There's nothing more frustrating than having a modified vintage vehicle that you can't drive or don't enjoy driving. No, we're not taking shots at trailer-borne trophy queens (not right now anyway). We're talking about mechanical or structural problems that could prevent somebody from completely enjoying their ride-stuff like a leaky windshield, lousy steering alignment, cooling problems, or improper seat position.
For one owner of a '52 Chevy pickup, the culprit was an extremely stiff clutch pedal. It had plenty of throw, but was so hard to engage that it made it difficult to drive the four-speed truck. The owner eventually got frustrated and sold the truck to Wil Sakowski at Sakowski Motors.
As it turns out, remedying the clutch pedal problem required just a little bit of imagination, a handful of basic tools, and an average level of mechanical skill. There was some typical hot rod trial and error involved in solving the problem, but in one day, Wil had the throw reduced and the pedal pressure down to a comfortable level.
When the day comes that this pickup is rebuilt, the pedal assem-blies may be completely rebuilt as well. In the meantime, a problem has been fixed and a classic truck is exceedingly more drivable than it was yesterday.
This is what the clutch pedal...
This is what the clutch pedal linkage looked like before Wil started working on it.
The amount of pedal throw...
The amount of pedal throw and the pedal pressure is a result of the ratio between the longer upper arm and the short lower arm.
Another problem with this...
Another problem with this linkage was that the rod was positioned too close to the orange-colored clutch fork.
In order to figure out the...
In order to figure out the mechanical advantage of the unmodified piece, Wil measured the lengths of both arms.
The length of the upper arm,...
The length of the upper arm, from the pivot hole to the point where it curves to connect to the pedal is approximately 8 1/2 inches.
In order to move the rod farther...
In order to move the rod farther from the clutch fork, Wil replaced the 90-degree pin end of the rod with a yoke removed from the end of an extra master cylinder he had in the shop.
He used a cut-off wheel to...
He used a cut-off wheel to remove the end of the clutch linkage rod.
The finished piece looks a...
The finished piece looks a lot cleaner with the yoke end.
Meanwhile, over at the drill...
Meanwhile, over at the drill press, a hole was drilled in the lower arm of the clutch pedal assembly at the 1 1/2-inch mark, between the pivot hole and the original rod hole.
With the clutch pedal assembly...
With the clutch pedal assembly remounted into position, it's easy to see the significant difference in the position of the rod.
Relocating the rod to the...
Relocating the rod to the center hole of the lower arm provided just the right amount of pedal pressure and throw.
Assessing the situation, Wil...
Assessing the situation, Wil determined that the interfering corner could be notched without reducing the integrity of the part.