the history of clutches

[jhugh]

Here's something that's been bugging me for a while. Last year I had a top end rebuild done by a mechanic who, long story short, did not do an acceptable job. I had to have the heads re-done, and ended up rebuilding the engine completely myself.

Another thing this mechanic had sold me was a new clutch. And he said it was an upgrade too, because this one was the lighter "aluminum" clutch. He was referring to the pressure plate. He said I'd get a faster revving engine due to the lighter clutch. He said that my car did not come with an aluminum clutch.

When I rebuilt my engine, I saw a bit of wear on the clutch disc and decided, instead of dropping the engine again in the next two years, to replace the clutch disc, throwout bearing and pilot bearing. I did not replace the pressure plate b/c I figured it was brand new. The bearings had definitely not been replaced by the aforementioned mechanic.

And when I took all my clutch bits in to Parts Heaven, the guys there said that my '84 Carrera would have come standard with the stock aluminum pressure plate I was holding in my hands, and that, to boot, mine didn't look brand new to them.

So, what's the deal with the OE pressure plates? Did Carreras always come with aluminum? Did I buy some hen's teeth here or what?

Thanks,