Brian,
The extended bolt you refer to is indeed called a "clutch stop" by some folk
but it should really be called a "clutch pedal stop". Its sole purpose is to
prevent the pedal moving too far and allowing the throw-out bearing coming
off its carrier. Not a complete disaster but difficult to fix without
removing the gearbox with the bellhousing. Easier on a J2 than on younger
MMM cars because the rear of the engine is supported and the bellhousing
comes off easier.
A real clutch stop is more like a disc brake mounted on the drive shaft and
operated by the clutch pedal. I owned two cars that had these "stops", a
1928 Lea Francis and a 1929 Alvis 12/50. Both had separate gear boxes with a
short drive shaft between the engine and the box. Their gearboxes had no
synchromesh but were as smooth as silk if you knew how to use them!
The first inch or so of clutch pedal movement would disengage the clutch but
beyond that it would bring a padded arm into contact with the disc spinning
on the shaft between the engine and gearbox to effectively slow the engine
down and allow the gears to slide quietly into the next speed when changing
up. Obviously, one wouldn't use it when changing down as you'd be speeding
the engine up to match the engine and box speeds.
I'd never heard of a proper stop clutch on a MMM car but that doesn't mean
you couldn't get one. Five pounds and thirteen shillings was a lot of money
back then.
Cheers, "Bob".
> From: Kellmg@aol.com
> Reply-To: Kellmg@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 21:01:46 EST
> To: mg-mmm@autox.team.net
> Subject: Clutch Stop?
>
> Listers,
>
> In Terry Andrew's article "P-Type Chassis Evaluations" circa1982, he mentions
> a factory accessory "clutch stop" priced at 3 guineas plus 2 pounds 10
> shillings for installation. The article states that this item was made and
> offered by Colmore, agents in Manchester. The price of a crank at the time
> was 6 pounds.
>
> Obviously, this wasn't the extended bolt in the bellhousing that acts as the
> clutch stop in MMM cars. What were they referring to?
>
> From the same article it quotes the factory file of PA 0255, originally owned
> and trialed by W.H.Haden, that the factory was considering the fitment of one
> of these stops to his car. This PA is owned now by Peter Ross. Perhaps, being
> on this list Peter, you can shed some light as to whether or not it was
> actually fitted to your PA.
>
> Brian Kelly.
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