Clinton Clutch Build
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 6:39 am
If you read the 'Colossal Clinton' and the 'Mounting a Clinton on a Uni-Mount' thread your aware that I made mention of acquiring a Clinton E65 courtesy of Terry Sullivan and John McCorvey and now its time to move onto getting a clutch mounted up on this beast. LOL!
As I also mentioned earlier, I have no experience with Clinton engines so I basically have been bugging the hell out of Terry and John picking their brains as I go and when I asked them about what to use for a clutch they both said the same thing, "minibike clutch". Terry and John both agreed on this type of clutch with a real simple logic, minibike clutches are readily available and do to the low power of the E65 engagement speed should be close.
Alright, I'm off to Ebay to order a 5/8" shaft, 11 tooth minibike clutch. Upon arrival I was quite disappointed that the clutch I received was a rip-off copy of a Max-Torque SS six shoe and it felt quite heavy for my low horsepower engine with a known weak crankshaft so I decided to look around to see what else was available and I really didn't find anything to my liking so I decided to build my own clutch.
Here is what I originally purchased.
I have always been a fan of the original Max-Torque 2 shoe clutches from the sixties due to there performance, lightweight, and simplicity so I decided that's what I need to build. Fortunately I had the needed shoes and springs that will be needed for this build in my spare parts supply
To give you a idea of what I want to make below is a photo of a original clutch for a West-Bend 580 that I will replicate for a Clinton.
Step 1, Take my Ebay clutch and press it apart, all I will be needing for my clutch will be the center 'driver' and the clutch drum with the sprocket.
I'm using only the driver, the drum, and the sprocket.
Step 2, Order a 2" wide strip of 4140 steel from McMaster Carr and cut out the shoe mount that will be welded to the driver. No trick machines are need for this process, I used a angle grinder with a cut off wheel, a drill press, and a small carbide burr for the spring notches.
My shoe carrier next to a original for a 580
Step 3, I took the driver and turned the O.D. down to 1" for two reasons. First to get it to fit the hole on the shoe mount I made and make sure the shoes will be centered in the drum, secondly to knock alittle more weight off. I also drilled and tapped the driver to accept a 1/4- 28 set screw to aid in securing the clutch to the crankshaft.
Step 4, Slip the shoe carrier over the turned down driver and head over to my pal E.J. Korecky of E'J's Creation's shop for alittle tig welding. Original on left, mine on right.
Step 5, Push in some dowel pins, Slip on some shoes, add some springs and the drum with sprocket and give it go.
There you have it, a lightweight clutch that anyone can build at home in their garage. Will give you a update on clutches performance once it warms up a bit but it looks like I was able to accomplish everything I set out to achieve. I have a light weight clutch that was very affordable and should share the performance and durability of the original M-T's from the 60's..
R.E.A.R.
As I also mentioned earlier, I have no experience with Clinton engines so I basically have been bugging the hell out of Terry and John picking their brains as I go and when I asked them about what to use for a clutch they both said the same thing, "minibike clutch". Terry and John both agreed on this type of clutch with a real simple logic, minibike clutches are readily available and do to the low power of the E65 engagement speed should be close.
Alright, I'm off to Ebay to order a 5/8" shaft, 11 tooth minibike clutch. Upon arrival I was quite disappointed that the clutch I received was a rip-off copy of a Max-Torque SS six shoe and it felt quite heavy for my low horsepower engine with a known weak crankshaft so I decided to look around to see what else was available and I really didn't find anything to my liking so I decided to build my own clutch.
Here is what I originally purchased.
I have always been a fan of the original Max-Torque 2 shoe clutches from the sixties due to there performance, lightweight, and simplicity so I decided that's what I need to build. Fortunately I had the needed shoes and springs that will be needed for this build in my spare parts supply
To give you a idea of what I want to make below is a photo of a original clutch for a West-Bend 580 that I will replicate for a Clinton.
Step 1, Take my Ebay clutch and press it apart, all I will be needing for my clutch will be the center 'driver' and the clutch drum with the sprocket.
I'm using only the driver, the drum, and the sprocket.
Step 2, Order a 2" wide strip of 4140 steel from McMaster Carr and cut out the shoe mount that will be welded to the driver. No trick machines are need for this process, I used a angle grinder with a cut off wheel, a drill press, and a small carbide burr for the spring notches.
My shoe carrier next to a original for a 580
Step 3, I took the driver and turned the O.D. down to 1" for two reasons. First to get it to fit the hole on the shoe mount I made and make sure the shoes will be centered in the drum, secondly to knock alittle more weight off. I also drilled and tapped the driver to accept a 1/4- 28 set screw to aid in securing the clutch to the crankshaft.
Step 4, Slip the shoe carrier over the turned down driver and head over to my pal E.J. Korecky of E'J's Creation's shop for alittle tig welding. Original on left, mine on right.
Step 5, Push in some dowel pins, Slip on some shoes, add some springs and the drum with sprocket and give it go.
There you have it, a lightweight clutch that anyone can build at home in their garage. Will give you a update on clutches performance once it warms up a bit but it looks like I was able to accomplish everything I set out to achieve. I have a light weight clutch that was very affordable and should share the performance and durability of the original M-T's from the 60's..
R.E.A.R.
, I guess that I'm going to be a wait and see but I can tell you this, I'm really jonesing to get this thing fired up. Setting up a carb or two is next on the list.