Clutch

[Ian Soady <ian@domain.elided>]

Just had a really weird thing happen - had driven about 70 miles and was
stopped at a traffic light yesterday evening. When I went to put the car
in first (manual) it was just as if the clutch wasn't clearing at all
despite the fact that the pedal felt fine. Had to start the car in gear
then change gear without the clutch (actually quite easy with the Stag).
Tried the clutch several times and it wasn't working so I assumed that
something serious had gone wrong. On arriving at a roundabout after a
mile or so, pressed the clutch down and it worked perfectly!!!!! And has
continued to do so albeit I've only driven for a few miles. I'm
absolutely flummoxed. The only starter for 10 that I have is that I had
for a while had a slight judder that I'd put down to a spot of oil on
the plate and I wondered if this could have "stuck" the plates together?
No I don't really think so either.

All theories, however unlikely, gratefully received and considered.

BTW, I've just checked my exhaust clearances prior to starting to run on
unleaded. Have read the recent correspondence with great interest. Mike
(Wattam), didn't you say about a year ago that you were using unleaded
and had done 4000 miles with no valve recession? When I asked for bad
experiences with unleaded on this list last summer there were absolutely
no documented cases reported. A similar request in the SOC magazine
again had no verified problems - but both requests elicited responses
indicating no problems.

I'll keep you all posted.
-- 
Ian Soady