Another thing to check. One of my daughters once had an old Monza with a cable-activated clutch. The cable had worn through one of the guides and was then sawing its way through the sheetmetal, resulting in symptoms much like yours.

I replaced the cable (easy by the way) and it seems to be much better. The old cable was stretching and probably comming apart inside the sleeve.

The thing that makes me happy is that the new cable is at the 'good' end of the adjustment range. This leads me to believe that the clutch disk is not totally gone.

Heads up. Shop around for the cable. They changed the cable design during the model run so you'll need the build date off the door sticker. One place could special order it for lots of money. Another place couldn't get it at all. Found a 3rd parts place and it was no big deal. $35.

Hey Ig, where'd ya end up getting the cable ? on-line, or local ?

Local.
Olympus Auto Parts, Chantilly, VA.
I believe I saw one on line somewhere in the 40-50 dollar range. Didnd't try very hard. You could probably do better.

I don't need one ... hydraulic here, but always like to be on the lookout for good on-line parts places. Thanks!

I've got a couple NOS cables out in the garage, I oughta post em up over on the for sale section I guess...

Glad you had an easy fix!