Hello I've got some goodies for building a early 60's drag influenced car now. Hilborn injected Nailhead, roller cam, magneto (or Spalding Flamethrower). I was thinking about going with a good manual transmission, but then I stubled on this modified Olds Hydramatic. Not B&M or any other big brand. Probably a home made modification, but still. Now I like cars with a clutch and I was thinkning about maybe making the Hydro-stick into a Clutch Hydro. I know a lot of work and nothing much gained. BUt adapting the torus, cover and bellhousing to the Nailhead will also be a lot of work. Anyway when did the clutch converted automatics come about? I guess there might have been some brave backyard heros that tried it before the companys introduced them. From what I've heard so far it's a late 60's thing, so it might be wrong for my build anyway. I like to stay period correct. Thanks, Magnus
We used a clutch-flite in 1968, as I recall clutch-turbos were around at the same time. Use the search function and look up clutch-flite, a lot of information on here. Good luck.
The first fully automatic transmission was the Hydra-Matic in the '40 Olds. For a couple years prior there was a Hydra-Matic that had a conventional clutch disc instead of a hydraulic coupling. That was probably the first clutch-automatic. In the late '50s - early '60s in Maryland the Profit brothers did a home made clutch-Torqueflite. That was before anyone knew what a Clutch-Hydro or Clutch-Flite was. Instead of driving the pump with a dog, as was later done, they used a power steering pump to supply hydraulic pressure to the trans. The car was a SB powered Anglia. That's the earliest modern type clutch automatic I know of. About 15 years ago I was thinking about doing a Clutch-Flite. I ended up talking with a local guy who had done quite a few. He said he would help me put one together if I wanted, but that it wasn't a good choice for a street car. Shift quality was one thing he mentioned. One ussue was that for good shift quality a lot of slippage is needed, and that's bad for trans life. The Clutch-Flite in his drag car wasn't a bullet proof set-up either. The fact you don't see them being used anymore is probably an indication as to whether it's a good option.
I recall them back in the late 1960's. I believe B&M had the first production aftermarket units. Some of the stock car suppliers sold Clutch-Glide kits, which worked pretty well and some IMCA class cars may still use them. But when something went wrong on the track, the clean up was ghastly. 6 quarts of hot AFT goes a long way and has the ability to run uphill. Bob
Art Carr had a lot of Clutch Flites out there, (beginning 1963) but the long fingers driving the front pump had regular failures... 1967, there were a couple of complete setups at Quincy Automotive....(used)
Chrysler had transmissions in the late 40's with both a clutch and if you left the column gear selector in high if acted as an automatic transmission. They had a good reputation too. Those later were replaced by the next series of Chrysler automatic transmission. Normbc9
I remember clutch hydros from the mid 60's. I have a clutch turbo in my gasser. Getting the correct setup is a bear. Need a real good clutch, but it is a kick to drive.
Thanks for all the info. I've heard about pressurizing it with a power steering pump before. That's a simple, or should I say less hard, way to do it. Anyway it's food for thought. Step one is of course to have it mated to the Nailhead and then I'll see what I'll do. The fluid coupling (or converter if we're talking other transmissions) will save slip some durings shifts of course. But what is it that kills them using a clutch? Seems like one would snap the shaft or burn the clutches. But actually blowing them to pieces? I wonder why that happens. I didn't know that the early ones actually had a clutch. Interesting. Thanks, Magnus
Fairbanks was one of the largest suppliers of clutch turbo trans. I used one in a drag car back in the seventies. The biggest problem I had was the 1"x23 input spline. On a high horsepower 2500 lb. car with good start line traction. The shaft would twist like a barber pole. Hanging up the clutch disk and causing dis-engagement problems. I had several hanging up on the "trophy" wall. Eventually went to an organic disc that would slip a bit on engagement. Easier on shafts, harder on flywheel/p-plate. Used it later in a big block powered Anglia, on the street. Hang on to your ass when it shifted.. Passengers would get white knuckles hanging onto the dash mounted grab bar.. No cushion/slip between gears. Talk about a tire chirper.. FUN times!!
Anyone know where I can find a clutch flite. A friend of mine is restoring his 34 Ford 5 window that he raced in the late 60's and early 70's in A/gas with a big block Chevrolet.
Good luck finding one of the first Hydramatic trannies with a clutch. Even then, those were single-range and not dual-range, and you'd probably have to do a lot of stuff to use the basic design to convert a dual-range over. Clutchflites and Clutch-turbo's are far easier to obtain, anyway.
I think that the clutch flight was an early to mid '60s deal. They do have a down side any automatic with a clutch has a down side, there is no torus or torque converter to take up the shock in the drivetrain and once you get rolling shifting under full load without the clutch throws some shock at the driveline. Something has to give, U joints, pinion shaftes, axles, something has to give. But that's racin'.
you could buy a Chevrolet school bus with a 364 buick up through 61.Hydros where available in GMC an Chevrolet trucks. i don"t know if they put Hydros on the Bui cks but a lot school buses had Hydros. Wastedchildhood
The cast iron Hrdra-Matics were heavy, relatively expensive to build, and they had the potential to be very durable and tolerate a LOT of abuse. They really were truck level transmissions being used in cars.
My $80, '48 Dodge 5 pass. Coupe had a Hy-Drive tranny behind it's flat 6-banger. It was a 3-speed stick with a fluid coupling instead of a "converter" on it. It had a regular flywheel type clutch and PP on the fluid coupling. You took off in 1st using the clutch from a dead start and then just shifted the thing away w/o the clutch because of the fluid coupling. This same arrangement is used in warehouse fork-trucks today!! pdq67
I remember the clutchflites and clutch hydramatics from the sixties but never knew why they were invented or what advantage they had. They seemed to go out about the same time high stall speed torque converters came in.
I remember the clutch automatics being very popular in the late '60s until the Lenco 4-speed came along in the early '70s. The very first Lenco I saw was in Billy Stepp's Pro Stocker driven by Melvin Yow in about 1970 or '71. It was not over a year before clutch automatics were out of favor but it took years for them to go away.
I worked for Kooks headers in 70, and he had a clutch turbo in his Big Block Chevy 442 that was in there for at least a year or two not sure exactly how much before.
Clutch-Hydro, RARE, saw one only at the Long Beach Swap Meet 1995. I think C & O Automotive and Art Carr played with the idea of a clutch-hydro in 1966-1967, but then= the clutch-flite and clutch-turbo kick in. By the way, they still have "old school" Winters racing auto trans and shifters parts by Maverick. The one back from the 1960s, Download the Automatic Transmission Catalog. Interesting. Link= http://www.maverickperformance.com/
Thank you an1951 for the info. The parts list of the clutch hydro is very interesting indeed. I'd love to see some kind of nstruction sheet or something. I really can't understand how it's made. But I suspect they only operated the rear planet gear making it a 2 speed. Edit... Wait a second. That kit must be for a TurboHydramatic and not the early Hydramatic, right? Still there is the on pictured. What's up with that? Maybe I should jsut find a ClutchFlite instead and get over this Hydro thing. Thanks, Magnus
I might still have an old mag that had a rear tire test in it that used an early '70's Elky with something like a 555 or so BBC (I forget?) and a clutch-turbo. The real story was how brutal the clutch-turbo shifted!!! The article went on to say that the drivetrain was up-graded several times to hold the power w/o failing, the shift's were so brutal!! Heck of an article on drag tires tho... pdq67
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