LocostUSA.com

The release bearing?...I thought that was why there is a roller replacement available.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

Used to be holding the clutch in while starting beat the snot out of the engine's crank thrust bearing.
Newer clutch designs have reduced pedal force enough and newer bearing materials improved oil-less short term running enough that it is no longer an issue.
My '64 Olds' clutch would make your leg twitch if you tried to hold it depressed too long (until you got used to it).
Most clutches today you can depress with your hand.

I was real surprised when they added the clutch switches in the early '70's cars, until I drove one and saw how light clutches had gotten.

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Planning a Duratec powered, Miata suspended 442

There's a fine line between having safety mechanism's in place and "stupid proofing" cars so that people don't have accidents. I see commercials now that have cars that "see 360* around the vehicle"; "warns you when the car drifts to the right along the road edge"; "stops when sensing something in front of the vehicle"; "parallel park assist".
I'm on the fence with this, yes it will save lives but on the other hand it also de-sensitizes people to the dangers of driving. The future generation will be depending on these enhancements to keep them safe, what's going to happen when these systems fail? And they will fail - eventually

"Honest Officer, I can't be at fault, my car didn't warn me or brake for the pedestrian crossing the road"

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Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

Over-reliance on Tech assist is already killing people.
Recently a Tesla driver was killed when his "Autopilot" could not differentiate between a large truck and the sky.
Driver was watching video instead of actively driving.
These type of issues are made worse by ad campaigns that infer, but do not actually state, that the "Autopilot" features will save drivers the inconvenience of actually DRIVING their cars.
Fine print says that the driver needs to remain aware of the driving situation and should keep their hands on the wheel.
The sort of lazy %$#! looking for these "features" are not the sort I expect to read or heed the fine print!

But WE are still forced to share the road with them.
I personally find these "Assist" features abhorrent, but I'm old enough to predate PC, hand-held and political.

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If I must be a one-man PC free zone, so be it!

My 1970s Driver's Ed Course they said if you're stuck on the railroad tracks with a manual transmission leave it in gear and crank the engine. There's one safety equipment that will no longer help you in a different situation.
There's no end to being safe - we were just informed after 25 years of grilling at the airport no open Flames will be allowed . Please remove the grill.

Ok, so THAT got way off track....

My only point on this really is about human nature. We all forget something sometimes. I'll say it again, then I'm done with this one. If you truly believe you don't need one, don't. I for one could not live with myself if I or someone else were doing something with the car, and it accidentally started in gear for whatever reason, and someone got hurt. NJ requires it, but I would do it anyway. The worst thing that could happen if you have it and it fails, you may need a tow home.

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Dismantalus, Fabricatus, Assemblus.....
Certified Welder, Certified Welding Inspector, Full Time Car Freak...In New Jersey no less!

People stopping on railroad tracks when a train is close enough that there isn't enough time to get out of the car, or ever really, all because starting their car in gear can save them from themselves...Just one more reason why starters without clutch/neutral safety switches were making people worse drivers.

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-Justin

"Orville Wright did not have a pilots license." - Gordon MacKenzie

I love the fact the clutch safety switch insures there is someone in the seat and in control of the vehicle. The neutral switch is a PIA and in my opinion, adds little safety.

Perry, we are rapidly approaching the era of driverless vehicles. Over the road truck drivers are already in peril. Europe is already road testing truck convoys with a lead truck.

Much has been said about the Tesla accident, as though no driver has ever missed seeing an 18 wheeler. I know I did, well, it was a twelve wheel dump truck, hidden behind the passenger side A post, but lived to learn that lesson.

Bill

I can't count the number of times while working on my car, I reach over into the cockpit, check that the trans is in neutral, and I start her up (just like it was an auto trans car. I did this on my older cars (with no clutch switch) when I set timing, or valve clearances or checked out some engine noises. I have even done it on my Locost when checking some running sensor voltages etc. I simply find the "convenience" of being able to these things, so much better than the other "alternatives".

I guess I have so I will not comment any more.

P.S. I wonder how I would have been able to hand-crank start my MGA while holding the clutch in with one foot?

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

After driving standard-transmission cars for 45 years, I would never even think of cranking the engine in my car without first physically confirming it's in neutral, & the brakes are applied. It's force of habit - muscle memory, if you prefer. I find the clutch+neutral safety switches an annoyance, unnecessary, and prone to failures (usually during heavy rainstorms, at night, miles from the nearest assistance - Murphy is my copilot!).

While I could easily hook up the one in my Locost (the switch is already there, in my T-5), I don't plan on doing so. It's a 30-year-old switch (one I don't plan on purchasing a replacement for), and is likely too old to count on.

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Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit.

http://zetec7.webs.com/

P.S. I wonder how I would have been able to hand-crank start my MGA while holding the clutch in with one foot? [/quote]

Easy. You wouldn't need to. The safety switch does not energize the ignition.

Bill

I've been reading this thread and not saying anything, but I have to agree with not adding all kinds of unnecessary safety stuff to cars. Maybe I'm just a grumpy old man before my time, but today's society is way too concerned with safety and what might happen, maybe, if someone makes a mistake. I know it sounds harsh, but what happened to survival of the fittest? As an example, I don't have belt guards on my home made air compressor. A coworker once asked me what why I didn't and if I wasn't worried that someone might lose their fingers in it. My answer was that anyone dumb enough to put their hand in a spinning pulley with a belt on it probably needs to learn a lesson about consequences anyway. I think that the brain is like any muscle in the body, if you never have to use it, you will gradually lose the ability to use it when needed. I've been told I have a bad attitude towards safety at work, but it's not that I don't care about safety, it's just that I think the most important safety device is between your ears and should be used all the time. Before anyone starts to lecture me on not making mistakes, I assure you that I've made plenty of them myself, and I've been lucky enough to survive intact but, more importantly, I've also learned from them. Besdides if we were all that concerned with safety here on this forum, we probably wouldn't be building our own minimalist cars in our garages instead of buying whatever the newest, safest, mass produced and engineered car is at the time. It would certainly be "safer" than our homebuilt cars, with or without a clutch safety switch.
Kristian

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V6 in a book frame build. Now registered.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=7587
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=18172

Have to say I was amazed the first time I heard about clutch interlock switches. Could people really be that dumb that they don't check the car is in neutral before trying to start it? They've started to appear on cars here in the last 10 years or so, probably because manufacturers are building to a common global spec and it's easier to include things like that.

I am reminded of this though:




D