hi,
the device you describe would be a form of 'centrifugal clutch' ...
a very old concept for sure .
basically ...weights swing out with rotational speed ...
usually with some 'give' so there is slip action before full rpm is
attained...then at some level it gets 100 % engagement.

Citroen 2CV car has such a device.

That's a slightly different requirement that what a syncro needs for the
front drive.

in modern cars it's done electronically ...
wheel speed sensors sending input to an ECU , then solenoids or whatever
controlling clutch plates in the differentials, etc. .
Many variations and getting more evolved all the time.  Worth of study at
Wikipedia and so forth.

for VW to pull off a VC with no electronics was really quite brilliant,
especially for the era.
Heck, we should be glad there's no Check Engine Light associated with VC
performance on our syncro vans !

now if someone would just come up with a simple way to dial in 'more'
......or 'less' ...
more, or less drive to the front, like driver-controlled twist knob that can
be adjusted on the fly, and without it being crazy complicated either.

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Rodgers" <inua@CHARTER.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2010 12:19 PM
Subject: Re: VC fluid - take a chance on this

> I've not driven a syncro, nor have I ever seen a VC nor studied how it
> works - BUT - this is very interesting to me, because there are a lot of
> other application for VC like operations to drive different pieces of
> machinery. That given - I wonder if there aren't other options that
> might one day find their into the syncros somehow as a possible
> replacement for NLA syncro VC's. Example - there was a guy named Molt
> Taylor who designed and built a small, two-seater airplane he called the
> Mini-Imp. It had a VW engine up front driving a shaft that went between
> the pilot and passenger straight back through the fuselage to the tail
> cone where it engaged a type of lockup box of sorts but with no gears -
> to drive a pusher-type  propeller mounter on the very tail end of the
> little airplane. That box responded to torque pressure and the harder
> the engine ran, the greater the locking force in the box to drive the
> propeller. When the engine was at idle - the internals of the box
> automatically disengaged and the propeller didn't turn, even though the
> engine was running. There were no gears in that box. It was filled with
> very small, extremely hard ball bearings. As the drive shaft speed
> accelerated, the centrifugal forces would load those balls, pressing
> them hard enough to cause them to lock tight as if it were one solid
> piece of steel, yet when the drive shaft turned slower the balls
> loosened and there was slippage that could occur between the drive side
> and the propeller side within the box. There were absolutely no gears
> inside of this thing, and no fluids to worry with. The box was not some
> special design that Molt Taylor built, but a type that was apparently
> readily available in industry 30-40 years ago.
>
> My suggestion here is that as Vanagon owners and Syncro Owners drive
> into the sunset years of their machines, wondering about parts and VC's
> in particular - such alternatives should be looked at sooner rather than
> later, in order to have a chance to ponder, play, experiment with the
> possibilities, so the sunset years - which can be the best - last a lot
> longer.
>
> My $0.02 this day beautiful day before Easter.
>
> John Rodgers
> Clayartist and Moldmaker
> 88'GL VW Bus Driver
> Chelsea, AL
> Http://www.moldhaus.com
>
>
>
> Alistair Bell wrote:
>> This is kinda funny...
>>
>> German company selling replacement siloxane for VC refilling (they
>> also sell gaskets/seals for vc). Not much info on the specs of the
>> siloxane, something one would like to see.
>> ( And please, lets not get into the problems of refilling the vc
>> unless you have successfully done it :))
>>
>>
>> But there is a pic of the bottle here:
>>
>> http://www.dieselkontor.de/product_info.php?products_id=3022
>>
>> 69.95 euros for that bottle, which is labelled 16 oz.
>>
>> Now go look up the name on the label , Majestic Mountain Sage:
>>
>> http://www.thesage.com/catalog/products/Dimethicone.html
>>
>> price is $7.20 for same bottle. And only $43 a gal.
>>
>> funny old world eh?
>>
>> alistair
>> '86 syncro 7  passenger
>> '82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94
>> http://www.members.shaw.ca/albell/
>> http://shufti.wordpress.com
>>
>>