvent soak. Eventually it should break free. You can keep trying to use the car to free the clutch with it on the ground. Patience is the key here. I had another car that freed in one hour with one flushing and then new fluid. 

HoustonHudsonHornet

Thanks for the idea!  Any special kind of solvent you use/recommend?  I have several kinds...diesel, gasoline, mineral spirits, etc.

Thanks! 
Ryan

cheyenne7271

I used just general purpose white solvent that you can get from your local oil distributor. Run the engine and get it warm but not hot as to not evaporate the solvent. Then let sit for a while with clutch disengaged turning engine a little to let solvent soak. 

Geoff

Lacquer thinners is good