VW called it an "auto stick-shift" or something like that. I had a '68
Beetle with that trans and it wasn't bad once you got used to it. It was
a 3 speed and worked great as long as you had a soft touch. It was a
fairly complicated system though, and all it really did for you was take
away the clutch. It had a standard 3 speed gear box with a
vacuum-operated dry clutch driven by a torque converter bolted to the
flywheel. Under the left rear fender was a vacuum storage tank that gave
you 3 or 4 shifts while under the right rear fender was a storage
reservoir for the auto-trans fluid needed by the torque converter. The
vacuum system was solenoid controlled through a switch mounted on the
shift lever. Whew! And all it did was do away with the clutch - you
still had to shift!
Rick
Ajhsys@aol.com wrote:
> Check out this site for the new Toyota Mr. Spyder:
> www.motortrend.com/may99/toy/toy_f.html
>
> Pretty nice for an Asian. A bit heavy, considering our Spridgets,
> but the clutchless tranny is interesting. Didn't VW have a two speed
> called the Automatic Stickshift? Boy, THAT was a lousy tranny.
> When you grabbed the shifter it went out of gear. If you forgot,
> and left your hand on it, you wouldn't move.
>
> Allen Hefner
> SCCA Philly Region Rally Steward
> '77 Midget
> '92 Mitsubishi Expo LRV Sport
--
Bugeye on TEN
NIS League Member
Sponsored by Thomas Enterprises
Makers of the TSW and TSW II Wheels
Sponsored by Beech Ridge Motor Speedway
http://www.thomas-superwheel.com
http://www.beechridge.com
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