Give Your Classic Fairlane Or Galaxie A Hydraulic Clutch Upgrade

There is nothing like driving a classic car, but some of the older technology can make the drive less enjoyable. After being spoiled by modern cars, you might want to upgrade. Thankfully, the aftermarket is always developing ways to do just that. If you own a 1962-1965 Fairlane or a 1961-1964 Galaxie and you want better clutch feel, lower pedal effort, and more, Modern Driveline developed its Lightfoot Series Hydraulic Clutch Master Cylinder Kit, which the company displayed at the SEMA Show.

Converting an older Ford to hydraulic clutch operation takes more than bolting a master cylinder to the firewall. The pedal geometry must work with the cylinder’s available stroke, or the result can be a heavy pedal and incomplete clutch release. Modern Driveline engineered its Lightfoot Series around the factory pedal, retaining the original pedal ratio and full travel while adapting the linkage for hydraulic operation.

“With the Ford-specific LF Series, we had to incorporate some linkage reduction because the master cylinder we’re using has only 1.4 inches of stroke, while the pedal was originally moving between 1.6 and 1.7 inches,” Bruce Couture, of Modern Driveline, explained. “Without compensating for that difference, the pedal would become extremely heavy and difficult to operate. We redesigned the linkage, added bearings at all the pivot points, reinforced the firewall, and made sure the geometry worked properly.”

The result is a bolt-in solution that uses the factory clutch rod hole and requires only two additional 5/16-inch holes for installation. The firewall-mounted master cylinder connects to the original clutch pedal through a dedicated bracket, keeping the conversion focused on the clutch actuation rather than a wholesale change to the cockpit.

The kit includes the master cylinder, mounting bracket, reservoir, hardware pack, installation instructions, and bleeder kit. Buyers can choose a black plastic reservoir (P/N: MD-910-2032-P; $295), black billet reservoir, or silver billet reservoir. The clutch pedal and pedal stop are sold separately.

Fairlane and Galaxie owners who want the benefits of a hydraulic clutch can visit Modern Driveline’s website for more details about the Lightfoot Series and its classic Ford applications.