The other day, some wise soul started a thread wanting to see all the different types of throttle pedals that had been produced throughout the ages, and boy howdy were there a bunch of them, some weird, some awesome, and everything in between. Which got me to thinking about what I was going to use in my '36. I know it's a bit premature, but that's how my mind works, and when it lurches in what looks like maybe a productive direction, I just go with it. That brings me here. In my oval track cars, we always ran solid throttle linkages, with a toe hook on the pedal, so if the the throttle binds up, or the springs break, etc, you can pull the ****erflies closed before your kinetic energy gets dissipated by an immovable object (IE you hit something solid). This isn't really workable in a street car, because you'd need a honkin' big hole in your firewall for that linkage to p*** through, which can't really be gasketed in any meaningful way. That leaves a cable, and while I know a well laid out system is supposed to be able to exert force in both directions, I've not found this to be very reliable in actual practice. If you run a cable, you have to trust your linkage and springs, 'cause you've got no backup. I was mulling over a hydraulic system, when that thread about the throttle pedals came up, and damned if there wasn't a version of what I was designing that had been built and sold long ago. That at least showed me that I wasn't totally out in left field, so I finished by models and sourced my parts. I'm going to be building a prototype at the very least, to put in my own car (also known as my R&D testbed). Now, the real question is this: Who would be interested in buying such a device? I'm going to build one for sure, but if there is enough interest, one could easily turn into a hundred. I'd offer the pedal by itself as well, for those who would rather design and build their own mounting and actuation systems. Here's some pics of the prototype: Dimetric View of the pedal by itself Front View of the pedal by itself. Isometric View of the whole ***embly. Side View of the whole ***embly. As shown there, the face of the pedal is 13" long and 3.5" wide. The pedal will be 6061 T6511 aluminum, with a mottled "as cast" like finish. The pedal mount will be 16ga 1018CR steel sheet. The cylinder will be either stainless, aluminum, or br***, depending on the brand I end up going with. The hardware will all be stainless. The plumbing will all be cloth covered woven hose with AN type fittings. The carb cylinder mount will be either 6061 T6511 aluminum, or 16ga 1018CR steel sheet (depends on what exactly it ends up looking like, I'm not done with it yet), and will be as universal as possible. Stop blocks will be provided to prevent overtravel damage to your carburetor. ***ume that I will not offer anything that looks too "billet-esque" as far as finish goes. I know the model doesn't show a toe loop, but that's just because I'm still trying to decide what I want it to look like. Whatever it ends up being, it will be a separate piece that bolts (tastefully) to the pedal, so you can use the pedal without one if you so choose. I'm not real solid on the price point yet, so tell me what your range is. It'll cost what it costs, but I really like to know people's expectations going in, so that I can not waste our time if they will end up costing way too much to produce. So, what do you all think? Anyone interest in such a beast? Maybe just the pedal? Want another design? Lay it on me. I'm looking for feedback here, so tell me what you think, even if you hate the idea or the design. Just try not to be too big a **** while you're doing it. Thanks for stopping by.
I dunno man, they show just fine for me. They're pretty big, might take a few seconds to download if you're on a slow connection. They're also hosted on my own webspace, so there are no third party services involved. Reload the page and see what happens. If that don't fix it, I don't know what else to tell you. My nerd mojo has atrophied over the years as my interests shifted. Add to that the amount that web technology has changed, and I find myself nearly useless for troubleshooting complex web based problems.
It sounds like a good idea, but the only hold up on the design is the feel we came acustom to when pushing down on the throttle, will it be the same possiably. I think that would be the only down fall.
Properly designed and plumbed, a hydraulic system should have every bit the same feel that a cable or solid linkage system would. When I say hydraulic, I mean that I'm using a fluid to transmit force (like manual juice brakes), not live or powered hydraulics with a pump or booster like you see on construction equipment or power brakes. If you use the same sized cylinders on both ends, the motion and force ratio will remain 1:1, just like a solid link or cable. It can easily be changed from 1:1 by changing out one cylinder to a different bore dia. The prototype will be 1:1 though.
My '55 Chevy's stock throttle linkage was solid and it worked great. It penetrated the firewall right in the middle of the "Z-bar", so gaskets/sealant/heat/moisture wasn't an issue. Lots of stock street cars have well-engineered solid linkage. Why not mimic them? Your gas pedal looks great and I don't intend to stifle your creativity, but unless you're trying to solve a specific design problem in your '36, I suspect you're over-thinking it.
Interesting! Put me on your mailing list..........I am 6 months away from selecting one for a '32 roadster. No Billet!!!
It's got a certain choo choo wheel flair I like. Your origional comment about the cable I would respectfully disagree with. I run one on my digger - I do not rely on the return springs. Instead I "push" to activate and "pull" for return. My pedal has an adjustable ratio as well as the throttle arm on the injector. YMMV
I've always wanted to adapt a drum pedal for a gas pedal, wouldn't be that much work. I know they can break, my son is tough on his drum kit. Bob
I once had a Ludwig Speed King kick pedal on my Slingerland drumset. It looked cool and was smooth to operate. John
I'm sure it's possible. And it's entirely possible that I'm over thinking things. BUT, only part of the impetus to build is based on "need". The rest is based on the urge to build something different and beautiful that also functions like I want it to. On what do you base this ***ertion? And if it is true, why are manual hydraulic brakes not jerky on application? Based on my work thus far, the feel of the pedal is entirely dictated by the motion ratios involved between the pedal and cylinder mounts, and the mounts and pivots themselves. If the cylinder breaks over center in use, it will have a jerky spot, and the actuation ratio will change as you approach and retreat from the center point. Likewise, if the pivots and mounts are flexible or rough moving, the feel goes all to hell. Those are all design issues that can be avoided, not problems inherent in a hydraulic system. Thank you sir. Steam powered locomotives have a certain industrial beauty to them that I am drawn to. I particularly like how while being a totally function driven device, the craftsmen went to the trouble to make the parts as aesthetically pleasing as possible in the process. Form follows function, but that doesn't mean form should be entirely ignored. I know they can work like they're supposed to, and the shorter the cable, the more likely they are to function properly. However, I've seen a lot of guys fight with long cables, and finally have to go to dual or quad springs and forget about the toe hook. I had that thought myself, and you'll notice that this one pivots in a similar fashion to a lot of drum pedals. I'm not a musician, but I can recognize a useful mechanism when I see one. Thanks for the input guys, even the negative stuff. Please keep it coming.
You ain't got no place to mount a floor hinge pedal, even if you wanted one. Damn, that's a seriously cramped foot box. Good thing you didn't need to fit a third pedal in there. So what I'm getting here is that most of you don't really have any urge to use a hydraulic throttle system. Fair enough. How do you all feel about the pedal itself? Any interest in just the pedal alone? No mounts, no cylinders, etc.
I do have a third pedal in there, it's just tied to the brake for now. I plan on running standard transmission later.
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