The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Can’t operate clutch

I’m ready to retire and will finally have time to drive the 50 1 ton I’ve had for 40 years. In fact I’m not sure what else I will have to do with myself! The only problem is my left hip is shot and I can’t handle the clutch. I’m thinking there must be a way to set up something that would allow hand operation. Someone else must have done this before. Does anyone have any experience or advise?

Hip replacement! I highly recommend it.

Hand controls have been in use by paraplegics since the 1930's or so, long before automatic transmissions came into general use. I've assisted in a few of those conversions. The trick is to get the leverage and control handle stroke correct to make it easy to operate the pedal smoothly.

There are also conversion adapters available to graft a Turbo 350 or other automatic trans to a stovebolt engine.
Jerry

Why does it seem that the law of diminishing returns seems to override the dreaming we have planning for retirement? It’s either or both the physical body quickly goes by or time itself goes by faster than expected.

I am going to venture a guess that the dreams we have and the processes we go through to achieve them is the life rather than the end.

I’m wondering if converting to a hydraulic clutch would help you.

A hydraulic conversion MAY help, but lighter pedal force would require a longer stroke.
Jerry's suggestion of a hand linkage would probably be easiest. Although a hip replacement like Martin suggested would require less labor on your part.

Back in school when I took my Model A to an away football game, I was stuck in traffic getting out of the parking lot. By the time I got clear of the traffic, I had "sewing machine" leg trying to operate the clutch, which had a harder pedal than usual.

I don't recall what vehicle I was working on years ago, but it had a hydraulic clutch. The thing which amazed me was that it had a really strong pedal return spring. I am assuming that its design was to simulate the feel of a mechanical clutch.
With the spring removed, you could operate the clutch with your pinky toe. (Well, maybe a bit more than a pinky toe, but you get the idea.)
The question is, can a much weaker pedal return spring be utilized and still have the clutch function properly?

I broke my left ankle many years ago. I had a near new 54 Ford pickup. I made a hand operated clutch lever. It was pretty basic & simple. I clamped it to the steering column & used bolts & nuts for pivots.

George

Heim joints and a piece of steel tubing hinged to the steering column, and another rod or tube attached with heim joints to the lever arm are the basics behind a hand clutch. It can even have fancy bends in it as long as the leverage is correct to allow hand pressure to overcome the return spring and the pressure plate springs. If it's built right, the clutch can still be operated with a foot.
Jerry

What is your budget on the truck? A sure way to rest the left leg is to go automatic and old cast iron Powerglides that mate up to a Stovebolt are not hard to find. The rear engine mount on the bell housing would have to be tweaked. A 1T should have an open driveshaft at the rear end so no problem there or a 54 Hydramatic is set up for a torque tube back to the hanger bearing. Lots of options from budget to bust the bank.

Volkswagen used an oddball vacuum operated manual clutch on some models, possibly in tandem with a fluid drive like the old Chrysler transmissions, which was disengaged by a microswitch on the shift knob and had a controlled-bleed orfice to assure a smooth engagement of the clutch when the switch was released. Owners of those cars learned not to use the shifter as a hand rest, as just a little pressure on it would disengage the clutch.

I had one of those and ya you don’t touch the shifter or your rpm’s went up and you were in neutral .I remember there was some sort of vacuum block under the back seat because I unknowingly pulled a line off and it was hard shifting until I realized what I did.

With a little dedicated tinkering it would probably be possible to convert a single-acting air brake chamber into a vacuum assist for the clutch linkage so just a small amount of pressure on a hand lever would be needed to operate the clutch. Chevy cars had a similar vacuum assist setup on their column shifted 3 speeds in the late 1940's. Gears could be changed with nothing but fingertip pressure.
Jerry

I still leave my hand on the shifter but only on my automatic. When I was a parts manager at a VW dealer my demo was a VW with that feature and I had to get used to not leaving my hand on the shifter back then.

If you were to operate a hand clutch with your left hand and the shifter with your right, how do you steer? Just thinking out loud!

With a good wheel alignment, a vehicle will track a straight line "hands off" for quite a distance. Just don't try to shift in the middle of a turn. The 1958 Mack B-73 that I learned to drive big rigs with had two shifters. We spent quite a bit of time shifting with both hands. (without using the clutch, BTW) No, we DID NOT stick an arm through the steering wheel- - - -an unexpected bump could make the wheel spin and break something!
Jerry

I had an MG and an early Datsun with hydraulic clutches. Those were so easy to use, there were times I thought they couldn't be working correctly. Then I drove a GMC with a hydraulic clutch for a month or two that was terrible. I decided it all had to do with well-designed linkage and the right strength of return spring. I finally got the GMC to work better, but it was never as smooth as the MG and Datsun. The GMC had 2 return springs.

A vacuum operated clutch assist like Jerry mentioned could be activated by a lever located near the steering wheel similar to a turn signal switch. It could also be attached to the steering wheel, but that might be a little difficult to connect with the steering wheel needing to go 2-3 full turns. Maybe put the switch ON the shifter. I think a brake vacuum assist cylinder could be easily adapted to do the work.

Agree on a new hip᠁᠁today it’s day surgery. (AKA ᠁᠁.in and out the same day, walk with crutches for 4-7 days)


The hip will continue to deteriorate and make every day miserable᠁᠁᠁..get it fixed and an enjoy retirement.

When I had to use a crutch for my left leg for several months I just had a stick the right length that I worked with my left hand to operate the clutch pedal, only missed once.

Ed

If somebody wanted to rig up a vacuum assist for a clutch, just mount a motorcycle brake lever onto the shift handle, and use the cable to operate a spring-loaded ball valve to control the vacuum.
Jerry