I’ve spent my working life as a mechanic/restorer working on cement shop floors and jumping down from tow trucks onto hard ground. More recently, the pounding resulted in ankle surgery with doctor’s orders to put no weight on my left ankle for a minimum of eight weeks. That meant no left foot clutch action for two months!

I found myself in Rover withdrawal yet really wanting to attend the second annual Maine Misfits and Rover Bits in Greene, ME last July.

My son Jacob and I devised a scheme to fabricate a hand clutch setup on my ‘58 Series I 109”, named “The Silver Bullet.” This Land Rover has a Series III drivetrain so it already had a linkage that would enable a hydraulic clutch activation instead of the Series I mechanical operation. After an afternoon of trial and error, we found an old emergency brake linkage from a Series II. We chopped and welded, gathered a few bits and brackets and soon had the finished product. We wanted something that didn’t require drilling or welding and would be easy to remove once I could use my left leg again.

I had two objectives in mind: having the proper throw from the clutch lever to completely disengage the clutch and having the clutch operate smoothly while engaging it. We assembled, adjusted and road tested until we felt satisfied with the hand action and clutch activation. It worked well, proved easy to adapt to, and got me back in the game. The 200-mile drive on two-lane roads to Maine became the first big test — and after a few miles I felt right at home. The mechanism passed with flying colors.

You can remove the entire assembly’s two bolts in a matter of minutes. To anyone who finds themselves in need of a hand-operated clutch, please feel free to contact me for information and assistance.

[Contact Glenn at GP Motorworks at gproverguy@gmail.com -ed.]