i bought a 73’ chevy nova that has been sitting in a garage for around 20 yrs., and it only has 16K miles on it. my question is should i invest in replacing the clutch or would it still be in good condition?
No one but the previous driver/owner can tell you if the clutch is any good or how it was treated during those 16k miles.
Personally, I’d say no.
Clutches do not wear out from sitting, even if it’s for 20 years.
Rubber, on the other hand, does age, and not very gracefully. You can expect grief from pretty much every hose and seal on the car. Be very careful with brakes, the rubber brake lines can let go with no warning. So can tires.
One problem that can appear with a manual transmission car that has sat a long time is the clutch disk will get bonded to the flywheel and/or pressure plate so even with the clutch pedal on the floor the clutch may not disengage. If you find you have this problem, there are various techniques to break it free short of removing and replacing the clutch components. Even after you get the clutch disk broken free the corrosion on the flywheel and pressure plate will take a while to get rubbed off so the clutch engagement may not be optimal. All during this process the clutch disk material will be abrading away. Also be aware that this disk probably has asbestos in it so use strict dust control measures and limit inhalation of the clutch dust.
Hope that helps. Post back if you need additional help.
thanks for the advice. and to answer your question about it sticking, it doesn’t. we haven’t started the motor yet but we’ve already shifted it into 1st and pushed it into the garage and have had no problem with it.
After 20 years of being parked, you may get a look at that clutch soon as the rear main seal may well leak when you start the car - and the front main - and the valve stem seals. If you have to do the valve stem seals, I would replace the valve springs, as the ones that were compressed for 20 years are going to be weaker than the others.
Then there are the input and output seals in the tranny, and the rear end…
If you are doing all your own work, the investment in $$ should be minimal, but plan on parking it on drip pans for a while until you have time to replace a lot of oil seals.
Take a good look at the seals around the windshield and rear window before taking it on a long trip when it might rain on you.