Pedal Extensions - a quick thought / idea

[M@H]

It seems that the options for shorter people to drive the Chim or Griff are to get a leven pedal kit with the longer reach option to extent the clutch and brake pedals, however I was just thinking about a cheap and cheerful option instead.

If you bought for example a 7/16 UNF bolt of say 2 1/2" length it would screw into the pedal threads just fine. And if you were to cut the head off it and put the top section into some tube of 11.5-12mm diameter either with some plumbing solder or araldite or someting, you could then insert the threaded end of the existing pedals into the remaining sleeve (solder or araldite again) and you would have extended the pedal by 2 1/2" inches (engineering types could thread the tube if they wanted), which in my case would be plenty for Louise to drive the car in more comfort.

Bolt = about 65p. a bit of tube from your local steel merchants/hardware store = £1 from the scrap bin.. a bit of effort.. job done for under £2 a pedal



Does this sound like a good idea or flawed from the start.. opinions please.

Cheers,
Matt

PS. sorry about the "school project" style drawing, I was never any good at it..


>>> Edited by M@H on Wednesday 18th June 13:53

[Incorrigible]

Initial thoughts,

Would it be OK on the Brake

[M@H]

Don;'t see why not.. Most of the forces involved are longitudinal down the length of the pedal stem from your foot, then onto the back of the bolt. Any shearing/latitudinal forces are very minimal so the overlap of the tube should deal with it easily assuming a reasonable grade of tubing is used.

[simpo one]

Why not just replace the bolt with a longer one?

[M@H]

simpo one said:

Why not just replace the bolt with a longer one?

'Cos it isn't a bolt.. its a bit of threaded bar about 6" long, welded directly onto the back of the pedal.

Matt.

[GreenV8S]

Make sure it is strong enough to take twenty stone plus pushing diagonally - the tube would have to be very substantial. (You can push extremely hard in an emergency and the last thing you need is the pedal folding under you!)

[S3_Steve]

Not quite sure if these are available in 7/16 UNC, but you can get "studding connectors", which is basically an extended bolt into which you screw two seperate pieces of threaded bar or all-thread, might be worth trying your local hardware store!

[M@H]

S3 Steve.. you genius..

one of these:


and a bit of threaded bar would work..!

Matt.

[shpub]

GreenV8S said:

Make sure it is strong enough to take twenty stone plus pushing diagonally - the tube would have to be very substantial. (You can push extremely hard in an emergency and the last thing you need is the pedal folding under you!)

Totally agree and the thought of araldite etc is already filling me with fear.
Not only that but the pedal moves in an arc as it is pivotted so there are quite some interesting forces going on.

The best solution would be to weld a longer piece of bar on and I would strenghthen it to take the sideways forces. I would not rely on araldite or a nut coupling. They are simply not strong enough and are liable to come undone. This is a pretty critical part of the braking system and needs to be overengineered.

Anyway what is wrong with a pair of platform boots? Or wooden blocks?

[M@H]

OK OK.. having also been through this with a learned colleage knowledgeable in the ways of engineering, he thinks its a non starter too. I'm going to source some 7/16UNF threaded bar and he's going to make me a new set of pedals instead.

Thanks for the words of caution.
Matt


Edited to add.. She wasn't keen on the wooden blocks for some reason

>> Edited by M@H on Wednesday 18th June 16:45

[mel]

For all that time and effort that you have w*nkered wouldn't you have been better off just buying a set of Leven pedals? I've got a set fitted and for the price you get a top notch piece of kit. If your "mate" has access to or keeps in his garage the following kit he'll be able to do a top job if not the end result will look exactly what it is a shoddy DIY bodge job.

3KW laser profiler, 5mm 316 st/st plate, st/st bar, CNC lathe, CNC mill, 60 tonne power press, TIG welder, chemical tanks and electro polishing vats, misc manual polishing kit. Oh and by my guess about 3/4 days work to produce the first set. You job you get from Leven is worth every penny, its tried, tested, developed, looks good and work. Not to forget is a safety critical component. Pay the money you tight bar steward.

[M@H]

mel said:

For all that time and effort that you have w*nkered wouldn't you have been better off just buying a set of Leven pedals? I've got a set fitted and for the price you get a top notch piece of kit. If your "mate" has access to or keeps in his garage the following kit he'll be able to do a top job if not the end result will look exactly what it is a shoddy DIY bodge job. 3KW laser profiler, 5mm 316 st/st plate, st/st bar, CNC lathe, CNC mill, 60 tonne power press, TIG welder, chemical tanks and electro polishing vats, misc manual polishing kit. Oh and by my guess about 3/4 days work to produce the first set. You job you get from Leven is worth every penny, its tried, tested, developed, looks good and work. Not to forget is a safety critical component. Pay the money you tight bar steward.

Hi Mel

Err.. well he has already designed and built his own Caterfield from scratch (no not a kit) which I'm sure AndrewD, DannyLT, Johno, Carzee and others can vouch for the quality of so I wouldn't like to call it a shoddy DIY bodge job.

Although he doesnt have the laser profiler or the press in the workshop, he apparently already has some suitable laser cut plate for the job. With regards the mill, lathe, tig welder, polishing gear etc that would be a yes.

Without going much further, I don't think I'm a tight bar steward if a friend who works as a Professional Designer/Engineering Manager offers to make me a set of pedals when I ask him for his thoughts on my previous daft scheme, and I don't honestly see it as a 3 to 4 day job do you..?

Cheers,
Matt.