Throttle Pedal

JohnWilliams6437 · Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 5:06 pm Post subject: Throttle Pedal

Getting used to my rebuilt 3 litre and find the pedal is well down between the clutch and brake pedals, I am sure to have covered quite a few yards by the time my foot rises to the brake pedal......
Has anyone modified their set up to enable (dare i say) heel and toe, or would it need herculean strength!
John Williams

Paul Spencer · Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2015 6:28 pm Post subject:

I know Brian Fenn has done this with an extension to the throttle pedal. I guess this could be done as something clamped round the pedal. Brian's is proper "heel on the throttle, toe on the brake" rather then rocking the foot sideways as I do in modern cars. Perhaps he could supply a photo (or even drawings). He doesn't do Internet.

I learnt to heel-and-toe in a Bullnose Morris at the age of 17. The car belonged to my best friend's father and said friend was very put out that his father let me drive it before he let him. Especially as he was older than me and had passed his test some time before me.

Chris Card · Guest

Would the pedal come higher if you adjusted the linkage to the carbs, or is it against the stop when at idle?

Chris

JohnWilliams6437 · Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 7:36 pm Post subject: Throttle Pedal

Thanks for suggestions- gained a 1/2" by adjusting for and aft rod!
Will live with it at this time. JW

Robert Craven · Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:31 pm Post subject:

What about replacing the pedal with an organ pedal style device, though I suppose that still might be well below the brake pedal?

David Morley · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2016 10:00 pm Post subject: Throttle pedal

Sorry to be a late guest at the table but I had the same problem and in my case the lever was hard against the bulkhead/floor. I attempted to change the curve on the throttle lever by heating, DON'T TRY IT!. W.O. and God alone know what it's made of but it breaks like a carrot even when glowing! It also takes a great deal of patience and determination to braze it back together as I found to my cost. After several failed attempts I mastered the technique, being parsimonious and not wanting to replace the part. This gave me a burst of confidence so I then cut off the 'button' and replaced it after extending the the oval rod behind it with my new found brazing skills. Hey Presto and other such expletives later I had a pedal that matched the brake. However I do not recommend this as a quick fix for the problem!

E J Grimwade · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2016 9:18 pm Post subject:

I have an "organ pedal" hinged on the floor which simply presses onto the button. Much easier to use and yes I can heel and toe. Toe and heel actually. Very Happy

Robert Zannetti · Guest

I have seen some clever chaps who use the hand throttle for 'blip' during a gear change!

Stephen Blakey · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 11:38 am Post subject: Re: Throttle pedal

David Morley · Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 5:56 pm Post subject: Throttle pedal

Looks like a form of bronze casting but it seems not to be particularly malleable even when hot. Is this because it has a high copper content or low? Over to you metallurgists. I understand it is the alloying materials in brass that make it more malleable so maybe it is too high in copper content?

Stephen Blakey · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 11:17 am Post subject:

Most Bronzes are predominantly copper, We would normally be concerned with the alloying elements, most often tin though engineering bronzes can also contain aluminium, manganese, nickel, phosphorus or silicon.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying I forgot to ask my tame metallurgist about the effect of copper content.

Here's the reply anyway;

The bronze question is interesting; bronze suffers from a severe loss of ductility and toughness around 300-500C due to the tin, which does all sorts of things to the metallurgy as well as lowering the melting point to make it such a good casting alloy. It's usually worked cold, and then annealed if necessary, but it is also sensitive to the cooling rate. The chap would have better off by just gently hammering it until it took the right shape.

Don't know if that helps?

Stephen

David Morley · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:29 pm Post subject:

Thanks, interesting and informative..... This numpty will have to think a bit more before applying the universal solution of oxy acetylene! Seems I should have used the other alternative of a big hammer.

Paul Spencer · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:20 pm Post subject:

Stephen Blakey · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 5:55 pm Post subject:

I think I would probably have gone for the heat spanner too. There's nothing like piling in with the big artillery then asking questions later. The gentle tapping route may have required the part to be annealed after all these years of service, and it seems that annealing bronze isn't entirely straightforward.

It sounds like your brazing worked OK and there's no reason why it shouldn't. I seem to get better results with welding but that's probably just me. The problem with welding bronze is that those nice Sifbronze chaps will only sell you a pack of rods big enough to weld up the propeller on the QE2. If it drops off (cue Frankie Howard) and you decide you'd like to try welding it next time, let me know and I'll post you a few rods to try.

Best wishes,

Stephen

Chris Card · Guest

Going back to the original question, is the brake pedal too high? By changing the linkage to different holes on the levers, you can change the leverage and consequently the amount of pedal travel.
The down side is that you might have to spend some time at the gym to build your calf muscles!

Chris

John Robins · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 7:58 pm Post subject:

Almost complete irrelevance, but this brought back memories of a weekend's sailing at Bala where we managed to snap the centreboard along one of its lengthwise joints on the Saturday morning. This was repaired by one of our team who had some pegs and some West system adhesive, and we were then t-boned by some out of control board sailor, and finished the weekend with a large duct tape cross like a Beano sticking plaster over a hole just forward of the starboard shroud. Fortunately the forward buoyancy was provided by a bag rather than a tank or we would have been sunk.

I haven't yet had to use a lump hammer on the boat, no doubt it will happen.

John Murch · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:34 am Post subject:

John, that's reminded me of a Poole week over 40 years ago, i was racing a Merlin Rocket (bought the week before) race one and we were the victim of a port/starboard incident, resulting in the next day racing with a large patch of fablon (?) on the side, ten minutes into the race and it happened again, this time terminal, nearly cut in half, boat a write off!
John.

John Murch · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:38 am Post subject:

Back to thread, I have great admiration for the guy who could downchange using the hand throttle! I have tried it, but without success! Probably ok if approaching a roundabout, with plenty of warning, but I found the lack of a third arm a limitation.
John

Paul Spencer · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:00 am Post subject:

I have also tried the technique apparently used by works drivers of just leaving the hand throttle set and pushing the gear lever straight through without using the clutch. I am reasonably OK with a normal clutchless change, but I think I would need a few spare gearboxes to perfect this technique. I have also twice had to start on hills too steep for the handbrake (about 1 in 4). Unable to find a stone to put behind a back wheel in the middle of Ventnor, I tried using the hand throttle and foot brake. I found it much harder than I expected.

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 2:18 pm Post subject:

These parts are made from high tensile bronze pressings.
Actually the bronze is high tensile brass in the form of aluminium "bronze", and as with manganese "bronze" it is not bronze at all, as there is no tin in it.

As the neck of the component after 80-90 years of use is invariably full of stress cracks and some crystallisation, heating this to red and the aluminium precipitates to the grain boundaries resulting in the crumbling of the alloy.

I would not be at all happy with this component, Rolls- Royce made all theirs in 3 1/2% nickel steel.

Ron Warmington · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 9:05 pm Post subject:

I have a button throttle mounted in the middle of the pedal set on my Blower rep. In order to allow my - rather petite - wife Helen to drive the car I've had all the pedals moved closer to the driver's seat. Neil Davies team did the work. It now includes an organ pedal that operates that throttle button. It all works perfectly. When I drive, I simply move the driver's seat back about four inches.
_________________
Ron Warmington

David Morley · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 10:05 pm Post subject:

Anyone remember having blocks on their bike pedals... and the exhilaration of being able to ride a big bike.
Rather similar feeling to finally getting a 3 litre .............although some might not consider that a big bike! Ettore excepted of course.