NoOp Drives a Clutchless Cobra

Sorry, it wasn't a homemade job or a factory fluke... an auto-equipped
Cobra, but rather I was limping home a '93 that suffered a broken
clutch cable. But I must say the experience was a driving lesson. I
always knew it was possible to drive clutchless, but it wasn't
something I ever tried. Yesterday I acquired the skill.

When the cable let go I was rolling up to the last traffic light in a
nearby city just before the road becomes a divided 20-mile stretch of
highway to my city. I step on the clutch and suddenly BAM the pedal
sinks to the floor. I flick on the hazards, roll the car into the
early part of a left turn lane and then ponder what to do next. Not
crazy about having my car towed or flat-bedded, I decide to finish the
drive home clutchless. I start trying to force the shifter into first
gear and the car sssslllloooowwwwlllyyy starts to move. I look in my
rear view searching for the largest opening in traffic I can find. I
see a good size space, and with my hazard lights still on, I ease back
into traffic. Needless to say creeping along at less than 5 mph in a
45 it doesn't take long for traffic to close my opening. Looking in
my rear view and see a guy bearing down on me while yakking on his
cell phone. Just before I cringe expecting a rear-end collision, I
see the front-end of his car nose dive as he finally gets on the
brakes. Barely missing me, he swerves around, beeps the horn, flips
me off, then resumes his telephone conversation as he continues down
the road obviously mostly oblivious to what is in front of him.
Idiot!

Eventually the shifter fully snicks into first gear and I'm up to a
sprinter's pace -- a 335 first and 3.55 rear gears doesn't give you a
lot of flexibility on the highway. But just happy to be under power,
and not wanting to risk forward mobility, I continue my trek home in
first gear traveling as far over to the right side of the blacktop
highway as I can get with my flashers still flashing.

After about 5 minutes I grow tired of creeping down the highway. As I
approach a long downhill, I decide to chance it and I pull it out of
first and hope I can find a higher gear. As the car picks up speed on
the downhill slope in neutral, I start trying to force the shifter
into third gear. Bingo, got it! So I wind out third gear and then
hope for fourth. Got fourth. Hey, this isn't so hard. After the
highway driving, I navigate through a little city traffic, timing most
of the traffic lights, and finally get the clutchless Cobra home.

21 years of Fox Mustang ownership, and I'm still yet to get stranded.
Score another one for Ford!

Patrick

Pretty good! Take your weekend wil be taken up with fitting a new
clutch? No damage to the gear box then?

wrote:
> Sorry, it wasn't a homemade job or a factory fluke... an auto-equipped
> Cobra, but rather I was limping home a '93 that suffered a broken
> clutch cable. But I must say the experience was a driving lesson. I
> always knew it was possible to drive clutchless, but it wasn't
> something I ever tried. Yesterday I acquired the skill.
>

I hate when that happens. I always wondered why the Mustang didn't
have a hydraulic clutch.

--


"Listen asshole, this case is not closed. I demand
that <the Better BUsiness Beureau> order the abusive
individual Geoff Brozny to take down these websites." - Tard

> wrote in message
...
>
> 21 years of Fox Mustang ownership, and I'm still yet to get stranded.
> Score another one for Ford!
>
> Patrick

I haven't had to do that since my Mustang II days, when I popped two
different clutch cables. But I turned the car off at red lights and
re-started in first gear. Could never get it into first when the car was
moving.

Now that I think of it, TFrog hasn't broken a cable in the 15 years I've had
it. Knock mightily on wood.

dwight

simple answer why no hydraulic - $$$$
As for myself, I like the feel of a cable better, I like a mechanical
connection.
22 year old Merc Capri 5.0, 3rd clutch, original cable.


"WindsorFox<SS>" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>> Sorry, it wasn't a homemade job or a factory fluke... an auto-equipped
>> Cobra, but rather I was limping home a '93 that suffered a broken
>> clutch cable. But I must say the experience was a driving lesson. I
>> always knew it was possible to drive clutchless, but it wasn't
>> something I ever tried. Yesterday I acquired the skill.
>>
>
> I hate when that happens. I always wondered why the Mustang didn't
> have a hydraulic clutch.
>
> --
>
>
> "Listen asshole, this case is not closed. I demand
> that <the Better BUsiness Beureau> order the abusive
> individual Geoff Brozny to take down these websites." - Tard

