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Originally Posted by 400 4spd.
So here is the deal. A few years ago I restored a 1968 Firebird for a customer. It is an original 400/4 speed car. Soon after completion, the owner had a medical condition that required removal of his lower left leg.
He wants to retain the 4 speed instead of going with an automatic. Can someone here offer an alternative situation? I'll be looking at hydraulic set ups as an option to a mechanical arrangement.
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A good friend of mine brought this thread to my attention.
First I want to compliment the guys posting on this thread for the creative ideas they have provided. In one form or another I have explored most of them.
We are currently working on a fourth generation of a hand operated clutch to operate a clutch as normal. In other words smooth operation with easy lift off or to power shift. I achieved this in a 1990 ZR-1 using a modified hydra boost unit backed up to the factory master cylinder with some fabricated additional leverage. That unit sat in place of the battery which was moved onboard into a storage compartment behind the seat similar to the older Vettes. This system worked well and the car was driven 17,000 miles.
Next was a 2006 Z06. The power assist used was a vacuum booster (modified) backed up to the OE master cylinder. I removed the windshield washer jar which is located inside the fender liner behind the front left tire. This system was a much easier and cleaner install and took advantage of the extra space. 27,000 miles driven. It worked so nice that I repeated it in a 2013 427 with another 4,000 miles driven.
Some general information. On the ZR-1 it uses a slave cylinder. Pressure on the clutch pedal is 35 to 38 pounds. The Z06 uses a hydraulic release bearing and the pedal effort is 22 to 24 pounds at the pedal. Ultimately using a hand clutch you need to bring this down to just a few pounds of squeezing your fingers just a couple of inches or less. Remember that even at 22-24 at the pedal there is another eleven inches or so of leverage with that pedal going to the master cylinder.
My goals of installation have always been minimally or non invasive to the cars using existing bolt holes and cavities under the hood/ body and the same for inside the car. I wanted as little seen as possible no matter where it was. Keeping the cars with a normal clean look.
Recently I picked up a 1969 427 roadster and there is a new set of space constraints. I have been very fortunate as another good friend of mine an accomplished engineer is helping with a new design set up. Being a finance guy myself he has gone way over my head with whiz bang technology. Our project is currently held up like everything else waiting on shipments. Once perfected in the next couple of months we are hoping to be able to provide a kit for installation. This unit will be electro hydraulic and take up minimal space.
Lastly these are not cheap installations to achieve. The materials cost alone in each of these cases approaches $2k depending on needs, this does not include labor. Each of the units I have built allowed the option of driving the car normally or driving the car with the hand clutch, requiring two onboard OE master cylinders.
So far I have only built these for myself. If we are successful in putting a kit together in this latest gen build then we would have them for outside interest.
Please feel free to private message if I can help further.
Bill