Thread: Project Sebring GT Spyder

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This is the mount that I added to the cowl brace to support the pedal assembly. This was a hold over from when I was thinking of using the original fiberglass firewall.



Here is what the pedals look like in place. Even with the mods to the footwells, there isn't an over abundance of room, but it's a lot better than it was before. You can just see the stoplight and clutch switch mount. I don't think the clutch switch will work mounted this low, but the brake switch will be fine. I'll most likely have to mount the clutch switch higher to delay it from closing until the clutch is actually released.



This is the interior of the bubble for the throttle pedal.



This is a polyurethane suspension bump stop that I added to serve as a clutch pedal stop. This will be adjusted later to prevent over stroking the clutch slave cylinder.

This is the framework that I used to mount the Saturn steering column. It has adjustment forward and back, column angle as well as a little left/right travel. I like this short column and driveshaft arrangement because it allows you to move the column position just where you want it without having to worry about the path a full length column will take. I will even be able to adjust the position some after the dash is finished.





The tilt lock just happened to fall in a location just below the dash. I'll most likely change the plastic knob out for something a little nicer.



This is a shot of the mock-up dash I made the last time I had the body on. The steering wheel is a Moto-Lita that I lucked into in the classified section of a site that I would have never thought would have something like that. It's off of a Sunbeam Tiger. Unfortunately, the nice wheel adapter is going to have to be changed because I'll be modifying the upper part of the Saturn column to add a turn signal switch.

The mock-up dash is a little taller than the finished part will most likely be, but you still won't be able to see the electric motor on the column.

I forgot to post the pictures of the finished steering driveshaft in place.

After sitting in the car and checking the pedal fit, I decided I needed something to rest my clutch foot on. Without a rest, it would be too tempting to rest my foot on the clutch pedal, which is a big no-no. There is actually a name for this kind of foot rest. It's called a dead pedal. Most of the vehicles I've owned were bigger American car and trucks and a dead pedal was never needed. There was always plenty of room to get my feet away from the clutch pedal. Apparently, dead pedals are more common in European and Asian cars. I did have a small Jap car that had a foot rest built into the inner fender that protruded into the foot area.

I did see a potential problem with my car in that with a dead pedal in place, it could get in the way of operating the clutch for "spirited" driving. I decided that a folding dead pedal would solve that problem.

I came up with several different potential ways to build a folding setup, but when I was checking out a tool box that I keep motorcycle stuff in, I stumbled across a set of Harley passenger foot pegs that I had forgotten about. No need to reinvent the wheel. I can make this work.

I made several mods to the original foot peg and fabbed up a mount for an extra Tilton pedal.





This setup is completely adjustable for location and angle. When folded, it gives plenty of room for fast stabs at the clutch. Problem solved.

That's a slick setup and great idea!

That is very simple and very clever; it epitomises hot-rodding/vehicle modification at its best.

Very nice work and great idea on the dead pedal!

Thanks for the comments guys.

While I was working on the steering, I decided to go ahead and finish the adjustable rack mount that I had tacked together earlier. I left a bunch of stuff on the chassis tacked together because I wasn't sure everything was going to work, but I'm getting to the point where I need to start finishing these things up. This mount is adjustable up and down as well as a little fore/aft. Shims do the adjusting so that it can be locked down solid. Having an adjustable mount will allow tuning out any bump steer due to other suspension adjustments.



I mounted a manual Mustang II rack that I picked up at a swap meet. I really wasn't in the market for a rack, but this one was tight as a new one and only $50.



I made some solid aluminum rack bushings to replace the stock rubber parts. These won't have any flex, but may be too harsh. If they are, I'll switch to polyurethane bushings. Right now there is no rubber anywhere in the steering. Steering should be crisp.



I also finished up the steering shaft from the firewall to the rack. I used a Flaming River shaft with a built in slip joint. Because the rack mount is adjustable, there was the chance that the shaft would need to move due to rack adjustment. The slip joint also adds a little safety in the event of a front collision by absorbing some of the movement. This is an older shot that I cropped, but it's the same shaft.



I now have functioning steering! Another small milestone. I'm not sure I'm going to like the MII manual rack. It's 4 turns lock to lock. That's pretty slow. The power racks are listed by Flaming River as 2.7 turns LTL. I may convert the old Fox body power rack I have into a manual rack and use it instead. Time will tell, but right now I'm moving on to something else.

Now that I had most of the work done on the pedals and steering, I had to finish the footwells and rest of the firewall.

Just to balance out the looks of the aluminum panel on the passenger side, I made an .030 trim panel to cover the upper portion of the steel driver panel. This trim piece turned out to be a little tricky for me since I had to duplicate the bends on the existing steel part. I managed to get it done though.





Here is the throttle pedal bubble from the outside.

I also had to make a center panel. This one had to have a "joggle" rolled in partially down each side to cover the edges of the footwell panels.

More great work! I really like the bead rolling in your panels. It looks sharp!

Yes, times 2.
It looks real nice with the details.

Wow great progress

Looking good.......

I haven't said much about this build, but have enjoyed it from the beginning. Great craftsmanship.
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