Hello Everyone!

Just an update on my Amphicar -- the one that was damaged by the
moving company during transport from Florida to Portland. I'm happy
to report that after a month in the shop (and several thousand
dollars later -- all paid by the moving company), everything looks
great. I was finally able to take it for my first drive this morning.

That brings a question: When I took it out for a spin, there was a
terrible rattling and shaking when I was in first gear. The shaking
is so bad that if you don't hold the gear stick hard, it will pop
into neutral. Once it gets into second, third, and fourth,
everything is nice and smooth.

Does anyone know what may be happening? It sounds like a clutch
problem to me, but I was wondering if this is common with Amphicars.
Should I take it to a transmission specialist?

Also, I can't find the VIN plate on the Amphicar. Where are these
normally located? I need to transfer the title over.

Thanks for your help!

Charles
'67 Red




        
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GORDON IMPORTS INC.. The world's largest source of Amphicar parts and accessories. Visit our new website today.

Hello Charles,

Glad to hear your Amphicar survived (kind of) the fall from the
truck.

The chatter that you have (and boy does yours sound bad) is from the
clutch. Amphicars were built with an old style spring clutch that is
very finicky and the rebuilt clutch disks rarely work smoothly. Look
into the Amphicar site classifieds to see a high performance clutch
replacement package that I just started to sell. It replaces the old
style clutch with a later, diaphragm type clutch. I've used mine for
several thousand miles and it works fine.

The VIN plate should be on the wall of the engine compartment just
above and to the left of the coil. The VIN number is also stamped on
the top of the right hand frame rail, just ahead of the radiator
support bracket. Those numbers were often coated with paint and you
may have to sand that paint off to see them. It's a good idea to
spray several coats of clear paint over them, for protection, if you
sand down to the metal.
John Friese

White 67
Red 67




--- In amphicar-lovers@yahoogroups.com, "portlandamphicar"
wrote:
> Hello Everyone!
>
> Just an update on my Amphicar -- the one that was damaged by the
> moving company during transport from Florida to Portland. I'm
happy
> to report that after a month in the shop (and several thousand
> dollars later -- all paid by the moving company), everything looks
> great. I was finally able to take it for my first drive this
morning.
>
> That brings a question: When I took it out for a spin, there was a
> terrible rattling and shaking when I was in first gear. The
shaking
> is so bad that if you don't hold the gear stick hard, it will pop
> into neutral. Once it gets into second, third, and fourth,
> everything is nice and smooth.
>
> Does anyone know what may be happening? It sounds like a clutch
> problem to me, but I was wondering if this is common with
Amphicars.
> Should I take it to a transmission specialist?
>
> Also, I can't find the VIN plate on the Amphicar. Where are these
> normally located? I need to transfer the title over.
>
> Thanks for your help!
>
> Charles
> '67 Red




        
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
GORDON IMPORTS INC.. The world's largest source of Amphicar parts and accessories. Visit our new website today.

> That brings a question: When I took it out for a spin, there was
> a terrible rattling and shaking when I was in first gear.

Charles,

The clutch's pressure plate is your problem. To avoid the (very
common) cha...cha...chatter for the time being, start out in 2nd
gear while on the road. It will not harm the car at all. First gear
is mainly for exiting waterways anyway. The pressure plate needs
adjusting. This needs to be done by a clutch expert with experience
with these types of clutchs. It will need to be removed from the car
for adjustment which is not that big of a deal, just time consuming.

> Also, I can't find the VIN plate on the Amphicar. Where are these
> normally located? I need to transfer the title over.

I have pictures of all the locations where to look for the VIN if
your tag is gone. Bilgy gave the VIN info a page at
http://www.amphicar.com/vin_numbers.htm. Take a peek! I was
surprised to see my VIN stamped in the engine cover and the hood. I
have still not seen this on any other car.

John Bevins
Rocky Mountain Amphicar




        
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
GORDON IMPORTS INC.. The world's largest source of Amphicar parts and accessories. Visit our new website today.