The free wheelers coasted when you let off the accelerator pedal, allowing you to up or down shift (although down shifting was not recommended as I recall), or to simply coast until you need more speed. Great for saving gas on slight declines. The idea was that when driving on icy roads you had a better chance of regaining control by getting your foot off the accelerator pedal if you started to go into a skid , since no wheels were either pulling or braking. The way it worked was that when you stepped down on the accelerator pedal causing the RPMs to increase the centrifugal force exerted on pins inside a disc that was part of the drive mechanism would cause these pins to extend and engage the drive shaft. When you got off the accelerator pedal the RPMs would decrease and springs attached to these pins would cause them to retract into the rotating disc, thus disengaging the drive shaft.

It was great when your hydraulic clutch seals went out while you were away from home. With the engine off and the tranny in 1st gear you could bump-start the car by turning the ignition switch to the start position. Once you got going in 1st you could let off the accelerator and shift to higher gears, just as if you had depressed the clutch. When you came to a stop light you would take your foot off the accelerator, put the gear shift into neutral, turn off the engine, and prepare to repeat the start-up process.


posted by 208.8.7...

• Freewheel, jim, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 17:40:00
  • Re: Freewheel, Roger S, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 19:53:59 <-- Viewing This Message
    • Re: Not a centrifugal clutch, Anders OZ, Tue, 21 Aug 2001 21:52:43
      • Anders: I'm glad somebody knows what they're talkin about ! n/m, KsKid, Wed, 22 Aug 2001 12:10:16
      • Actually called a 'Bendix drive' or Sprag clutch, KeithG, Wed, 22 Aug 2001 11:51:09
        • Re: Actually called a 'Bendix drive' or Sprag clutch, Anders OZ, Mon, 27 Aug 2001 22:07:12
    • Re: Freewheel, Dave Westlake, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 22:48:32
    • Re: Freewheel, kansas, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 21:48:36
      • Re: Freewheel, spiv, Sun, 19 Aug 2001 13:56:53
        • Re: Freewheel, KsKid, Sun, 19 Aug 2001 16:52:02
          • And did you shout at her, "How I get this out of 3rd gear?" n/m, Roger S, Sun, 19 Aug 2001 20:46:25
            • Driving a little Nash Rambler........who sang this??, Justin, Mon, 20 Aug 2001 20:52:18
              • Sorry, Justin. Try this link...., Roger S, Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:56:47
              • Beep Beep by the "Playmates" (more), Roger S, Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:03:07
      • Hey, Kansas, Roger S, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 22:12:52
        • Re: Hey, Kansas, kansas, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 23:06:54
          • Probably a hold-over for the old die-hards, Roger S, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 23:26:42
        • Yep! Should have read your reference first (n/m), Roger S, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 22:32:08
    • 1971 was the last year for free-wheeling 99's (n/m), Roger S, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 19:57:06
  • Re: Freewheel, kansas, Sat, 18 Aug 2001 19:43:38

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