[elky] Re: Now I know why...

  • From: Ray Buck <rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 13:58:16 -0600

Yeah...the Variomatic was very much like the old centrifugal clutch on go-karts, but it went a little further and instead of just engaging when the engine sped reached a certain point, it would change the ratio constantly depending on how the pulley pieces (cone-shaped) would come toward one another or move further apart, allowing for in infinite ratio value.  The design is still in use, according to the Wiki article:
"Today the CVT works according to the same principle of split pulleys allowing infinitely variable gear ratios. Rather than the pulled rubber drive belts as used by DAF, the modern transmission is made much more durable by the use of steel link belts that are pushed by their pulleys. This update was pioneered by Fiat, Ford and Van Doorne in the Netherlands from the 1980s. The gearbox is also under electronic control. The CVT is available in cars such as Audi, Honda and the MINI ONE and MINI Cooper. Tata Motors from India, recently announced that it too would use a Variomatic transmission in its $2500 Nano."

I gotta get the photos from that show prepared and on the web...along with about a million other things.

Here's another:



This is a work-in-progress.  It's a replica of Ab Jenkins' 1934 Pierce-Arrow "Mormon Meteor".  The history of Jenkins' meteors is a little fuzzy, but this was the first one, as far as I can determine.  Some info about Jenkins is here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ab_Jenkins  If that page is correct, the Pontiac Bonneville model was named because of the record-setting runs Jenkins made in a 56 Poncho.  I'd never heard that before.

r

On 5/20/2012 11:46 AM, John Christensen wrote:
That is interesting. The transmission sounds like something on an old go-cart with the clutch thingy.

Got to get out to a car show soon...... I am having withdrawal.

JC


On Sun, May 20, 2012 at 12:18 PM, Ray Buck <rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
According to a guy who builds race transmissions for a living, this is about normal...at least in his world.  I'm sure there are others who'd do it for less, and I'm looking into that.  But still...yanno, I wonder how hard it would be to do it myself.  I've never dug into an automatic trans.  Something else to consider.

Btw, I shot a car show yesterday and one of the cars there was quite an oddball.  A 1967 DAF:





Count the number of wires on the distributor cap.  Yep, 3. One for the coil.  Opposed 2 cylinder.  But the kicker is its transmission.  It's called "Variomatic."  Stepless, infinitely variable ratio belt drive.  Totally wacko.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variomatic

r



On 5/19/2012 9:34 AM, STILLFRANKSFAULT@xxxxxxx wrote:
OMG that's highway robbery, 600-800 for a disassemble and reassemble with no parts. Please tell me this is a joke when you say only. 
 
Smokey Mt Frank
 
In a message dated 5/19/2012 11:06:13 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
The estimate to swap guts from one case to another is only $600-800.  Cheap at half the price.  :)

r


On 5/17/2012 5:56 AM, STILLFRANKSFAULT@xxxxxxx wrote:
Well Ray, in theory, the only thing you need is a case. Why rebuild another trans. Just swap all the internals to a new case.
  Or was there more damage?
Smokey Mt Frank
 
In a message dated 5/16/2012 10:28:19 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:


Color me stupid.  I should have seen it when I pulled the pan.  But I didn't. 



I didn't lose too much time on that, tho.  I finally got the tranny out tonite:



It's real broke.

I'm starting to re-think things.  If this transmission repair is gonna be real spendy, I may put off running the car this year and see about putting a Tremec 3550 or T56 into it.  I'm not sure right now.  But I'm hurtin and tired and filthy.  (Maybe that last part is why the x-wife left, ya think?)

r


On 5/14/2012 3:16 PM, STILLFRANKSFAULT@xxxxxxx wrote:
OMG,  Your kidding right .............. how did you miss that split.  I could see if there was a crack in the case, but that's huge.
 
Smokey Mt Frank
 
In a message dated 5/14/2012 3:01:03 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
...the transmission ain't workin:

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