Took the car out again to fully heat-soak it, and… the grinding issue is still there but not nearly as bad, and it can now be put into reverse without much fuss. A big difference between the old and new clutch is where it engages. The old one engaged near the floor, while the new one catches way up high. I’m going to call and ask if that’s normal, or whether I set the stop wrong…
The next issues, though smaller, are actually fairly annoying. With the air cleaner right behind my head, when I get on the gas it’s like being near an industrial-size sand blaster… effing loud. The search is on for a small generic hood scoop to cover the air filter element, to point the intake (and noise) toward the rear of the car. Preliminary searching has found that generic Interweb air scoops are sorely lacking for dimensional data, making it hard to find one of known size.
After that, wind-wings will be attached to the sides of the windscreen to stave off the wind whipping around and pummeling me in the left ear. The job will be fairly easy thanks to having roll cage tubing surrounding the windscreen.