[A Snake]

FIA,

You can do it hot or cold. Either way, it will have to come out of the car to do it right. The other guys are right. Don't throw it in a bucket of water if you use heat, unless you are absolutely sure it isn't high carbon steel.

I seriously doubt that ERA or anyone else uses high alloy steel for the pedal arms. It is miost likely just a heavy piece of mild steel. Mine was.

Using a torch is a lot easier and you can make the bend more precise without deforming it. I'd suggest putting the heat to it about 1/2" below the pivot bearing. This way you don't have to make much of a bend to get a lot of change at the pedal.

Don't need to get it white hot to bend. In a lighted room (like your garage) bring it up to a red that you can see easily. If you clamp the pedal arm in your vise and leave the bearing pivot above the vise jaws by a couple of inches, you can stick a really big screwdriver through the bearing and apply pressure as it gets hot. won't take near as much as you think. Let cool naturally and you're done.