Gas Pedal.........or Petal?

[Joe C.]

All:

I regret to inform you that my '65 Convertible is suffering from a case of Wimpy Gas Pedal. Is is not very serious, and corrective surgery is now in progress. The symptoms are, that whenever I nail the throttle, the pedal behaves like a limp noodle, and bends into a concave shape under my foot. It is a reproduction part, purchased to replace the missing pedal on my car as purchased. A few questions:

1. Is the back side of the pedal subject to NCRS judging?
2. Do original pedals lack rigidity like this POS does?
3. Are gas pedals purposely constructed lightweight (inertia????)?
4. Do original gas pedals have a 2" x 2" clear plastic "rub pad" for the contact point at the throttle linkage?

The pedal in question appears to be made with a very soft metal inner stiffener, which is vulcanized to the outer rubber covering. The back side is hollowed, revealing the inner stiffener, with its 2 longitudinal stamped-in ribs. There is (was) a small rubber nub, which retained the plastic rub pad. I removed the rub pad and nub. I cut a piece of .0100" thick sheet steel, and bonded it into the depression. Painted the steel black. The pedal now is plenty stiff, but twice as heavy.

Waiting for answers, as I may or may not bond the plastic pad to the new steel backing.

Thanks in advance.

"Leadfoot"

[John H.]

Re: Gas Pedal.........or Petal?

Joe -

I went through three or four repro accelerator pedals for my '67 (from CC, LICS, etc.) and sent them all back for various reasons (including NO HINGE, believe it or not). Finally found a good one with proper hinge action at Willcox Corvette; it doesn't have the perfectly square top end on the outer grooves, but other than that it's dead on, and works like it's supposed to.

[John H.]

Re: Gas Pedal.........or Petal? - Addendum

God, I wish you could edit after posting...at any rate, yes, it should have a whitish opaque piece of square plastic on the back side, retained by a "nub" in the rubber, with a dab of Lubriplate on it for smooth action against the accelerator rod end. Anyone who judges the back side of an accelerator pedal should have their mirror confiscated

[Joe C.]

Re: Gas Pedal.........or Petal? - Addendum

Thanks John:

Between you and me (Psssssst.........don't tell anybody) but I modified the crummy reproduction petal (pedal?) two years ago by square cutting the outer-upper grooves..........so that the front side looks AOK/Kosher/"correct".
Since my last post, I have contact cemented the "rub pad" back in place. I have reapplied thread sealant to the pair of cad plated pan head Phillips mount screws, and reinstalled the modified pedal. It now weighs ONE POUND (sixteen ounces, exactly). It weighed 7 ounces before the mod. was done.
I have since road tested the car, and so far, so good. If there are any further developments, I will let you all know.

Joe ("Leadfoot")

PS: At this time, I cannot recall where I purchased the offending pedal (petal), but I could search and possibly find if anybody is interested.

[G B.]

You're right, it is pedal.

Try doing eBay searches under "bumbers", "duel points", and "Holly". You'll be stunned at the number of auctions with critical descriptive words spelled incorrectly. There are even some auctions to be found under "Corvett".

[Eugene B.]

Re: You're right, it is pedal.

Gents,
The accelerator pedal that I purchased was from LIC. They have two choices. The one that I purchased was their P/N 28-38B called (best repro).

I looks identical to my original and seems to weigh the same; however, I don't have it installed yet so I can't say anything about its under foot feel.

Regards,
Gene

[John H.]

Re: You're right, it is pedal.

Gene -

I bought the LICS "best repro" pedal about two years ago, and it was the one with NO HINGE - couldn't even break it loose working it back and forth in a vise. Returned it, and LICS said, "We've been having problems with that vendor, suggest you look elsewhere". Maybe they've now found the same supplier that Willcox uses.