TheSamba.com :: View topic - Can you identify this aftermarket pressure plate?

Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:08 pm

Hello folks,
A friend of mine gave me this pressure plate along with a 4 puck clutch.
Turns out, both were installed and removed shortly thereafter-the owner hated them.
It's an old school non-diaphram type pressure plate.
The cross-hatching is still on the plate itself.
There are a few identifying stampings on it.
One is:
F&S
Schweinfurt
TYP DX200
The other is:
211 141 025A

Any idea who the maker is?
2100 lb.? 2600 lb.? More!??!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:03 pm

Since no one is replying, I'll give my two cents worth:

F&S stands for Fichtel and Sachs, an OEM supplier of VW clutches, shock absorbers, etc.

The nine-spring clutches came on early 12-volt buses and beetles and was a quality item. The 9-digit VW part number starting with 211 indicates it was a bus (type 2) part, so probably the stronger OEM version. My '69 Westy had the same clutch.

Now since yours is painted red, another shop may have beefed it up.

Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:04 pm

neil68 wrote: Since no one is replying, I'll give my two cents worth:

F&S stands for Fichtel and Sachs, an OEM supplier of VW clutches, shock absorbers, etc.

The nine-spring clutches came on early 12-volt buses and beetles and was a quality item. The 9-digit VW part number starting with 211 indicates it was a bus (type 2) part, so probably the stronger OEM version. My '69 Westy had the same clutch.

Now since yours is painted red, another shop may have beefed it up.

or just painted it because everyone knows the red ones cost more.

Fri Oct 24, 2008 5:24 pm

Thanks for the breakdown of the part numbers and F&S!

As for the color:
There was green, red and other colors to denote the "high performance" versions.
Before the coming of the diaphram clutch (Sachs, Kennedy, etc.), these old style "worked over stock units" were it.

How to ID the old mega-HD covers:
The ridiculously heavy units (2600 lb. for example) had metal bars welded to their cover in the spring area, to keep the thing from folding in on themselves?

That being said, mine does not have these welded-on bars so I'm thinking it's more of a liveable level.

But the mystery continues: What level is this thing?!?!?

A good friend of mine mentioned this could be an "1800-2000 lb." version of the aforementioned old colored pressure plates.

Anyone else?

Fri Oct 24, 2008 6:51 pm

Green is a stage 2 equivalent, I think red is equivalent to a stage 1, so around 1700 lb pressure plate