Over Running Clutch For Extra Mpg

[charchri4]

WOW 280,000 miles! Outstanding! You must take very good care of your cars.

+1 to tall gears and good roads!

 

[CheeseheadEarl]

WOW 280,000 miles! Outstanding! You must take very good care of your cars.

+1 to tall gears and good roads!

Thanks, but I can't take all the credit. The previous owner wore the new and most of the cost off it.

I do take care of my stuff, and prefer to fix when it breaks till it's plumb wore out. You just don't buy 80,000 mile tires anymore once it's north of 200,000.

Last 3 cars, present car, and one of my present trucks are/were over 200k. I'm glad they don't make em like they used to.

This one will be over 300,000 before I'm done with it, with a little luck and some elbow grease. Still runs strong, steering is tight, and the body ain't bad for it's age. More than I can say for myself, come to think of it.

 

[Lil4X]

One of my college roommates bought a new '62 Studebaker Lark with a 90hp straight six and a three-speed transmission with OD. It was more than a little weird to drive because that OD was accompanied by an overrunning clutch that disconnected the driveline altogether when you lifted off the throttle. On a rather steep downhill stretch, lifting off the gas would produce a surprising amount of acceleration as you backed off the power and the clutch decoupled the engine from the drive wheels, causing your speed to increase in the absence of engine braking. Otherwise it was a pretty decent if slightly underpowered car . . . but you had to be warned about that overrunning clutch before you took the wheel - nowhere else could lifting your throttle foot cause a vehicle to accelerate. Counter-intuitive much? o_O

 

[MooJuice]

WOW 280,000 miles! Outstanding! You must take very good care of your cars.

+1 to tall gears and good roads!

I'm in the process of scrapping out a 01 Chevy metro. It's a 2 door 3 cy 5 speed. It was a 1 owner car and I did most of the mechanic work on it. I put in 2 timing belts, one at 200,000 cause we figured it should be changed and another at around 390000 when it broke, luckily it was a non interference engine and it did no harm. I put 1 starter in it and it had 1 clutch somewhere in the 300,000s, I didn't put that in. It had a few cv axles, sets of brakes, and many tires. The guy changed the oil every 8000 miles and used the cheapest oil. Finally the frame rusted out and the rear wheel started tearing away. The motor still ran good and only burnt a quart every 2k miles. It had over 460,000 miles on it when he quit driving it. I pulled the odometer out of it and saved it cause it cause it had so many miles. I wish it wouldn't have rusted out just to see how many miles it would have went. His first 96 metro had over 420,000 when he junked that one.

 

[carzes]

I think most people have the idea that fuel usage is simply in direct proportion to engine RPM, but that's not the case. The throttle plate controls vacuum in the intake manifold, not RPM or fuel flow. Those things are a RESULT of manifold vacuum. If you push a car downhill at idle it doesn't use more fuel than sitting at idle, because the result is a big increase in manifold vacuum, so little or no additional fuel is needed to maintain the same fuel:air ratio. That's why I cannot understand the non-existance of vacuum guages in the dash, or the utter unavailability of them in the aftermarket. My old Porsche had one, and it was a good indicator of engine operation and efficiency, (or lack thereof if you drive like I did then).

 

[Bert]

My 67 Cuda had one as well! Factory installed!

 

[Dexter Henschel]

I am all for the over-running clutch feature but with a switch to disable it when desired. I like engine braking for most of my driving, it saves brakes.

 

[Jim H]

I am all for the over-running clutch feature but with a switch to disable it when desired. I like engine braking for most of my driving, it saves brakes.

Dexter, Welcome to the forum and the Elio family. We look forward to your questions, comments, and opinions and hope you enjoy the Elio journey with us.

 

[ecdriver711]

Welcome to the forum Dexter!!!!!

 

[outsydthebox]

I am all for the over-running clutch feature but with a switch to disable it when desired. I like engine braking for most of my driving, it saves brakes.

Welcome to the forum Dexter! I have to say, all of my MT cars have had a switch to disengage the clutch. It is foot operated. You know, the little pedal down on the floor, to the left of the brake pedal?