Decisions, Decisions.
Tomorrow, I have to make the firewall plate.
I can make it fit inside the factory reinforced area, where that’ll leave a very narrow margin along one edge, or I can extend the plate past that to alleviate that. Doing it the latter way requires that i cut a piece of 1/8 plate to sit inside the margins of the factory reinforcement because there is a raised border along the inside edge that I’d have to get past so that the thicker plate will sit flush against the firewall.
*Pure butchery…what can I say though..Try cutting that hole with everything in place on your car.
More ugly…This is what’s left of the actuator arm, now that i’ve cut it. There is very little remaining of that lever, and it’s only 3/16” bar. The “rod” that goes from the clutch pedal to this lever is only mild steel round 1/2” hot rolled bar like what you get from HD. It rides on two bushings that are on both ends of the larger tube that is welded to that frame.
Two things here..
One, I want to redo the actuator end and just put a new thicker one piece lever cut to the right length and drilled in two locations so as to give me the flexibility to change the length of the mount point..( like one at 2.25”, and at 2.5”, and 2.75” respectively). Problem is, that the bigger tube is full of grease to help lubricate, and support that 1/2” bar that runs through it.
* And welding a new lever onto that shaft that will get stupid hot that is surrounded by grease…..well,..you get the picture.
Two,..while it seems strong enough with regard to twist resistance when I press on the clutch pedal,..the bar is only 1/2”, and it’s not perfectly round like what you’d expect a shaft would be,..( machining tolerances, and the process by which it was formed) and on top of that, it’s not exactly 1/2” diameter. ( hence the decision to pump the outer tube full of grease) There is the slightest amount of slop, albeit not really enough to worry about..But as i use it,..I’d expect that slop will get sloppier..
So…When i went to the Metal Supermarket to get the plate, I Found a cold rolled 5/8” bar shaft..much more round and smooth, and a larger piece of DOM tubing that that shaft slides fairly tightly into. I have that stuff too.
It would never twist, and would be supported along the full length of the outer DOM tubing, not just at the two ends like it is now.
But I’d have to redo that too…which means cutting that apart to re-do as well. I‘d end up spending the day tomorrow just redoing what is already done.