Itinerant Air-Cooled

vwlover77 wrote:How did I miss this thread until now?

Such a purty car. Did we double-touch it when I drove it? I just can't remember.
Colin

DjEep wrote:...They are an odd design, truly an "Automatic Standard", with basically the same design as the usual vw 4spd and clutch, only with three forward gears and a torque converter in place of a flywheel, and a solenoid actuated vacuum diaphragm in place of a clutch cable...

So how does it work...dumbed down? Is there an automatically operated clutch disc? You gotta put it into each gear, right?

Hippie wrote:

DjEep wrote:...They are an odd design, truly an "Automatic Standard", with basically the same design as the usual vw 4spd and clutch, only with three forward gears and a torque converter in place of a flywheel, and a solenoid actuated vacuum diaphragm in place of a clutch cable...

So how does it work...dumbed down? Is there an automatically operated clutch disc? You gotta put it into each gear, right?

It is a manual transmission with a clutch that is actuated by your touching the gearshift, ergo! no clutch pedal. Then, for ease of not having to shift, it has a torque converter that allows you to stop at a light in any gear, and take off from the light in any gear. Poor torque converter. Many people would put it in high gear and leave it there and wonder why the car was a dog.

When I drive an autostick, I use every gear as God intended. To double clutch down shift from high to medium, I would touch the shifter, pop it into neutral, let go of the shifter, rev the engine to the next gear down's expected rpm, then shift into that gear, thus double-touching. Worked great in Mike's bug, because it was beautifully set up and adjusted. The vacuum actuator for the clutch knows if you were on it or loafing based on carb vacuum signal that amplified or attenuated the clutch vacuum can, (a huge enough thing to push a clutch lever in, wouldn't you say?) Heavy throttle meant little vacuum so the clutch would snap, light throttle would be lots of vacuum to daintily engage the clutch.

I used to fool my mom's overworked brain by surrepticiously kneeing the dealership's loaner bug's gearshift from the passenger seat when I was ten or so.
Colin

Cool. I used to have a DeSoto sort of like that. (No kidding) it had a fluid clutch rather than a true torque converter, and a clutch pedal fo changing gears. You could leave it in gear at a stop without theclutch pedal, and it would downshift 3 to 2 automatically below 25 mph. 3rd gear was the same shifter position as 2nd, but above 35 mph, shifting to neutral and back to the same exact position made 3rd.
It was a bizzare arrangement--but easy once you got the hang of it.

Colin, Yes you did "double touch" it...... But I don't think that's a true duplication of a double-clutch event. That is because there is a neutral switch on the transmission which keeps the solenoid valve energized even if you let go of the shifter while in the neutral position. As a result, the clutch remains disengaged during the engine-rev portion of a "double touch" downshift.

vwlover77 wrote:Colin, Yes you did "double touch" it...... But I don't think that's a true duplication of a double-clutch event. That is because there is a neutral switch on the transmission which keeps the solenoid valve energized even if you let go of the shifter while in the neutral position. As a result, the clutch remains disengaged during the engine-rev portion of a "double touch" downshift.

It is a full monty double-clutch. AutoStick releases clutch in neutral like any idling car in neutral.
If your transaxle makes any gear or bearing noise as it spins at idle, you can do a stationary experiment and hear the transaxle spin up as you release knob in neutral!

That neutral switch is a starter solenoid override like an automatic, no?
Colin