Thanks for this!! I will be starting on this tomorrow. My motor is currently out of the car do you think that putting this in beforehand will interfere with motor trans installation in any way? Thank you again!!
Ha, you're joking, right? Having the engine out will make life easier because you can see what you are doing from the engine side. Even if you install the engine and trans as one unit installation is the same aw always, just have to hook up the hydraulic line to the master cylinder after it's all in, same as you would have to do with linkage. The hydraulic lines come out the side of the bell where the fork and boot usually live, just make sure to consider where the master cylinder will be and route all the fluid lines properly away from heat, moving parts etc.
I did it with the engine in though I had the column out which was a necessity. Believe me, it would have been much easier if I could have stood in the engine bay and been able to see what I was doing. Instead I had to lie on my back upside-down under the dash and and then get my head under the pedals (trust me on this) and reach through the column hole to get at stuff. My 50 year old body was twisted in ways I never thought possible. I kept dropping stuff and would have to get up, go under the car and and get it and then re-contort myself. You still might have to do that to some degree but it will be way easier if you have access on the other side.
One last thing - don't be deceived by the bearing face being in constant contact with the clutch fingers, this is what you want. It's basically the same operation as disc brakes. If the bearing retracted completely away from the fingers the internal piston would need to travel farther to make contact which is the opposite of what you want. I called A.P. thinking it needed to come totally off the face of the fingers when released but they said nope, it's right leave it alone.
Good luck!