This is a follow-up to a thread I started on the old forum concerning clutch issues in a 1937 Master with a 235 motor https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/490884/re-help-clutch-issues.html#Post490884.   

I finally replaced the flywheel with one I was told was from a 1948 car and installed a 38 style clutch with the 10 1/2 inch bolt pattern, and it worked.  So, to answer my own question, the pressure plates from "newer" vehicles with the 11 1/2 inch bolt pattern require more spring displacement to disengage the clutch than the older ones and are not compatible with the pedal assembly in the older cars.  

By the way, all the write-ups on-line say that flywheels are bolt-on compatible across years and that is not true.  At least my 48 flywheel used 3/8" bolts to attach to the crankshaft, and the 235 takes 7/16", and the center bore is larger on the 48 flywheel.  So, I had to take the flywheel to a shop to have the bolt holes enlarged to 7/16" and hope the center bore isn't an issue.