pictures of pedal assemblies 340 vs. others
If you get in any car without the clutch linkage hooked up and just move the pedal downward alittle bit the pedal will be forced to the floor hard. This is to help depress the clutch pedal when it is hooked up.
It is a helper spring. But when the pedal is pulled out it will hold it out just for about one inch of travel. This is to keep pressure off of the throw out bearing when not in use.
One of the recomended things to do is remove the spring when installing a diaphram pressure plate. This is correct you don't need this spring for help on a diaphram style. They are easy to depress.
But on a street car you will want to replace this removed spring with some type of lighter spring for its other purpose. That is to hold the pedal up. If you allow your pedal weight to ride on the linkage it keeps pressure on the throw out bearing. This causes the bearing to spin contantly which will cause it to wear out alot faster then normal. The bearing should only be in contact with the fingers when the pedal is in use.
For the person who cut the spring. If you put your hand under the pedal non any mopar and then give it a push without the linkage hooked up it will probably crush your hand. That is how hard that spring pulls down. If it doesn't stay at the top for the first inch. it is probably bent like the one pictured above.
For bending the start bracket. Once it is installed in the car the floor will be its stop not the bracket.
Hope this helps some . any question feel free to ask. Steve