this is why I carry a spare cable,along with a spare serpentine belt and
distributor module....
> wrote in message
...
> Sorry, it wasn't a homemade job or a factory fluke... an auto-equipped
> Cobra, but rather I was limping home a '93 that suffered a broken
> clutch cable. But I must say the experience was a driving lesson. I
> always knew it was possible to drive clutchless, but it wasn't
> something I ever tried. Yesterday I acquired the skill.
>
> When the cable let go I was rolling up to the last traffic light in a
> nearby city just before the road becomes a divided 20-mile stretch of
> highway to my city. I step on the clutch and suddenly BAM the pedal
> sinks to the floor. I flick on the hazards, roll the car into the
> early part of a left turn lane and then ponder what to do next. Not
> crazy about having my car towed or flat-bedded, I decide to finish the
> drive home clutchless. I start trying to force the shifter into first
> gear and the car sssslllloooowwwwlllyyy starts to move. I look in my
> rear view searching for the largest opening in traffic I can find. I
> see a good size space, and with my hazard lights still on, I ease back
> into traffic. Needless to say creeping along at less than 5 mph in a
> 45 it doesn't take long for traffic to close my opening. Looking in
> my rear view and see a guy bearing down on me while yakking on his
> cell phone. Just before I cringe expecting a rear-end collision, I
> see the front-end of his car nose dive as he finally gets on the
> brakes. Barely missing me, he swerves around, beeps the horn, flips
> me off, then resumes his telephone conversation as he continues down
> the road obviously mostly oblivious to what is in front of him.
> Idiot!
>
> Eventually the shifter fully snicks into first gear and I'm up to a
> sprinter's pace -- a 335 first and 3.55 rear gears doesn't give you a
> lot of flexibility on the highway. But just happy to be under power,
> and not wanting to risk forward mobility, I continue my trek home in
> first gear traveling as far over to the right side of the blacktop
> highway as I can get with my flashers still flashing.
>
> After about 5 minutes I grow tired of creeping down the highway. As I
> approach a long downhill, I decide to chance it and I pull it out of
> first and hope I can find a higher gear. As the car picks up speed on
> the downhill slope in neutral, I start trying to force the shifter
> into third gear. Bingo, got it! So I wind out third gear and then
> hope for fourth. Got fourth. Hey, this isn't so hard. After the
> highway driving, I navigate through a little city traffic, timing most
> of the traffic lights, and finally get the clutchless Cobra home.
>
> 21 years of Fox Mustang ownership, and I'm still yet to get stranded.
> Score another one for Ford!
>
> Patrick
>
>

> I hate when that happens. I always wondered why the Mustang didn't
> have a hydraulic clutch.
>
> --
>
> "Listen asshole, this case is not closed. I demand
> that <the Better BUsiness Beureau> order the abusive
> individual Geoff Brozny to take down these websites." - Tard

Of course you can have problems with a hydraulic clutch too... lost
the hydraulic line in my 280Z... had my buddy push my car fast enough
to get it into first gear... then it was just a matter of matching
speed and RPMs to shift... it was scary but i managed to get home...
LOL

John S. wrote:
>> I hate when that happens. I always wondered why the Mustang
>> didn't have a hydraulic clutch.
>>
>> --
>>
>> "Listen asshole, this case is not closed. I demand
>> that <the Better BUsiness Beureau> order the abusive
>> individual Geoff Brozny to take down these websites." - Tard
>
> Of course you can have problems with a hydraulic clutch too... lost
> the hydraulic line in my 280Z... had my buddy push my car fast
> enough to get it into first gear... then it was just a matter of
> matching speed and RPMs to shift... it was scary but i managed to
> get home... LOL

I've read of international racing stars whose technique didn't include
clutch shifting.

When I was a young Airman one of the most boring jobs I had was driver
of the shuttle, a 4x4 weapons carrier. The driver was responsible for
bus and delivery service. Long periods of waiting, with the
opportunity to spend some of it driving around the base and through
its back-country parts.

Just for amusement I learned to shift it smoothly without using the
clutch. At the end of a run I'd kick it out of gear, turn off the
engine, and coast to a stop within inches of the appropriate location.
Your government dollars at work.

Couple years later, at home in the L.A. area we did an ovehaul of my
friend's MG TF. Someone forgot to put the washer and split pin on the
clutch pedal pivot, and the clutch rod broke off at the threads. I was
driving it around to get it broken in a bit for him, and had to drive
it from some place near Compton to near Redondo Beach without a
clutch. It worked OK once I learned to start it in first and turn it
off when I needed to stop. Thought I had done something special, I
did.

Then, even more years later my unlicensed wife drove our bugeye Sprite
across Tijuana and back. She had only ever been a spectator from the
passenger seat, had no clutch knowledge or experience, started it in
gear every time. When finally the battery gave out a kind gentleman
was giving her a hand-push out of an intersection, and told her to put
the clutch in. Clutch?

I guess we do what we gotta do.