MTFCA Forum

So there exist in Canada a few copies of a sliding gear transmission conversion for the T that was made back in the era!
I have 1 and know of 2 more and parts of one more. They used a cork inserted single disc clutch. The time has come to deal with this. Noodling around in the Internet has been interesting and probably informative. So today I have started some skill research. The advice appears to be that “stewing” the cork in water is the best way to soften them up. I will post more as this project progresses

Les

I expect this will be very interesting as it progresses. Looking forward to more.

Does it look something like this?
I sent you a PM

Certainly it resembles your picture!!
I got your message as well.
I will work on this project some more myself as on one of these I will end up remaking most of the clutch as they tried to continue running it with worn out corks and pretty well destroyed it. Certainly destroyed all the wear surfaces!! I am remaking the pressure and receiving plates from Durabar so retain comparable properties!
The disc I will get CNC laser cut

Dale
How thick is the steel plate?
How much do the corks project each side?
Thank you

I assume you know that Hudson used a cork clutch all the way to near the end of production.
It was one of their big selling points, no clutch chatter and smooth engagement.
The Hudson sites have corks, clutch plates and a bunch of info on them.

I don't remember if I measured them or not.
And this disc is not available now. I'll see what I can find out tomorrow.

Stan
Yes I have studied the Hudson sites and it is quite interesting. The thing is the tolerances never seem to be disclosed. My weakness is that I LOVE to learn!!
So I have expanded my research to British motorcycle sites and am learning about cork properties.

The dimensions appear to be what I expected. Looks like about 12-14 gauge steel and the cork projects a good 1/16” or a little more. So a total thickness of 1/4-5/16” for the finished disc.
Thank you for the help, much appreciated

I believe Doug Wildrick is the main person doing Hudson clutches now. There was a man in El Paso, Texas that dt I spoke to around 2008 when I put a clutch in my 47. He said he was moving and I think also going to stop doing them.
I soaked the disc all night in “Hudsonite” oil before I installed it. It’s about like ATF.
It had worn out and wouldn’t move under its own power and upon disassembly I found only the steel disc with holes.
Here are the only specs it the shop manual. It seems like i found more online somewhere back then.

Come to think of it, I have a little can of genuine "Hudson Clutch Oil" in my collectibles.

They were very popular in Helena, fast, low, good looking and handled very well on the two lanes through the canyons and over the mountain passes on good roads and in good weather. Not so much elsewhere in Montana. The Montana Highway Patrol bought 50 Hudsons in 1950 for patrol cars, nobody could outrun them but in the winter the difference between the front and back tread made them "hunt" on roads that had tracks in slush, frozen ruts, etc. In 1950 Montana still had hundreds of miles of gravel roads that were major highways.

There is a fellow in the Hudson Essex Terraplane club that restores the cork clutches. He is very reasonable and for obvious reasons will not divulge the how to process. I had 2 done for a 1931 Hudson and if memory serves about $150 each. Beautiful quality and they worked perfectly. Go to HET club on the internet.

frontyboy

Well I have always shared my technology. One day I will no longer be here and I want the next generation to be able to carry on

This is who I talked to, Ron Fellows, just outside of El Paso. This is from the 2008 forum so I’m not sure if the phone number is the same and I believe he told me he was moving. It seems like he told me about the process. I remember something about inserting the corks and facing them down on a lathe. I’ve never spoken to Doug Wildrick, only have seen his name on the Hudson sites.

Corey
Thank you for the information.

My research so far ;
If you boil a wine cork it swells to about 1” and is quite soft. A wine bottle neck is about.7”. So it appears to be practical to compress it about 25-30%. I will go and see what kind of sheet cork I can get at Michaels

Funny, I was gearing up to make some cork insert type model T band linings for installation in my ‘23 runabout this summer. Bought some original corked band linings at Hershey last October as samples.

Mark
Some pictures and dimensions would be interesting!!