I bought an Ansen style brake pedal ***embly from Vern Tardel for my 26 Model T sedan project. I will be using the stock firewall (see internet photo - not mine). If you are familiar with the 26/27 firewall you know that the top projects forward about 1.25". The peadal ***embly mounts to this "bulge" (only place it can possibly go). The pedal hangs down past the bulge which means it has 1.25" less travel room than an ***embly mounted to a flat firewall. Does anyone have any experience with this installation? Can I mount the ***embly to the firewall or will I need a spacer?
i would not mount it to the sheetmetal. there is too much force on the mount to hold up. if you ran 2 peices of 1" box across the fire wall it will give you a solid place to mount the pedal with out worries of it flexing and also give you plenty of room for pedal movement. you will have to extend the push rod for the master if you do this.
The Model T firewall is heavy guage metal and, with the rolls at the top and bottom of the "bulge," quite rigid. I'm not worried about mounting the pedal to the firewall. I've seen numerous photos of 26/27 Ts with master cylinders on the face of the firewall. But none taken from behind. I'd really like some input from someone who has done this sort of thing on their 26/27 T. The Ansen pedal ***embly did not come with any instructions. And it did not come with a push rod. If I had a push rod (or knew the length) I could figure out the static or resting angle of the pedal arm. And with that knowledge I could figure out how much clearance I will need. Baring that, I will fabricate some sort of spacer just to be sure.
I have seen to many cars new and old that have cracked firewalls from where the force on the master has blown it apart. mount the pedal to the firewall and put some pressure on it and see how much flex there is. remember this is you brakes and any flex takes away from the pressure going to your wheel cylinders. its not just your life its the ones driving around you also.
I used a Wilwood reverse master cyl setup on my 26 firewall, but used 3/4" plywood all the way across to mount the Wilwood setup as well as electrical stuff. With the added plywood for support, there is no flex in the firewall at all & it's worked great for the last 5 yrs.
Wounder if plywood will bond to steele with panel adheasive? Considered and rejected the idea of a wooden block. But plywood is a beter idea. Around the shop I do most of the tasks requiring carpentry skills.
Bib, I've got a T (25/29) but the M/S mounts to the frame on my T. I have the entire body re-enforced with 1" square tubing but due to the electronics and the cowl steering geerbox setup, space was limited. I would defenately use something more that just the stock firewall for support. The 3/4 inch Plywood or some 1" tube would save on the headaches later. IMO, without some type re-enforcement you'd be asking for trouble 25Thobbyist
Firewall mounted will be sufficient, I would probably add a brace from the front of the pedal ***embly to the bottom edge of the dash or you coule cut across to the side of the cowl brace. The metal in the T is thicker than any later model firewall mounted ***embly. The anlge you are talking about? I would probable make a space to make the pedals more flat mounted like you need. Lets see some more updated project pics Rusty
The "angle" is the position of the pedal when it is mounted and the master cylinder rod is in place. Different length rods will give a different angle. My task right now is to mount the brake pedal and seat so that I can finalize the length of my steering column. I am in the middle of adapting a 46 Buick steering box and column. I have the box mounted to the frame. It is way to long. I am going to cut it down and splice in the steering wheel splines from a 69+ GM shaft. This will take a Grant grant quick release hub to ease entry, exit, and security. When the steering project is complete I will post a tech thread with lots of pictures.
I did like Tman sed I channeled my body over the frame so I needed the pedals as high as I could get them I recessed a "box" in the firewall to create a flat spot for the master to bolt to and ran the 1x1 tube at the bottom of the box from side to side, tying it back to the cowl braces here's an early construction shot the tube is just visible above the column behind the flange of the toe kick
Paul, Tman; many thanks! The picture is worth a thousand words. I have attached a couple of pictures of my firewall. One from the front, and one from the rear. You will note that when I added the filler panel below the "bulge" I actually formed a three sided tube. That panel is very solid. And as Dirty 31 says, the firewall is a very heavy guage material. I'm going to fiddle around with some tubing and sheet stock and ee what I can come up with. Appriciate the help.
rod is very simple, just a rod and clevis here's that screen grab and will post a picture in a moment, just gotta go out to the shop and take it
ok, here's another picture from inside and one from the outside yours should take the same three bolt style master so the rod should be about the same... this is after about 9500 trouble free miles no flex at all in the firewall... looks like my rod is dragging on the piston a bit and the camera sure shows the little fluid seepage around the fill nut looks a little like a rat rod don't it?
and for what it's worth the Tardels used my Ansen Chevy truck master style bracket as a pattern for their prototype mine and one of, if not their first
This is a home set up on my 26 t roadster. Used the two different levels of the firewall to help make it stronger. Seemed to work out well.
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