Touchy Accelerator

[Thodge]

That’s good to know. Might try that if I can’t come up with any other solutions.

[1crosscut]

I’m with Bob on this one. A block of wood screwed down to the floor would solve the issue with his foot getting caught under a foot rest. Many different thicknesses and shapes are possible for making using the gas pedal better.
I’ve tried driving without a foot rest and it’s a pain (to me at least)

[Thodge]

We’ll have to experiment with the wood block solution. Any suggestions on a starting point for the height of a footrest? I always felt that footrest that was in this car was too high no matter what I did. First, it was because when they made the replacement floorboard, they never drilled the hole for the footrest stud to go through. I drilled that out and lowered the rest all the way down to the jam nut and it was still too high. Then I removed the jam nut and just bottomed the threads out on the bracket and it was acceptable for me to drive it but he was still having problems with it. I would guess at its lowest point this rest was still 1” to 1-1/4” high off the floor. I doubt if it is original or even an accurate reproduction.

[RDVAARK]

Think of the linkage as a chain of levers. The first is the pedal pad to the shaft crossing the rear of the engine. Lengthening it will slow foot travel's effect on the shaft, and slow down engine speed response-less touchy. A long set screw, or a short section of threaded rod with a connecting nut, on to the section sticking out of the floor, can do this.
Similar effect can be to lengthen the arm on the butterfly shaft. slowing its speed and allowing finer adjustment (speed governors often use this).
The object is to coordinate the position of the butterfly at cruising speed to the position of the pedal pad that is easiest to hold steady.
Explanations can be found in physics texts explaining lever systems. Another could be found in the piston vertical travel speed versus crankshaft position in an engine. Piston speed is max at 90 degrees ATDC, and 270 ATDC. Effort to tun the crank is at the minimum. Hand cranking the engine from 270 or 90 is easiest, harder from TDC or 180.
Enough confusion from me. Could someone else please elaborate to make this clear?
Russ

[Thodge]

The easiest way to think of it is that the throttle shaft and lever are effectively a crankshaft and the linkage rod is like a connecting rod. Like you say with a crankshaft spinning a constant speed, the pistons move fastest at 90 and 270. The only difference is that the work is being applied in the opposite direction so 90 and 270 above and below the throttle shaft would give the slowest opening of the butterfly.
The tricky thing in changing the overall ratio of the linkage would be keeping enough travel to fully open the throttle. You would need to tweak the lengths of every lever in the system together or you’d end up with a very high pedal off the floor.