talk to ati or fairbanks i rember back in the early 80s there were still a few around , definately a break stuff set up turbo clutch and clutch flites fabricator john miss you dad
Knew a guy who ran a clutchflite on the street back in the day. It was a brutal trans, really only suited for racing. His would bark the tires on every shift at almost any speed. And they were known for breaking stuff, which is why they fell out of favor.
In the mid seventies a buddy of mine had a sixties rail with a BBC and a clutch flight. If I had to guess I would say it was built in 67 or 68. It was a very well built car but I can't remember the history 45 year's later. I remember a chrome 8 3/4 rear axle assembly including the drop out. I'd be curios when the clutch flight came out.
The Clutchflite was an automatic transmission developed by B&M in the 60s specifically for drag racing, usually in a Mopar with a Hemi. In the case of the Mopar version, it was a 727 Torqueflite that had the bellhousing sawed off. In place of a torque converter, the Clutchflite utilized a heavy flywheel and a clutch setup. There was a spider assembly to drive the transmission pump. The idea was that you could leave as hard as a stick car, while having the consistency and speed of an automatic. It was used in the 60s because torque converter technology was still pretty primitive, and it was thought that the Clutchflite would be a good compromise of hard launches, quick shifts (that most drivers couldn't make), and not have the lack of efficiency of a torque converter (Drive-Through) at the top end.
I used a 727 based clutchflite in my altered in the mid '70s until better torque converters and Powerglides became de rigueur for bracket racing. It was behind my 300 six with a Hayes slipper clutch and a home built ratchet shifter between my legs. The clutch was ticklish to set up and the clutch cover tended to develop cracks requiring welded windows around the three finger levers. I do not see any advantage to using one on the street. Expect increased clutch maintenance. One other thing I learned was to never shut the engine off while going through the eyes. By shifting to neutral and clicking the engine off the front pump stopped supplying oil pressure to the output yoke bushing, causing it to seize and lock up the driveshaft - AND REAR WHEELS. Boy howdy that'll get your attention when the car decides to swap ends at a-buck-thirty-something.
I built my own back in the 70's by adapting the smaller 904 Torqueflite trans to the Aussie 6 cylinder HOLDEN engine (baby version of the Chevy 194/230/250/292), it too was in an altered and for racing only. As described above a drive tube connected the pressure plate to the front pump and we made a new input shaft to connect the clutch spline to the 904 ..... it had a B&M full manual valve body so it shifted firmly. Though I don't believe it would be a good choice for street car usage it COULD have the shifts softened up some by using a regular valve body with conservative line pressures and keeping the vacuum modulator in play. The clutch leave aggressiveness is only as bad as you make it. Also don't forget that a good torque converter can multiply the engines torque output at stall by ~ 2+ times, something that a clutch won't provide. My $0.02.
Ok. So far no complaints about being off topic... So, this car will be used *mostly* as a drag car. Doing a drag week type of build. Not specifically for drag week, but a car that can be driven and raced with some reliability. The fact that it is an overdrive trans is to be able to run a rear gear that benefits drag racing. I’ve had fast drag cars before. I’d really like to try something with a clutch. Planning on using a softlok drag clutch, so I’ll be going into the bell on a regular basis, and actually look forward to it. My question is actually regarding cross-fitment of vintage parts into the modern trans. I have most of a clutchflite conversion in my possession. Im planning on using as many parts from it that will fit into the torqflite based 46RE. There are obstacles that will need to be overcome. Until I have the “new” trans apart, I won’t know what will be needed to be done to solve problems like pump and support differences etc... Anyone know what I might be looking out for? The 46RE can be built to take some power/ abuse. Will be planning on using most of the “recipe”parts to make it safe/reliable.
The problem with the "RE" version of that trans is its electronically shifted....the "RH" version is hydraulically shifted, that's the one I would use if I were going to try this.
There are replacement valvebodies for both. The RE trans has a few updates that the RH doesn’t have. Better planets and thrusts from what I have been told. I have an RE here. My planned parts list fot the trans... Full manual transbrake valvebody Aluminum front drum Billet servo piston Clutch addition Overdrive spring So, you’re probably wondering about “transbrake valvebody” There is a full manual valvebody available for the RE trans that features no electronics, clean neutral and a brake. Normally the brake would lock the trans to be able to load the converter. In this case, it would just not be used, or use it to hold the car in the beams. I figure i could get an “arm” switch and use it in conjunction with a release switch on the clutch pedal.
The Jalopy Journal
