Bernhard

Looking for information on the W37 dual disc clutch.

Were they any good?
Are they hard to find?
What are they worth $$$
Were they available on the 69 442 ?

Thanks
Bernhard

paulolds

They were only Available on 71-72 Olds. I heard of them being on Corvettes as well but don't know what year.
They worked great, easy to use.
You can probably buy the disc and pressure plate from a corvette supplier but the flywheel is unique to Olds and scarce. You will pay whatever somebody wants.

2blu442

In the mid-1980's I purchased my 1970 442 as a basket case. It included the W37 dual clutch. Unfortunately I sold the clutch and flywheel before I knew what I had. But the person who bought it wanted it for his wife. He was familiar with them and said it would take much less pressure to depress the clutch pedal. The clutch discs had the wrong centers, fine splines instead of coarse. Greg at Supercarsunlimited was going to try and have them rebuilt for the new owner with the correct centers. It had two discs with a thick metal plate between them. Also the flywheel had a strange notch/groove cut into the face I wish I'd taken photos now. Yes they are rare, but I don't think there's a huge demand for them. Getting parts may be difficult, I don't know how much of the chevy stuff will swap over. I also don't know the purpose of the groove/notch in the face. Maybe to balance it?

John

Bernhard

Thanks for the reply's.
Was the flywheel the same as the standard clutch flywheel?

2blu442

No, my comment about the notch/groove. It was maybe 1/2" wide, curved with the round shape the clutch disc would be, maybe 4" long, and maybe 1/2" deep? Been a lot of years, but I still remember trying to figure out why the flywheel had this cut into it.

OK, thought about your question some more. Yes it was a normal manual transmission flywheel with this notch cut into the face of the flywheel near the outer edge of where the disc would be against the face of the flywheel.

Yellowstatue

It was also a '70 Olds option. I will try to provide pics over the holidays. I bought the flywheels and pressure plate but not the fine spline discs. So a couple years ago I had 10 spline, 10 inch discs made. Not cheap. Statue.

Stefano

[QUOTE=joesw31;629997]The dual disc is from the Corvette line-up, and was also available in the 1969 Camaros.


QUOTE]


Never seen one on a '69 Camaro?

Yellowstatue

I sit corrected, clutches for '71 & '72, but not '70. For some reason, (many years) I thought a guy in the next town had that set-up in his '70 W30. So I checked the parts book again.

Carshinebob

We restored a 72 w-30 five years ago with it's original dual disk clutch. From my experiance I've seen a number of these clutches still original. Because of the extra friction surface they seem to last a lot longer than a regular clutch. When we've needed sevice on these clutches I take them to Clutch Dynamics in Lansing Michigan. Dave Pelly (the owner) has lots of experiance and parts for dual disk clutches. Happy holidays. ~BOB

PS. BTW. I've found these clutches in every original 72 W-30 I've ever seen. even two cars that weren't ordered with this option.

Bernhard

So what parts do you need for the conversion?

Does it use the same throw out bearing?
Stock flywheel with out the grove will it work?
Pressure plate
discs
mid plate
Disk

What else would one need besides money?

oldsmobiledave

Neither my car nor my buddies' 72 W-30 w speed car has this option.

dc2x4drvr

I have the W37 setup that came in my car, took it out years ago, yes the flywheel is thinner, and I believe was used to keep the clutch package the same height as the single disc, use same TB, and clutch fork..Google w37, the Camaro story is floating around, I printed it out several years ago. The CSM has pics and details installation.

rcktdoc

I owned a 72 post W30 it came with a W37 and an M21 4sp,Also had a 72 W30 hdtp it had a factory M22 no W37. The 72 hdtp was never apart and Vin # was on the trans.When I bought the post car the owner said when he got it it didnt have the original flywheel and clutch he purchased an NOS clutch and had a flywheel scaloped to work with the W37 clutch.

Greg

oldsmobiledave

The only Manual transmission available in 1972 was the M-20 so your story seems to be in conflict with Oldsmobile production facts.

