Ok i'm asking this for my buddy, but i am curious too.

How does a clutchless manual tranny work? Is it simply a manual with a torque convertor?

Also, could you get a 6 or 5 speed gate and adapt a auto shifter to work? Like this:
1 D N
l--l--l
2 OD R

He has a T56 right now but it is trashed, his brother has a built auto laying around that he can have. He likes the way the 6-speed console looks though. He cant afford a rebuild or a new T56 though.

Is it possible to adapt the autos shift pattern into a 6-speed pattern?

Thanks,

Matt

 

A clutchless manual trans uses dog faced clutch teeth in the synchronizer assemblies. These aren't streetable, because to downshift you have to rev-match the engine and trans or it won't go into gear. They are really made for full throttle dragstrip passes where every hundreth of a second counts. They are also really expensive.

The six speed doesn't have a gate. The pattern is built into the transmission. Under the shifter boot there's just a nub poking out of the trans that the shift arm bolts to. Remove the trans and there's just a big hole where the shifter used to poke through.

To swap from the T56 to an auto he will need a new console plate, and a shifter mechanism.

I'd just rebuild the T56. Does he know what's wrong with it?

 

Clutch is bad, synchros are bad, 2nd and 3rd are slipping badly. 5th is starting to slip. He simply has no money right now, the 700R-4 his brother has is for free, he eventually wants to get another T56, thats why he wants to retain the 6 speed console. He can't afford to not have the car running, its his daily driver.

Is there anyway possible to adapt the 4 speed auto shift pattern to the 6 speed gate pattern found on the console? He really, really doesnt want to hack up or remove or mess with his console at all, he just got a new one last summer.

Thanks,

Matt

 

All he has to do is swap the plate in the top of the console. Again, there is no "gate" for a stick, so he'll have to install a 700R4 shifter of some kind. This may require fabricating mounting brackets if his car was a stick from the factory, or they were cut out when he went to the T56. Everything should be easily found in a junkyard for very cheap.

Make sure the shift linkage is adjusted properly and the TV cable too, or the trans will self destruct very quickly.

 

My friend had a clutchless manual in his old Beetle. I think it came like that from the factory.

 

Thanks a lot!

Matt