[rescue] Trannies (was jobops in Austin and Dallas)

[rescue at sunhelp.org]

~ -----Original Message-----
~ From: Sheldon T. Hall [mailto:shel at cmhcsys.com]
~ >I mounted an air shifter on a friend's 
~ custom H-D
~ > Sportster, and basically all it does is quickly disengage 
~ and engage the
~ > clutch as the gears are shifted.
~ 
~ Renault did that on the Dauphine in the very early 1960s, 
~ IIRC.  Hydraulic,
~ not air, but the same idea: make an "auto" people want out of 
~ a standard
~ tranny you already have.
~ 
~ I hear that Honda cars did this, too, though I've never seen one.



Actually, Hudson was the first to do this in 1948 and it worked great (a
friend has two). It was electric and had a joystick on the steering column
to operate in "manual" mode, or it would shift by making a "decision" based
on a combo of engine RPM and manifold vacuum (to sense engine load). Since
Hudson used an oil bath cork clutch plate/disk it was very forgiving of a
sudden engagement of the clutch by an electric servo. It could even start
out from a stop on its own.

James Fogg, Network Engineer
Vicinity Corporation - New Hampshire
(603) 442-1751