I started off by just replacing the bushings on each end of the main shaft on the clutch linkage and should have stopped there but nooooo, I just had to go further. I noticed the wear at several of the connection points where cotter pins are used to connect the rods to the main shaft. Both the rods and the holes they go through were showing considerable wear. I would have left it alone but my neighbor stopped by about that time and offered to braze the wear spots for me. How could i pass up such an offer? He did a good job too.

I then went to install the linkage and to my surprise it didn't fit anymore. The rod that goes from the pedal to the main shaft was now about 1/2 to 5/8 in. too long and there was not enough adjustment in the adjustment push rod to make up that amount of difference. It looks like someone buggered up the push rod with weld and there are now less threads than originally. Fortunately, the neighbor was able to fabricate a new pedal to main shaft rod and it fit OK
after only a couple of adjustments. This also changed the overall linkage
enough so that the clutch engages much later than before and there is not much play at the top of the pedal. I don't know if the adjuster can compensate enough.

Has anyone ever experienced something similar?

Dennis C