Triumph Repair: gears grind, triumph spitfire, clutch disk

Question
The clutch on my 1978 Spitfire does not seam to engage or disengage until the pedal is 1 inch from the floor.  The gears grind when putting car in reverse, and also shifting down to second gear from third gear.  I have made sure that all of the air is out of the hydraulic clutch system.  What now?

Answer
Hi Michael,
If you don't have any excess free play in the pedal and the pedal is firm right away at the top then you may have a clutch disk or pressure plate problem (if all the air is out)

However, the Triumph Spitfire and the TR-6 were always trouble in that area. It seemed that many of the Spitfires and TR-6s had to have the pedal all the way to the floor to get them to release. I always felt that BLM didn't allow enough throw on the clutch.

First be sure you are holding the pedal all the way down (no extra carpet under the pedal) and let the engine idle down for a couple of seconds before trying to put it in reverse. Also be sure the idle is only 700 or 800 RPM. Another thing to do is to put the gear lever into 3rd or 4th first from neutral then quickly put it in reverse to see if that helps.
down shifting is a lost art but should be done correctly so as to save the syncros in the gearbox.
Read my "Tech Tip" on how to prolong the life of a gearbox. http://mg-tri-jag.net/tech4.htm
Howard