grabby on takeoff

[vwjones]

i'm noticing lately that when I take off after i've been driving awhile around town, the clutch is grabby and it is nearly impossible to engauge smoothly without the car shuddering.  the only way to take off smoothly is to let off the clutch without giving any gas and nearly letting the engine die.   i've got a 1.6 gtd in an mk1 caddy with an mk1 4speed.  i'm about to upgrade to a 5 speed anyway.  think i need a stronger clutch?  or maybe freeplay is improperly adjusted?  Pedal goes about 50% of the way to the floor before the clutch engauges.  I messed with the freeplay but it doesn 't seem to make much difference.  BTW, the clutch and pressure plate is new and the flywheel is okay because the truck didn't shudder before the engine swap.  I've always driven an automatic and i'm not too sure what the problem is.  any help?

[Henchman]

Well it could be soooo many things

-inexperience use a clutch
-worn pressure plate fingers (not likely)
-crap on friction disc
-puck type clutch
-overheated flywheel

My money is on the following

You say the clutch and pressure plate is new but the flywheel is from a different engine.  You don't say that you machine the flywheel first.  I think it's just the new clutch and used flywheel mating.  It's like replacing your brake pads without replacing or turning the rotors.  After a few thousand starts and gear changes, things should smooth out just in time for a clutch job!

Ian