The latest CRUISER Newsletter - Ellijay Mountain Cruisers Inc DBA as Ellijay Mountain Cruisers Car Club

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The "CRUISER" Newsletter

President

Roger U Beauchamp

Vice President

Greg Guelcher

Secretary

Karen Beauchamp

Financial Manager

Charles Gary Johnson

Marketing Manager

Rudy H Kruger

Newsletter Editor

Tom George

Club Chaplain

Fred McGill

May 2026

AS THE WHEEL TURNS!

BY ROGER BEAUCHAMP, PRESIDENT

So just how much is too much?

When I purchased my second Mustang, I had my first real job and much deeper pockets. I went to the dealership and priced it out, not that price mattered. I gotta have 3 pedals and the most cubic inches Ford can stuff in it. I had discussions with a fellow motor head about that decision. Older than me and probably wiser, his point was the weight issue and serviceability.

He said too much weight in the front makes for poor handling, ya’ just don’t

need that many cubes for a good fun driving car. A few years have passed since that time and a few mustangs have come and gone. I know my mind still thinks like that, but I would hope I am a bit more logical now.

In my most recent Mustang purchase, I was looking for a nice fun driver. I though about the V8 verse the turbo 4. Here is my point, do I really need 450 + hp or can I just be happy with the 350 from the turbo 4? Gas milage 30+ or 20 mpg, additional 10,000 + dollars for the V8. Sometimes late at night I think yes I did, but when doing the Drive and Dine or a road trip I am sure the V8 was wrong for me and I had made the right decision.

I have 5 different drive modes with different exhaust sounds and steering response. Paddle shifters and a 10 speed auto transmission with full manual shift mode if desired. If I have the urge to play a bit, it comes with track apps for Gs in 4 axes, 0 to 60 mph times and drag timers for various distance. It’s just a fun car to drive with 30+ mpg and only 4 spark plugs for service. It’s tight in the corners and stops on a dime, it won’t roast the tires off, but that’s just fine.

Please follow the Web page, Ellijay www.ellijaymountaincruisers.com for up to date information on events.

Roger

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR MAY, 2026

This calendar is dedicated to car events OTP (Outside The Perimeter) covering the North Georgia area. www.ellijaymountaincruisers.com

---RECURRING EVENTS---

(Some events may be seasonal; always check with the host group)

Sunday, 3th - Caffeine and Octane Car Show. Town Center at Cobb - 9:00 AM (Recurring event-first Sunday of the month)

Sunday, 3th - WORSHIP Vintage and Classic Car Event - 1135 Woodstock Rd.,Roswell, GA. Vehicles must be 18 years old or older. 8:00am - 11:00am (Recurring event-first Sunday of the month)

Friday, 8th - Gilmer Street Rodders - Shane’s Rib Shack, 289 Highland Crossing, E. Ellijay, GA. 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. (Recurring event-second Friday of the month)

Tuesday, 12th - ELLIJAY MOUNTIAN CRUISERS CLUB SOCIAL DINNER at El Reys Azteca. El Rays Mexican Restaurant - 6:00 PM (Recurring event -Second Tuesday)

Sunday, 10th - Dahlonega Car Club Cruise-In. 140 S.Chestatee St, Dahlonega,GA. 9:00am - 12:00pm (Recurring event-second Sunday of the month)

Saturday, 16th - Po Boys Cruise-In, Riverstone Plaza, 1447 Riverstone Parkway, Canton, GA. 3:00pm - 6:00pm (Recurring event-third Saturday of the month)

Friday, 22th - Georgia Mountain Classics DQ Cruise-In. 380 Progress Circle, Blue Ridge, GA. Blue Ridge Dairy Queen. 6:00pm - 8:00pm (Recurring event-fourth Friday of the month)

Saturday, 23rd - Pickens Freedom Crusiers Crusie-In, 104 N. Main St., Jasper, GA., 4pm - 8pm (Recurring event-fourth Saturday of the month)

Tuesday, 21th - ELLIJAY MOUNTAIN CRUISERS DRIVE & DINE - Ellijay, GA. Meet at the parking lot next to McDonalds-11:00am (Recurring Event - Third Thursday of the month)

