handicap controls

[wldavis]

Hi folks,

l did a search for this topic, but did not find what l needed.

l have a friend who had to have his left leg amputated.

He is in his eighties. He owns two nice Chevrolet trucks,

one from the 50's and one from the 60s, and both are

manual shift.

He is not wheel chair-bound. Does anyone know of

a company who makes a hand-operated clutch mechanism

that could be adapted for his use? And, that is

reversible, if he should decide to sell either?

Thank you.

[Jay Wolf]

Hi folks,

l did a search for this topic, but did not find what l needed.

l have a friend who had to have his left leg amputated.

He is in his eighties. He owns two nice Chevrolet trucks,

one from the 50's and one from the 60s, and both are

manual shift.

He is not wheel chair-bound. Does anyone know of

a company who makes a hand-operated clutch mechanism

that could be adapted for his use? And, that is

reversible, if he should decide to sell either?

Thank you.

I have seen a hydraulic motorcycle clutch lever/master cylinder mounted on a column shift lever. it looked like it worked pretty well. It was several years ago , can't remember where I seen it, but I think it was 50"s Ford pick-up.

[Rusty_OToole]

Used to know a guy with a missing left leg. He worked the clutch pedal in his car with a sawed off pool cue.

Or, he could trade in his truck on one with an automatic.

[Shop Rat]

Bill, Contact this company in Hurricane, W. Va. They have been in business for many years installing equipment for those with handicaps and doing converstions on vehicles, most vans, to help those with disabilities be able to drive and they have a good reputation. They install hand controls and other items, not just van lifts.

Van Lifts Unlimited, Inc. :: Home

[wldavis]

Thanks for the replies.

l will give him this information. He does, however, have

two daughters living fairly close. l do not know how they

feel about him getting back on the road again.

[Amphicar BUYER]

I have built my own hand controls and have a patent for motorcycle hand controls (5299652). In my Amphicar I have a standard set of "Monarch" hand controls that I added a Harley clutch handle/cable to, that operates a master from a International pickup, mated to a power booster from a Geo that operates a slave cylinder mounted on the end of the clutch cable. I had to add an electric vacuum pump as my 1147cc engine doesn't suck hard enuf.

When you depress the clutch by foot, it pulls the cable moving the clutch release arm. My slave pushes on the end of the release arm to operate the clutch. So it has both hand and foot operated clutch system. I only had to drill one hole (OUCH!!) for the whole system. (see photos)

Keep in mind, there is a lot going on with my left hand. I'm operating accelerator, brake, clutch signals and bright/dims. When shifting, I let off accel, pull in clutch, grab steering wheel with left thumb, reach over with right hand, shift, grab steering wheel with right hand, apply throttle and release clutch with left... repeat. So it will depend on how adept he is to this situation. An automatic convertion may be safer for him. As he only needs the clutch, he could put a hand operated clutch on the shifter itself. So when he needs to shift, he'll have the clutch and shifter in one hand.

Back in the day there were controls that did operate the clutch mechanically at the pedal. You push forward for brake/clutch. It applies the clutch then the brake in one motion. I have not seen a set for a very long time. Roosevelt had this type in his car. I prefer to be able to operate everything independently.

Edited April 18, 2011 by Amphicar BUYER (see edit history)

[CarlLaFong]

I built one for a friend who was a paraplegic. It was on a Ford Bronco. I used the regular hand controls also. I built a lever that mounted on the floor, next to the shifter. I dug an old parking brake cable out of the junk box and connected it from the bottom of the lever to the clutch pedal. By pulling on the lever, the clutch would disengage. The trick was the spring that went to the lever, above the pivot point on one end and to a bracket on the frame, below the pivot, on the other end. By adjusting the tension on the spring, it would hold the lever in the disengaged position when the spring went over center. It wasn't too much of a one man band to operate and once underway, he could shift without the clutch