Hey folks, I'm in the process of building my first frame and I admit I'm suffering from some "analysis paralysis". The chassis is a Deuce frame (ASC rails) to be mated to a Model A coupe. It'll be running a SBC with a Saginaw 4 speed. I'm working on how I want to build the crossmember and exactly where to locate it (fore/aft). To do this, I feel I need to know where to put my pedal assembly. Maybe I'm over thinking all this....in fact, I'm 90% sure I am! But bear with me. Ultimately, I'm looking for suggestions for a pedal assembly. I don't mind getting new components, it doesn't need to be original stuff...although original would be preferred. I plan on running juice brakes w/drums, but haven't looked into master cylinders yet. I would also prefer to run a hydraulic clutch, but I could be persuaded to go mechanical. The plan was to buy a Chassis Engineering Deuce crossmember, but I'm open to other suggestions, including fabbing my own. So if anyone could suggest a pedal assembly that would work well for my application (and why) I'd really appreciate it!
Consider running an Ansen style pedal setup with the Chevy master & slave, easy enough with the SBC/trans combo you got. A search here will provide alot of great info on this setup.
everything is about positioning. body on frame, engine must clear body and radiator. which gives trans position, which gives trans mount position which gives crossmember position. choose your style of x-memb construction - tubular, channel, F1, etc. then you know about where the pedal assembly will be. which in turn dictates the layout and shape of the pedals. easy, no? Edit- the pro builders can make a chassis w/o a body because they have the experience, measurements and layouts of how things fit for most of the "usual" combinations. a homebuilder is probably better off mocking everything together to avoid "do-overs"
treb11 nailed it! Everything has to fit where everything belongs. Get it all togther at one time, mock it all up and see what will fill the spaces you have to fill.
Well, I've pretty much got where the body will go on the frame. I started with the front crossmember 1" farther forward from a stock Deuce (stretching the wheelbase by 1"). Then I located the rear axle, which dictated the rear body position. That basically located the body so I have a pretty good idea where my pedals will be, but I have some leeway with the fore/aft location of the crossmember.....and I don't even know what pedals I want to use. But I've been now looking into the Ansen setup and I have to say....I like the idea of top-hinged pedals and it looks like it would make things a lot easier. ALEISTER, thanks for the idea. Seems like that would make things a lot easier and is yet still traditional enough (for me) for the era I'm after (mid-late '50s). Is there any real reason not to consider an Ansen style setup?
I would go with the hanging pedals. I have through the floor pedals and they leave me almost no room to stretch out. The extra foot/leg room would be nice on long trips. My .02
The Ansen style pedals are easy enough to fab yourself, or someone on here was making a nice looking set. Bear in mind you should reinforce the firewall to prevent flexing. Also think about pedal return springs (an afterthought on my part).
Thanks, fellas. And 18n57, that's a good point. I didn't think about legroom and I could see how hanging pedals could help. I'm 6'1" and plan on chopping my A, so legroom will be important to me. ALEISTER, thanks again! Yes, I will definitely reinforce the firewall to distribute that load better. Looks like RJay's has a really nice looking hanging pedal setup w/master cylinder and they're an Alliance vendor, which is also a plus! http://www.rjays.com/RJays_Traditional_Parts/brake & clutch-02.htm
Titus makes a nice ansen style pedal setup don't know if he's got any in stock but uses a '60 chevy truck master cylinder that uses brake and clutch setup in one unit
I used a pedal assembly from speedway. Came with a willwood clutch hydraulics. A slightly adjustable frame braket would be nice when fitting body and drive train ( 2 redo's and I had it)
Yep, Titus is the one I was thinking of. The pedals from RJ's look pretty stout, I think maybe Rod & Custom did a feature on those pedals a year or two back. Also if you use this setup the Chevy truck master cylinder has the brake & clutch pedals reversed, (they are marked on top of each cylinder) so swap the internals from side to side to put the residual valve in the brake cylinder. Clutch fork wise, the 60's truck used a cast iron fork rather than a stamped steel one. The cast iron fork has (2) positions for the slave push rod, use the inner posistion.
One thing to bear in mind...pre-1933 or so Fords are TIGHT inside. Go an inch one way, and you skin your knucles shifting into second...an inch the other way, and your hand is buried in the seat cushion before third clicks. Steering wheel, pedals, etc. have very little margin if you want the car to be reasonably comfortable to drive. Start with your coupe body, mock up some kind of seat in the right place, study this. Try for a chance to measure pedal locations and steering wheel in a stock Model A or a successfully built rod. This site: http://www.motormayhem.net/mode-a-ford-refrence-sheet/body-specifications/ has reproduced some of the Ford salesman's manual drawings. The '32 chassis gives you a little more wiggle room on the works, and if you are building you center crossmember you should be able to get real Ford look with any '32-48 Ford or F1 pedal set...your clutch linkage will be interesting if mechanical, possibly easy if you go to some sort of hydraulic.
I have the hanging pedals from a 61 or so Chevy pick up. They are for the siamesed clutch and brake double master cylinder. You mount them and the single M/C bolts thru them. I am sure the M/C's are still available and the slave also. $75?
Well, as a matter of fact, I have! LOL! A year or two ago I took a bunch of pics on the way to a BBQ run and I happened to have a few of his interior. Looks like he's running bottom hinged pedals. Paul, did he do something different since then? I recall at the time he mentioned that space was tight and when on the throttle, his foot was somewhat behind the brake pedal. But I haven't looked inside his car in so long, maybe he's tweaked it since then? I gave it quite a bit of thought and decided to go with what I consider to be the "easy" route that's still "traditional enough" for me. I called up Riley and they can't get the hanging pedals any longer so he recommended RJay's. Cory at RJay's hooked me up and I have a set of Ansen style hanging pedals w/master cylinder on the way. Thanks to everyone for the help and suggestions!
What brakes are you going to use? That master cylinder won't have the capacity if you use frt discs. Drums all around you'll be okay.
Yep, drums all around. I'll start off using '40 Fords up front and '66 Bronco rear. Hopefully it'll work alright...
Looked @ the listing on RJAY'S site and see it comes with the master cylinder, but I don't see mention of the slave or any type of slave bracket. Do they offer one, (just curious)? I'm sure these pedals get used with all types of engine combos so I guess not. Brackets easy enough to fab, and the slave should be easy to get through any decent parts house.
Hey Richard D here is a bigger pic of my clutch unit and a shot of the slave to use its a early 60's Chevy C10 unit I was have trouble getting enough of them locally so I just decided to give the application for them when I sold one its easier for one guy to get one then for me to get 20 of them. If you have any more questions just let me know.
Same here, I had the under floor unit but I changed my setup for a wilwood duo master hanging pedal set and it gave me at least 4-5" extra space to stretch out, not as traditional but my knees were touching the steering wheel and it was very uncomfortable. The ansen style pedals with chevy m/c is a cool setup too.