MA6 option

[LS6 RAT]

I was interested to know if there are any '69 Camaro owners on the board that had the dual disc clutch installed at the factory on their car? What model was it, SS, Z28, Copo.

How about the Chevelle owners, any LS6/M22 cars purported to have the dual disc clutch as an option?

[Kurt S]

Zero Camaro owners. None factory built. Vince Piggins daughter's BB car had one though. http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[LS6 RAT]

Kurt:
Thanks, for the reply, several members viewed post, but appreciate your response.

The reason I asked is that the book, Camaros Untold Secrets, talks about this option being one of the rarest and little known for the Camaro. By the way only 130 of these units were installed in 1969 Corvettes, out of over 38,762 cars produced for that model year. Oddly enough these have only been found in L71/L89 optioned 'vettes, none in the L71 option only cars.

[Keith Tedford]

When looking into ordering a COPO Chevelle, the dual disc clutch cost about $95. It would have been fine for drag racing but the standard clutch was never a problem with street tires.

[Kurt S]

Interestly, I hear the MA6 is considered a liability in a Vette, not a selling point! Hard to get parts for.

Yes, Wayne really doesn't mention is wasn't produced.....

[John Brown]

Way back in 1969 a friend had a copo Chevelle with a MA6 dual disk clutch. The clutch was soft enough that his wife had no problem driving the car. The clutch liked to stick to the floor whenever he tried to shift at over 6200 rpm. He eventually replaced it with a single disk racing clutch. The Chevelle was traded in when the kids started coming. If we had only known then how to make it work! http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burnout.gif

[LS6 RAT]

Kurt:
Actually, the MA6 clutch is looked upon like the M22 is, both very desireable. Both being of HD design, engineer Gib Hufstader was responsible for that invention.

Yes, the clutch components are very scarce to find, however they last a long time under severe usage and practically never wear out under normal use.

[Kurt S]

John,
I doubt that was a factory MA6 install on that COPO. No engine code for it....

[Keith Tedford]

You are right. There would be a special engine code as the engine would have come from Tonawanda with the clutch already installed. The salesman told me that the clutch was available but then again he wasn't very well versed on the COPO options either. Were there any special codes for the MA6 in the L78 Chevelle, Nova, or Camaro? http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Kurt S]

There was in Camaros.

[Rowdy Rat]

There were actually two different versions of the dual disk clutch that was used... A coarse spline (early) and fine spline (late).

The 1969 MA6 option for Corvettes was pretty much as you described... Available with L-71/L-89 only (not available with the L-88/ZL-1). GM records show 106 units produced for sale and I have around 15 or so cars surveyed with this clutch option. The 1969 cars used the coarse spline version which is probably the more difficult of the two to find today. Neat piece though... Great clamping force with very little pedal pressure required.

The LS-6 Corvettes used the fine spline version whether equipped with the M-21 or M-22 transmission. I have never heard of a 1970 LS-6 Chevelle equipped with this clutch, but I'm not well versed in Chevelles, so maybe someone more knowledgeable will speak up.

A few years ago, I was searching for big block parts and came across a complete L-72 engine for sale. Engine had an "LD" broadcast code (pretty sure that's the code - I did confirm it at the time though) and appropriate serial number derivative which corresponds to a "big" Chevrolet (Biscayne/Belair/Impala) with 427/425 and dual disk clutch... Yes, I did try to find the car (without any luck.)

That's the closest I ever found to a non-Corvette with a factory installed dual disk clutch.

Regards,

Stan Falenski

[442w30]

A similar, if not identical, clutch was available on the 1971 4-4-2 as well.

[LS6 RAT]

These clutches are very unique, the clutch assembly also uses a special thinner flywheel. For 1969 'vettes in conjunction with the 427cid, the units flywheel is internally balanced, for 1970 the special flywheel is externally balanced. Also interesting is the complete clutch assembly consisting of pressure plate, 10 inch disc, intermediary (floater plate)plate, 10 inch disc weighs the same as the standard 11 inch clutch assembly does.