Saturday, 30th - ELLIJAY MOUNTAIN CRUISERS CARS AND COFFEE Ellijay, BURGER KING - 9:00 AM (Recurring event-Last Saturday of the month)

ADDITIONAL EVENTS FOR MAY

Friday, 1st & Saturday, 2nd - North GA Hot Rod Reunion, Meeks Park, Blairsville, GA. 8am - 5pm

Friday, 1st & Saturday, 2nd - Atlanta Concours d’Elegance, Lanier Islands Resort Peachtree Pointe, 7000 Lanier Islands Parkway, Buford, GA. 9am - 6pm

Saturday, 2nd - 3rd Annual Satalle Baptist Church Car, Truck & Jeep Show, 895 Know Bridge Hwy, White, GA. 9am - 3pm

Saturday, 2nd - Super Vette Saturday, Day’s Chevrolet, Acworth, GA. 9am - 3pm

Saturday, 2nd - Georgia Classic Rides Car Show, Northwest Christian Church, 3737 Dallas-Acworth Hwy, Acworth, GA. 10am - 2pm

Saturday, 2nd - Arts On The Rocks Car Show, 800 Old Alabama Rd., Cartersville, GA. 10am - 2pm

Saturday, 9th - GA Mountain Classics Car Show, Downtown Blue Ridge, GA. 9am - 4pm

Saturday, 9th - Forgotten Paws Charity Car Show, 3450 Acworth Due West Rd., Kennesaw, GA. 10am - 2pm

Saturday, 9th - Cherokee County 911 Foundation Car Show, 11905 Hwy 92, Woodstock, GA. 10am - 2pm

Saturday, 16th - Bartow County Center for Development Charity Car Show, Southern Devil Harley-Davidson, Cartersville, GA. 8am - 3pm

Saturday, 16th - Ridez By The River Field of Dreams Car Show, 60 Etowah Springs Rd., Cartersville, GA. 10am - 4:30pm

Saturday, 16th - Wings & Wheels Fly-in & Car Show, 579 Airport Terminal Rd., Blairsville, GA. 8am - 4pm

Friday, 22nd - Georgia Racing HOF Memorial Day Car Show, 415 Hwy 53E, Dawsonville, GA. 4pm - 8pm

Saturday, 30th - Drivien By Compassion Classic Car Show, 325 Old Mill Rd., Cartersville, GA. 10am - 3pm

Saturday, 30th - Righteous Rides Car Show, 3750 Acworth Hwy, NW, Acworth, GA. 9am - 3pm

Fact and Friction: The Basics of Automotive Clutches

By Kyle Smith

(Reprinted By Permission of Hagerty Media)

There are a few parts of any car that are critically important to safe operation, but are also a real headache to address should they need servicing. I like to say that these parts are in the “Red Threadlocker Zone.” This 1985 Corvette I have been tinkering with over the last year and a half has surprisingly few of these zones, where access requires significant or very inconvenient disassembly to access. As a result, all the bits need to go together correctly the first time without question. Prime example: The flywheel and clutch.

Even with the traditional engine and transmission assembly—compared to the torque tube found on later Corvettes—the thought of pulling the transmission to diagnose or repair a throwout bearing or clutch issue is a task that I know would cause me to park the car off in a friend’s barn for a month or two while I enjoyed something else. I consider this a winter project, so should something fail during the driving weather, I’m just going to avoid it. Good, bad, or otherwise, I know that about myself and thus am doing everything I can now to ensure I don’t have any issues later.

This means careful parts selection and even more careful assembly. For parts, a clutch more or less breaks down into a five-part system: Flywheel, friction disk, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, and pilot bearing. Let’s look at each individually and consider what options exist and factors for making the right choice.

Pilot Bearing

A small part that plays a big role, the pilot bearing is pressed into the crankshaft and supports the input shaft of the transmission. This keeps the input shaft from moving as the friction disc turns, since even a small imbalance might cause a vibration even in mild street engines. Options exist for roller bearings or plain bearings (bushings), and each has an appropriate use. For my most recent engine build, I had both sitting on the bench and ended up using the roller bearing that was included with the parts kit I ordered.

I was initially worried about using a roller pilot bearing due to the fact that if the roller bearing fails it will take out the input shaft of the transmission with it, while bushings rarely have this problem. What I came to realize was that I was overthinking things, and plenty of cars with more power withstand more abuse than I am planning while using a roller bearing pilot. If the experts who built my clutch kit recommend it, I’m hesitant to argue.

