Need to bend brake pedal (tight squeeze)

[Trueoo7]

Have been finding it somewhat difficult to get my foot squarely on the gas in between the brake and tranny tunnel and would like to bend the brake pedal over about 3/4" but in looking at it, it does not seem like a simple job. I need to remove it from the car so it can be heated and bent (don't have the you know what's to do it in place) but it looks like I may have to remove the steering column because its right in the way of the long bolt that holds the pedals together and there's not enough play in the hole through the firewall to move it and am not quite sure how to do this. Also do I have to remove the side emblem so I can get to the screws that hold on the side louvers (need to remove I think) so I can get a wrench up by the firewall to get to the other side of the long pivot bolt that holds the pedals in place. Is there any trick to the center cap on the steering wheel? Tried prying it off but it hasn't moved and I don't want to break it.

Aside from smaller shoes any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Trueoo7

[Boudy]

Wait, wait, wait. It's easy. Get a 10" pipe wrench for the local hardward store. The jaws on a pipe wrench are perpendicular to the handle, unlike a crecent wrench. When you grab the vertical brake lever with it, the handle will be horizontal. This allows you to massage it where ever you need to.

5 minutes tops with a difficulty rating of 1. Unless you stop at the beer store on the trip back from the hardware store. Then the difficulty rating goes up.

Boudy

[Trueoo7]

"Come on"....... it can't be that easy even with the beer. So then.......the pedal comes straight down and bends to the left at about 45deg. then bends back to the straight position with the pedal at the end. Should I try bending at the first bend that starts the 45deg or the second bend that brings it back straight and should I use a backup wrench further up to hold the rest of the pedal in place? If this works then I'll definetly owe YOU the beers that I pickup on the way back.


Thanks
Trueoo7

[Bill V]

True007 points out something that was of concern to me when I tried a Backdraft on for size at the Reptile Roundup. The tranny tunnel is so wide that the pedals seemed crammed together and pushed over to the left. I emailed the Backdraft folks from the Contact Us page on their website back in November but I have heard nothing yet.

I hesitated to make mention of this on this forum, because I didn't want to come across in a disparaging way. Thanks True007 for opening the door.

Boudy, are there any limitations that would prevent the guys at the factory from improving the width of the footbox in future iterations of this otherwise fine machine?

I really like the Backdraft, but the current configuration would not allow me to spend a lot of time behind the wheel. Whatta ya' think?

Thanks

Bill

[Backdraft]

Hi there,

As Robert has explained it is relatively easy to adjust the pedals on the car. Unfortunately we don't always know the drivers foot size when the car is built to do this adjustment at the factory. Moving the pedals to the left unfortunately creates a compromise and you end up losing the "dead leg space" to the left of the clutch pedal, which is great for highway cruising. Most cars don't have this space to start with so it may not be seen as much of a compromise.

Another option would be to move the brake pedal closer to the clutch. This is my personal favourite but some customers find gear changes difficult with the pedals so close.

For people in excess of 6 foot the pedals can also be lowered to create extra space. There are many variations and the pedals can be customized to suit many foot sizes and driving styles.

Regards Reg
(561) 752 3693

[JayBar]

One of the guys on ffcobra.com made a tool to do what you want.
A picture can be seen at: http://www.ffcobra.com/cgi-bin/ultim...c;f=1;t=031376
Also on that same link is info about borrowing one.

Jay B
BDR #78

[JayBar]

One of the guys on ffcobra.com made a tool to do what you want.
A picture can be seen at: http://www.ffcobra.com/cgi-bin/ultim...c;f=1;t=031376
Also on that same link is info about borrowing one.

Jay B
BDR #78

[tfarhood]

Reg,

I just took delivery of Build #101, The brake pedal position was so close to the Tranny tunnel that my shoe couldn't fit between them to depress the gas pedal. I do think it would be quite easy for the factory to position them better without knowing the shoe size of its customers.


Boudy,

A 10" pipe wrench won't fit with the pedals installed. You can attach it to the pedal but then you can move it to make the bend. It is not hard to remove the pedals though if the engine compartment is still empty. Remove the bolt, and bend the pedal with the 10" pipe wrench and a bench mounted vice. Still only about a 25 minute fix for anyone with a couple of tools. Since my engine is not installed, I don't know if it would be in the way of removing the bolt that holds the pedals.
I don't think I would try bending the pedal with a wrench while still installed, the pressure would be too much for the whole assembly, but the tool in the reply above should work great.

[Trueoo7]

tfarhood,

When the bolt came out did it clear the steering column on yours as mine is right in the way and its a long bolt unless when I get it loose I can tilt it upwards and pull it out. Also how did you get to the nut on the other end because it is on the left top side of the foot box and not easily accessible. Any type of special tools that made the job easier?

Trueoo7

[tfarhood]

True007,

My bolt cleared no problem, it should clear yours as well, it will angle up as soon as it comes out of the clutch pedal side.
To access the nut, you need to remove the side vent, it is held in by the Powered By Ford badge and one bolt in the foot-well.
I hope your engine is not installed yet, this may make it tough to reach under to get the badge off. The nut is a small one 17/64" I think (or metric), and I didn't have a deep well socket that size to reach over the threads. Once you break the nut loose, you can finish removing it by hand.
If your engine is in, maybe you should try getting your hands on the pedal bender that the FFR guys use.

[Boudy]

Don't forget to take the rear wheels off to align the peddles... OK, OK, I'm kidding.

But really, Stop guys... You're going overboard here. The pedals get bent to the customer's preference in nearly every car. The process explained does not put too much pressure or damage the pedal assembly as implied above.

If your pipe wrench didn't work, put a cresent wrench on it and turn the wrench which a bar through the hole in the end.

I guess it you just want to tinker with the car, then take it all apart. Hell, I've done that. But if you just want to adjust your peddles and be done with it, they don't need to be removed.

Someone mentioned a nifty little tool above that was crafted by a Factory Five guy. I haven't used it but it seems worth trying if it make adjustment easy.

Boudy

[Doug I]

The deal with the tool is you join the list and will get it in turn, then you pass it on the next in line. I think you pay for the shipping / postage when you send it on. There are several tools covering different areas of the country. Hit FFCobra and a search should get you to the thread ...

I know you don't have to take the rear wheels off to align the peddles but where do you fill the blinker fluid ?

[tfarhood]

Blinker fluid, nobody told me I needed Blinker fluid

[BDR530]

Guys, I didn't bend the brake pedal, but I did bend the gas pedal so it would clear the tranny tunnel. This is a simple modification (if you have a Clarke Metal Bender).



It took me about 30 seconds to bend the pedal into the exact shape I wanted. No heat required! This gives a lot better clearance between the pedal and the tranny tunnel. Now if only I could get the clutch pedal and the gas pedal the same distance from the seat, I'd be in good shape! I need one leg three inches longer than the other...

[JayBar]

Toe Heel does not look possible with that configuration.

[BDR530]

Originally Posted by JayBar

Toe Heel does not look possible with that configuration.

You're right! The pedal position was a little to high. I have since adjusted it as low as possible so that I still have full throttle.