In a message dated 98-03-19 11:43:04 EST, you write:
> >>James,
> >>I think you are talking about the "Free Wheeling Device that Saab
> >>designed in the mid-60's. It was a very unique piece of technology.
> >
> >The biggest reason why SAAB used the frewheeling clutch was the 2 cycle
> >engine employed in these early cars. 2 cycle engines use oil in the gas
> >(petrol) to lubricate. Consider what a hard, closed throttle deceleration
> >while in gear would do to a 2 cycle engine. No added fuel, therefore no
> >added lubrication, while the weight of the car was forcing the engine to
> >spin at an elevated rpm. Obviously, a major lack of lubrication to the
> engine.
> >
> >BTW - from what I have heard, this engine was a blast to drive.
I had two of these 2-cycle cars back in the 60's. They were the model 96.
There was a lever to take them out of free-wheeling. They recommended
the non-freewheeling mode going down hills. You had to pour oil into the
gas tank on the early cars. The later ones had oil injection. One of the
most interesting things about the free-wheeling is that you can freely
shift up or down without the clutch as long as you let off the gas. The only
time you really had to use the clutch was starting from a stand still. One
time the clutch cable broke and I drove several hundred miles by turning off
the ignition when I had to stop, and starting up again in 1st gear. When I was
a young boy, my dad had a Saab with a sasomatic (probably wrong spelling)
clutch. All you did was let off the gas and shift, even from a standstill. No
double clutching for old Saabs.
Bob Donahue (Still stuck in the '50s)
EMAIL - BOBMGT@AOL.COM
52 MGTD - under DIY restoration NEMGTR #11470
71 MGB - AMGBA #96-12029, NAMGBR #7-3336
|