Tech Week:Traditional Modification: 1939 Ford Pedals in 34 Ford frame

Wow! A lot of entries this time for tech week. I am so stoked that Baleigh has stepped up and offered this great prize. I hope I can be worthy of it. I would really like to have some new shop equipment. I think this tech will be something that a lot of traditional hotrodders can use. I know I looked and searched and came up woefully short on anything like this when I decided to do this modification on my 1934 Ford five window coupe project. I will add some of these pictures to my build thread after I finish this write up. Please let me post all my pictures in sequence before commenting. I do not know how to do a post in one continous order.
Step 1: Find and buy a decent set of 1939 Ford Pedal and sandblast accordingly. 1939 Ford pedals have been the standard for hotrodders for years. They give you the right setup for clutch and brake. Puts everything in proper order and makes it easier to get three pedals in a true hotrod. 1939 Ford pedals have a part number that starts with 91A. I added a picture of the 1934 Ford pedal assembly for comparison. You can see we have a big difference in shape from 1934 to 1939.

 

Step 2: I lined up both pedal assemblies on the bench and came to the conclusion that the difference in angle for the mounting surface that attaches to the x-member was 15 degrees. I have added a picture to show the difference.

 

Step 3: I mounted the 34 pedals in the frame in their stock location to eyeball it and see kinda where things lined up. I had asked about this mod a week ago here on the board about this stuff and I was told there is a fellow on Ford Barn that sells a kit to add a master cylinder to the stock pedal setup. I thought about it and decided to do this for tech week. I like a challenge.

 

Step 4:One of the bolt bosses is threaded. I ran a tap through it to clean it up. This bolt hole is kinda hard to get to once it is mounted so you will need to make sure that the threads are good. You may want to drill it out so you can just run a bolt through it.

 

Step 5: I decided that 6" was a good amount to start with to cut out of the x-member. You might be able to get away with a little less. I wanted to get rid of the stock hole right in this area.

 

Step 6: Next I went with my cutoff wheel and made a cut. I needs to be right next to the stock tranny mount. See pic. This is from the engine compartment area. The second pic is from the other side. I am close to my line here. This isn't rocket science kids.

 

Step 7:Ok, Gaping hole here. No fear. It's just metal. Stick with me.

 

Step 8: I added an 1 1/2 strip into the gaping hole. This step will become apparent in the near future. You have to get things moved over a bit for it to work.

 

Step 9: I took the piece of metal that I cut out and hogged out the center so I could use the piece for a pattern to mount the 39 pedals. I guess I could have used some poster board but this seemed logical to me at the time.

 

Step 10: Here is the pictures. I think you have an idea where I am heading with this. Made a new piece off the pattern and drilled the holes for the mount. You may want to slot these hole vertically to give you some adjustment up and down. I will slot mine as the bail on the MC is kinda close to the plane of the floorboards.

 

Step 11: I welded the modified piece that was cut out earlier. This part needs to be mocked up with the 39 pedals to get it at the right angle. Use your reference marks on the x-member to get your pedal arms close to the alignment of the stock pedals.

 

Step 12: After I knew the angle was right I welded another piece to the top and bottom of the bracket

 

Step 13: I made a piece to fill the end of the bracket and drilled some holes in it. This will make it easier to get nuts on the back of the mounting bolts. Trust me. You will want them.

 

Step 14: I then marked and cut where I wanted the clutch arm cutout to be. This has to be done. This is kinda a guess as to how much to cut out. I took out 3 inches to start with . If I need more arm travel I can cut out more later.

 

Step 15: I then welded in a couple of pieces to regain the strenght I lost when cutting out my clutch notch.

 

Step 16: As you can see in this picture the brake arm is in alignment but the clutch arm will have to be heated and bent to move over some.

 

Step 17: I boxed the end of the cutout and notched a little bit. I can do more later if I need more throw on the clutch arm .

 

Step 18: I told a buddy of mine here in Tucson what I was up to and he had the perfect adapter for me. He thought it was Chassis Engineering but I'm not sure. All I know it lets me put a 67-72 Mustang dual master cylinder on stock 1939 Ford pedals. Here is the setup. Pretty darn slick if you ask me. If this ain't traditional hotrodding I don't know what is. Thanks to Kirk Ward for giving me the adapter and master cylinder. Saved me some coin. I appreciate it for sure.

 

Step 19: Kinda like the number of Hop Up members. Garnish with cool old 40 Ford pedal pads and your on your way hotrodder!!!!! Hope this helps someone out. I think this could be used on a wide variety of frames . The general principle here is pretty basic if you have basic fabrication skills. Everybody need 3 pedals! Grab a gear and go! I'm done.

 

Back to the top. I posted this late last night.

 

Nice work man, VERY clean solution to a messy arrangement!

 

Thanks! I try to do the best I can. I need to get the damn body on the frame. I am jonesing for a first look with the frame mods. I still have to do some finish welding when I flip this sucker over on the jig though.

 

A +. Looks great. With the steps you posted I imagine anybody with basic fab skills could pull it off. Did I say it looks great? It looks great.

 

This tech really needs to be seen again. It's an awesome job and a great idea. Thanks for doing this.

 

I believe the three bolt to a two bolt M/C adapter is from Engineered Componets Inc. (ECI), I used one of those on a '40 pickup, worked real well.

 

Very nice. Thanks for taking the time to document.

 

Thanks for that - What did you do on the clutch master cylinder?

 

curbspeed, great tech! I really dig it. Clear explanation and a logical process!

 

thanks Curbspeed
very well explained and great pics..

i will be doing the same in a couple weeks and while doing some research found this thread... thanks for the tech!

 

Wasting no time on the sedan huh 345winder?!!! I'm gonna do the same in my '33 but it keeps getting pushed back further and further on list of priorities. Was gonna maybe start it this fall but who knows.