Octania

Many years ago the parts guy at University Olds suggested I look into the dual disc clutch. I wish I had known a little more about the item, or maybe had some more guidance. Don't think I have ever seen one in person.

rcktdoc

Im sorry I miss stated the post had a M20 wide ratio. But I can assure you the 72 htp had a M22.When I purchased the car I checked All the #s Block had the vin# as did the trans. Car needed a clutch and I opened the trans when I had it out It was an M22 with straight cut gears. Nothing had been apart on the drive train before I purchased it.

Greg

oldsmobiledave

I can't help but wonder how an M-22 found its way into a 1972 W-30 as OEM. Do you know the production date of the car or still have the VIN? I wonder if it was a very early 1972 model and if it got a left over M-22 from the 1971 production run.

rcktdoc

It was back in around 1995 so I cant remember the dates.Car was sequia Green gold stripes and black interior had 72000 miles 3;73 gears My post car was sequia Green White stripes white interior. Also had a 72 W30 hdtp auto, sequia gren black stripe black interior.

Greg.

wmachine

I have production records for '72 and no M22. I know this can get a bit sensitive, but maybe yours still did not come off the line with the M22. Like dealer installed. It sure would be nice to know what the story is behind it, considering.

rcktdoc

As far as I know the dealers didnt put vin#s on transmisions or blocks.I have and have had a few SR blocks and they have a production# no vin. I no longer have the car and sold it in the mid 90s so there is no way to verifie it

Greg

Octania

http://www.camaro-untoldsecrets.com/...es/rpo_ma6.htm

"One of the most interesting, rare and overlooked high performance options available for the early Camaro is the Heavy-Duty Dual Disc Clutch, Regular Production Option MA6. This heavy-duty (HD) performance option was first released for use on the high-performance optional engines during the 1969 model year. The intent was to offer a clutch system that would stand up to rigors of performance driving and, as it turns out, the design may have been overkill. The durability of this clutch is absolutely amazing; combinations similar to this were used as slider clutches in dragsters handling well over 1200 horsepower!

"The unit is especially well-suited for use with the Z/28-302 in conjunction with the M21-M22 transmission using the 2.20 first gear and any rear axle ratio numerically lower than 4.11. The combination of the 302 being relatively low on torque at the bottom end and the standard gearing being relatively stout requires higher revs and more slipping of the clutch to get rolling at a moderate pace. Even more revs and clutch slippage are required to get off smoothly and quickly. This action substantially reduces clutch life and the standard 10-1/2" clutch with its marginal performance characteristics was a compromise at best. In recognition of this, Chevrolet offered the optional HD dual-disc clutch. Unfortunately, the high cost of the option was a factor that kept it from being ordered on many cars. In fact, if a car was to see any real high-performance work, standard protocol of the day was to replace the stock unit with one of the lower priced high-performance aftermarket units. We know today in retrospect, however, that the dual-disc system was far superior."

etc.

Stefano

I know the book.......lots of cool parts and great info, however while RPO MA6
did make the list of option for 1969 Chevrolets, no Camaros, have ever been found to have the option. It did however make its way on to some, but very few Corvettes.

JMJ-RIP

My '71 W-30 has this W37 option with the M-22. This car was my moms DD and I will say after driving it for a day my left leg is/was, well, well worked out. During the first clutch replacement ('76) my dad bought from olds a full replacement set and had another rebuilt. We again in '85 during the engine rebuild had the plate rebuilt and extra discs redone. As the car sits today is from the '85 rebuild with the dual disc setup.

Both my parents are now gone.

I am ready to go through this car in remembrance for my mom. I will rebuild it as built from new and realize what that may cost.

Now a conclusion:
Yes, it engages very well.
Yes, parts pretty much now nonexistent.
Not sure what it's worth.
Not sure on a '69
Yes the dual disc clutch was offered on the hi-hp 454 '70 vette

If this was a great performing option, maybe they would still be offered, I don't know,my recent driving is now done in Audi "S" and "RS" type vehicles.

Jon

Bernhard

Thanks for the reply