| Author | Topic |
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Location:
Hobart, Tasmania
Registered:
June 2005
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 Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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Fri, 08 July 2005 15:09
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Last week I ordered some Sparco 'Grip' pedals for my mark two Supra from wheelspin.com.au (they were on special). Originally I was going to post a topic about how painfully hard it was to get the little rubber studs into the pedal, but the journey had only just begun.
All work below has been carried out by a complete amateur, with really ancient hand tools I found in the shed (except for a brand new set of Bondhus hex keys, which seem to be the best allen keys I've ever used). Also, this work was all completed after dark, in the freezing temperatures of Tasmania, under the light of a surprisingly awesome $20 dual halogen spot light from SuperCheap Auto.
[Pedals fresh out of the box]
It took me and my mum three days to get all the little rubber studs in, mainly due to the pain induced by the pressure required. I started using a small screw driver after a few studs, and have ended up badly bruising the meaty part of my palm. The tip of my thumb is so bad that it hurts too much to play my playstation.
So I had a day off while trying to source a drill. At this time, I still had no intention of documenting the whole procedure, so I'm sorry I have no pictures of myself in agony after inserting the rubber stops. Once I had a drill, things seemed to be going too good to be true, the first hole I drilled in the brake was perfect. I then placed the pedal over the hole to mark where the lower hole was to go. The second hole drilled perfectly too. But then when I mounted the pedal, all hell started to break loose. At first, the lower bolt didn't have enough clearance to accept the nut, so I started filing away at the arm in an attempt to make it fit. This was extremely awkward to carry out, but I got the job done and the nut now had plenty of space.
[The filed away section of the brake arm (photo taken later in the procedure)]
But this was the least of my troubles compared to what was to come. When the top of the pedal was screwed in, the bottom wouldn't line up, and vice versa. I tried to overcome this by widening the hole dangerously with the drill, which kind of worked until I realised the problem was on a much larger scale.
The original plates/pedals that were welded onto the arms were pushing against the back of the rubber stops, which didn't allow for a flush fit, and also caused the rubber stops to protrude (don't worry, I realised before any fell out). I was at the end of my tether already, and knew what had to be done, although there was no way that I was going to use the rusty old blade on my hack saw to attempt it.
So after a night's sleep I went and bought a brand new 24T Stanley blade for my saw, and started hacking away at the welded on original plates/pedals.
[Hacking unnecessary pieces of the plate off]
After a little while, I had both sides of the pedal off, with plenty of room.
[Plate mutilation complete, and ready for pedal to be mounted]
Seemed pretty easy, the pedal fitted fine, and looked pretty nice to me. It was a little tricky to hold the nut at the back with pliers while tightening the screw with an allen key, but well worth the fiddling when I was so close to completion.
[The brake pedal mounted, and complete]
I was all ready to start work on the clutch pedal, which I thought would require the same kind of treatment. But I think the clutch pedal arm had other ideas. It wasn't straight like the brake pedal arm, it curved in at a 45 degree angle from the left. Even the point where the plate was welded onto the arm wasn't straight. So I hacked away at the right hand side, while thinking of how to cut the left hand side off without taking half of the arm with it. I couldn't think of anything that didn't require tools that I did not have (a grinder), so I tried my best with the hack saw. This was exceptionally hard, being limited to a stroke of about 3cm by the floor of the car, and having to be on such an angle as to not hack straight through the arm itself.
[The trickiest part]
All of the sawing was extremely hard, even though I don't emphasize its difficulty, I'm sure you can imagine how frustrating it was. Taking into account the saw stroke length limit, and the general inconvenience of trying to get at the pedals while they were still mounted in my car.
I got about half way, then couldn't go any further due to the saw having no room to move (was hitting the floor of the car, forced by the angle it had to be on). There was also a huge, terrible weld under the left hand side, which I probably couldn't have cut through even if I did have ample space. So I started chopping from the bottom of the pedal.
[The even trickier than trickiest part]
I also came to a halt at the bottom end of the really bad weld; it deserved the pliers.
[Bending the piece backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards...]
After a lot of work to weaken the weld that was determined not to let go of the plate, it finally came off.
[Finally snapped off]
And yes, that silvery blob on the left is the weld. After a bit of filing/sanding, it was finally ready for the new pedal.
[Clutch and brake pedals mounted and complete]
I am now up to mounting the accelerator pedal, which I have not yet started or attempted due to a few different reasons. I will be having my accelerator pedal arm bent forward so that it sits at the same depth as my brake/clutch, at the moment it is about 5cm deeper. I am also completely removing the mouse-trap plastic pedal and having a plate welded onto the arm a little lower, to accomodate for the raise in depth, and to allow heel/toe without spraining my ankle.
I will update on Monday after I have the accelerator pedal arm completed. Thanks for reading, any comments/suggestions welcome 
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| | Subject | Poster | Date |
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Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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supré-mkii | Fri, 08 July 2005 15:09 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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oldcorollas | Fri, 08 July 2005 17:29 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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Grega | Fri, 08 July 2005 21:34 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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monkeymajik | Fri, 08 July 2005 23:29 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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rob_RA40 | Sat, 09 July 2005 00:02 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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oldcorollas | Sat, 09 July 2005 01:43 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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boudan | Sat, 09 July 2005 02:14 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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CrUZsida | Sat, 09 July 2005 04:51 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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HyDrA | Sat, 09 July 2005 02:19 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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HyDrA | Sat, 09 July 2005 02:21 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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ViPeR_NiPPleX | Sat, 09 July 2005 03:08 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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coFF33 | Sat, 09 July 2005 03:20 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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draven | Sat, 09 July 2005 03:26 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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NUT_54C | Sat, 09 July 2005 03:48 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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draven | Sat, 09 July 2005 04:07 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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supré-mkii | Sat, 09 July 2005 04:33 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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draven | Sat, 09 July 2005 04:34 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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supré-mkii | Sat, 09 July 2005 05:26 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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CrUZsida | Sat, 09 July 2005 07:49 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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rob_RA40 | Sun, 10 July 2005 22:57 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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ae86drift | Sat, 09 July 2005 05:41 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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supré-mkii | Sat, 09 July 2005 09:54 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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CrUZsida | Sat, 09 July 2005 10:13 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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supré-mkii | Sat, 09 July 2005 12:03 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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negative boost | Sat, 09 July 2005 14:34 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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manmx83 | Sat, 09 July 2005 14:48 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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oldcorollas | Sat, 09 July 2005 14:50 |
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Re: Pedal Installation Nightmare (huge post, 56k go make some hot chocolate)
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Stefan | Mon, 11 July 2005 05:53 |
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