Flywheel

The nature of any engine is that the power comes in pulses coinciding with the power stroke of each cylinder, especially at the lower limits of the engine’s RPM range. A flywheel is a simple method of using a spinning weight to smooth those pulses. It also gives a nice tidy place to mount the rest of the clutch system, enabling power transfer. The flywheel also often carries the ring gear, which is used by the starter to turn the engine for initial cranking.

One face of the pressure plate will be machined as a friction surface for the friction disc to engage with, but otherwise is a simple piece. The largest factors for a flywheel are weight and diameter, as these will affect the character of the engine as it runs. A lighter or smaller-diameter flywheel will make an engine rev quicker, often stall easier, and create a narrower sweet spot for perfect gear shifts. On the other hand, a heavy flywheel will be nearly impossible to stall on takeoff but will make the engine rev slowly both up and down, possibly making shifts slow.

Pressure plate

The unsung star of the show, the pressure plate, is what actually holds things together. More accurately, it clamps things together. A spring diaphragm allows a machined plate to protrude and contract, which clamps and releases the friction disc between the pressure plate and flywheel. The pressure plate attaches to the outer edge of the flywheel and spins with it, effectively becoming a part of the flywheel while in operation.

The pressure part of the pressure plate comes by way of the springs that allow the driver to engage and disengage the power transfer. These springs need to be appropriately sized for the power output of the engine. Not enough clamping force can be just one reason a clutch may slip or fail to transfer all the engine’s power to the transmission. Pressure plates are tunable on high-performance applications, but most are not, and that means selecting the appropriate style and power rating is critical to long-term durability and function.

Friction disc(s)

When someone says clutch, this is the part you are probably actually thinking of. Clamped between the pressure plate and the flywheel, the friction disc is what takes the rotation of the flywheel and transfers it to the splines of the input shaft. Friction material on the faces are clamped by the pressure plate against the flywheel. This means all the power and torque your engine makes has to be held by the material on that friction disc, meaning the amount of torque a clutch can hold is dependent on the amount of surface area on the friction disc and what material is covering it.

This is one area where modern clutches really put it to old designs. Vintage friction discs had material riveted or bonded to the surface to engage with the pressure plate and flywheel. That material has evolved and changed throughout the years, both in the interest of limiting or eliminating hazardous materials like asbestos and utilizing modern technology to increase the coefficient of friction and allow for more efficient power transfer with less clamping force. Those with slightly larger left calves understand.

Common automotive clutch materials fall into one of three categories, of increasing aggressiveness: Organic, Kevlar, and ceramic. Organic materials give predictable engagement, good strength, and long life. Stepping up to Kevlar increases the heat tolerance and coefficient of friction, meaning more power can be transferred without slipping. Ceramic dials up both heat and power tolerance another notch, but introduces the very grabby nature of ceramic materials, meaning these are often a chore to drive in anything other than racing environments.

Throw-out bearing

A clutch is only useful for connecting and disconnecting power if there is something to actuate the pressure plate, and that is the job of the throw-out bearing. This critical piece has some type of wear surface or roller bearing that contacts the pressure plate to actuate the pressure plate’s spring diaphragm. Many modern throw-out bearings are hydraulic, which makes for long life and removes the need for adjustments once installed.

Picking a throw-out bearing often comes down to quality and fit. Considering the amount of effort required to change a throw-out bearing—removing the engine or transmission completely in most cases—means this is very much a “buy once, cry once” scenario: make sure everything is right before closing up the bellhousing, including setting the proper gap so the throw-out bearing moves within the appropriate part of its travel.

The clutch in your car is not witchcraft or a black box of complicated pieces, but instead a simple design that has evolved over the years thanks to advances in material technology and a better understanding of the physics involved in power transmission. Old-school materials and methods still work for most applications, but if you are dialing up the performance of your project, be sure to dig in deep and make sure you are selecting the proper clutch for your application. The best place to start after understanding the pieces is to talk to an expert who can help with the selection of each piece or help build a kit. After all, you don’t want to go in and change out the clutch when everything else is working as intended.

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Being a REGULAR member of Ellijay Mountain Cruisers

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