Hey All-

I've been working on a '57 Simplex Automatic I picked up a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to Wayne M. and a couple of other members I got it running pretty good and have had it move under it's own power (sort of).

When I first got it, it had the wrong belt on it (too big). I picked up a 5L280 for the time being, it's not a notch belt, but it should work until I place my first order with Wayne.

So here's my dilemma: without the belt, or if I take the tension off the belt, it will start rather easy and runs pretty good. With the belt on and under tension I can't get enough "spin" when I kick it to get it to fire.

I went through the clutches before I put it back together and after a good cleaning they seem to be operating properly, so I don't think it's a clutch problem. However, when I turn the primary pulley (not the outer drum) by hand, it immediately wants to engage the secondary before the shoes even start to expand, so I could be wrong. Should there be any slippage? I would think the pulley should spin freely and independent of the secondary until the shoes engage.

The primary clutch tension spring looks like it might be a replacement, so I'm thinking it's putting a bit too much tension on the primary.

Anybody have any ideas?


Thanks,
Marty