Finally got down and finished getting everything back together after the clutch job on Xmas eve! The most time consuming bits were fitting the new clutch cable (for those who don't know it's routed around a pulley right up behind the pedals just before it goes through the firewall, very awkward to get to especially with car up on ramps!), and refitting the exhaust and driveshafts (couldn't find a way of getting the torque wrench on the off side).
The good news after a test drive (about 20 miles) is that the clutch works perfectly - no crunching, vibrating or difficulty getting into gear as before, in fact the gear change is very smooth. The new clutch is a bit stiffer than the old one, a bit too heavy for my liking but it must just be the new pressure plate springs are tougher. I understand that's often the way with aftermarket ones, hopefully it will ease up a bit, but it's not too bad and certainly liveable-with.
The bad news is that car isn't running right again... Hesitating/stumbling on acceleration/revving the engine, in fact if the throttle is opened more than about a quarter for a few seconds, it dies completely - very much like it was before the warm up regulator rebuild. I suspect it might be the plunger in the fuel distributor sticking as it hasn't been run for several months. Possibly combined with it being low on fuel. Will investigate in the morning and redo fuel volume, flow and pressure tests if necessary.
Also, one of my repaired headlight casing brackets has broken so one of them can now tip backwards slightly, resulting in an annoying flickering light beam and probably why I was getting flashed by cars coming the other way on the test drive
Pleased with the clutch job though, even if it must have been one of the longest in history (started in October!)
