Hi, I'm setting up the pedals on my 47 Ford. My foot well is 18" wide, so I have lots of room. My question is what is the ideal position for the clutch and brake width wise? I'm thinking the clutch and brake should be the same distance from the centre line of the foot well. Would the seat and steering wheel be centred on the centre line of the foot well too? appreciate any advice.
For the steering Wheel you'd have to use the dash hole or make your own. That's going to dictate what else happens with the pedals. Hopefully the wheel lines up with the seat center and your bracket gets a mount to the column as well. Personally i have big feet and I hate it when the gas pedal is to close to the Trans tunnel and my foot drags the tunnel. Count on a few layers of padding and insulation on the tunnel because the tunnel/floor will get hot there. After the gas pedal is determined, you want enough room to let your foot work the gas without being hindered or behind the brake pedal but the brake pedal close enough so you can pivot on your heel and catch the brake. Both the gas and the brake should be on the right side of the colum.
I only wear an 11 1/2 but my foot is relatively wide. It always seems like the loud peddle is an after thought in most cars. In a perfect world the steering column is centered on the driver seat. The column split the brake and clutch and the gas peddle is in a position that you can do heel/toe on the brake and gas. In our old heaps most of the time the peddle arrangement is not really well though out, which makes the OP's question exceptional. Vicky here has the right idea. :cool;
The pedals can be an after thought or thought out before. That's up to the builder. Look at HRP's thread about his brake issue. In hot rods and pedals - You can't always get what you want but if you try sometimes you get what you need . Haha
Thanks for the comments. I should mention that I'm putting the steering column through the firewall, above the pedals. We've checked it out and we have some some latitude (literally) as to where to put the column. A double u joint on the end of my tilt GM column will make make a straight path down to the mustang II rack and pinion where I may need to add a single u joint. Same situation with the seat, right now I'm able to centre the seat on the foot well, or move it left or right an inch or two and still be comfortable. The clutch and brake unit came out of the same car as the transmission and motor (1986 Mustang or Capri), I thought it was weird that the clutch pedal was longer too but it all appears to be from the same car. Using this is going to let me use the stock set up for the clutch cable, which I'm hoping will make things easier. I'm going to put the booster and master cylinder on the firewall. What I'm getting from 31Vicky is that the seat and column should be on the same centre line, and the brake and gas should be on the right side of the column, so I assume that also means the clutch needs to be on the left side of the column, meaning in an ideal situation the clutch and brake would be equal distances from that same centre line (determined more by the column than by the foot well). I like the idea of leaving a little more room on the tunnel side.
My favorite setup is the '27 T with the go peddle on the transmission hump. I got an idea that I am going to have to be a little creative with my gas peddle, the column and hangin peddles are already there and set up beautifully, so we'll have to go all Papillon, if you can't make the package fit the cargo you make the cargo fit the package. I'll make sure that you can get your brogans in there, don't know how you're gonna get in there but its gonna be fun watchin you try and if we are in the same place at the same time you know you're gonna be cheap entertainment for me.
Go find a complet donor car as you pulled the parts from and measure it up. Sit in it and see if you like it.
Porknbeaner is correct , usually steering column is seat centered, the rest is up in the air.ha ha ha
I may be traditional, or even old fashioned, but the way Henry Ford put pedals in the '41-'48 was just right. If you think of it, since your pedals are not going to be that way, you might be able to get close. A point of departure is to measure an unmolested car, to get an idea of what took several decades of changes to be where it is. You can then use these measurements to get some idea of what worked with the bench seat, etc. Hey! Even if it may appear I am being critical, I'm just using logic to determine what worked in order that your final choice won't be as awkward as the controls on some of the riding lawn mowers I have used. You put your right foot in. You take your right foot out. You put your right foot in. You take your right foot out. And you shake it all about. You do the hokey pokey. And you turn yourself around. Ray Anthony
Henry Ford had it right. If you closely copy the pedal layout your car came from the factory with, you will have a car that is user friendly !
One more thing. Make sure your gas pedal is lower than your brake pedal so there is no way you can accidentally step on the gas pedal while you are braking. Don't ask how I found that one out.
I happen to have several manual transmission cars at the moment that I love driving. Some more then other due to comfort and control layout. It may be OT, but there is a bit of my 69 big block Camaro in my 34 build. I used the exact measurement between the pedals and replicated it in my roadster. Column is dead center between the pedals and up out of the way so my feet don't hit it accidentally. My roadster didn't have a lot of real estate in the floor area so I decided to relieve the trans hump a bit. 1. Build it to be safe 2. Build it to be comfortable 3. Build it to be quick (you can reverse items 2 and 3 at will, but leave number one on top)