Triumph Repair: frozen clutch, clutch pedal, max torque

Question
QUESTION: Howard, My 69' Spit worked good then sat for 4 years and I,m getting good movement on the slave.  The pushrod on the fork does not return by itself.  Your post mentioned %50 luck on freeing the clutch with out removing.  Can you tell me the method?  Thanks for any help.  Jason White

ANSWER: Hi Jason,
First, what do you mean by "the pushrod on the fork does not return by itself" ???

The method I used to brake loose a clutch that had sat for a long time and is stuck, I got from motorcycles. It involves a little skill but I found it to work on British cars about 50% of the time.
You need a long straight road with no stop signs or stop lights and little traffic.
You first warm the engine up and shut it off. With the car set to go down the road you put it in 1st and start the engine. It will lurch forward but will usually start. Run the RPM up and level off so there is little to no strain on the drive train and pull the shift lever into neutral. Lower the RPM to what it would be for 2nd gear at the speed you are still coasting. Then pull it into second gear. If you get the RPM correct, there will only be a slight jerk forward or aft. Then accelerate in 2nd and level off and repeat the process until you are in 4th gear and then run up to about 3500 RPM and then hold the clutch pedal to the floor and go on and off the throttle hard so as to jerk forward and aft. The reason you need 4th gear is because the max load on a clutch is in high gear and the reason you use 3500 RPM is because that is where your engine makes max torque.

You only need to do it a few times to see if it is going to brake loose. Don't continue to do it if it doesn't brake loose as you can brake motor mounts or something else.
Let me know.
Howard

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QUESTION: I meant that the pressure springs were not pushing rod and consequently the slave to its back position.  As for the clutch, I did (before my first question to you)get the car running and into 1st and second but did not go very far nor did I get to 4th gear.  Will it make a difference by getting it into 4th if so I'll do it again.  Thanks Jason White

ANSWER: Jason, if the pressure plate springs are not forcing the slave cylinder rod back into it's bore, then you don't have a normal feel to the clutch pedal.

(about one inch free play then you should feel strong resistance in the pedal all the way to the floor)

If you don't have that, then you may not have a stuck clutch, it may just be a hydraulic problem with your master & slave cylinder.
Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Howard, Sorry for so many questions but here's another. After taking the slave off I can work the fork and pushrod with my bare hands (about an inch and a half of play) is that actually engaging and disengaging the clutch or does it take more force i.e. a good master and slave to do that?
Does Dot 4 make a difference?  It's fairly cheap through VictoriaBritish to replace the master and slave so I might just do that anyway.  Thanks for all your help.  Now that I think of it the clutch does feel sloppy even after bleeding.  Thanks again  Jason White

Answer
When you push the rod in (forward) by hand, you are only taking up the free play. You can not disengage the clutch by hand.
It is a good idea to purchase both the master and the slave at the same time. I always recommend DOT 4 fluid.
When the clutch is bled and operating correctly the clutch pedal should not have more than about one inch free play and then be firm all the way to the floor and it should feel like any other kind of car with a clutch.
No problem on the number of questions, glad to help.
Howard