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Some years ago I had a Citroen GS "Convertisseur", it had a three-speed
manual box with a torque converter/hydraulic wet-plate clutch built in.
Clutch actuation was by switches at either end of the selector gate, so
after getting on the move via the slip of the converter, subsequent
gear changes were aided by the electro-hydraulic disengagement of the
normal-ish hydraulic clutch. Altogether a very nice thing to drive, but
the 1015cc engine had to work rather too hard and my torque converter
leaked oil all over the front brake discs (inboard), so I swapped the
lot out for a standard 1220cc engine and manual gearbox.
Later I owned a CX "C-matic" which was identical in principle. It went
better but did a bit too much slipping for my liking, although a lovely
relaxing thing to drive.
Beetle semi-autos were actually vacuum-operated on the same principles
as the Citroen system, although I'm not sure of the NSU RO80, whether
it was hydraulic or pneumatic, but the microswitch was under the gear
knob and could give heart-attacks if you happen to forget & rest your
hand on the lever whilst driving!
Sudden nostalgia! I just remembered the great wheelspins you could get
with the GS if you put it into 1st and held the lever just off the end
of gate travel, revved the engine (hydraulic clutch still disengaged
because it thought the gearbox was in neutral) and then pulled the
lever back against the gate; the clutch dropped and off you went at a
great rate of knots(ish!). Ah, fond memories.......
Cheers,
Les Cowan, SQF Manufacturing.
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