mechanical throttle linkage

[egchewy79]

I'm putting in Forte's mechanical linkage, but don't have my engine in yet.
does anyone have a rough estimate on the location of the inner-most pedestal mount from the inner edge of the DS footbox?
I figure I would be OK if the mount was a bit inside or outside of the anticipated location of the throttle body, but I just didn't want to have it exactly where the lever arm needs to go.
I've decided on mounting to the 2x2" frame behind the firewall for most support, and also have my wiring harness going through the firewall per manual recommendations around the middle of the wall. I'm assuming that wires in this location will be well out of the way from the moving arms of the throttle linkage, correct?

[mike forte]

There should be enough room on the top for the wires to clear the rod.
Reinforcing the firewall for the mounts is very common.
You can move the mounts around but you might want to test it before cutting to make sure the rod wont move if there too close together.
Best way to would be to mock it up with the engine installed.
I have included pictures to help estimate a location but this is one of those cases where every build is different so the exact location will change car to car.

[egchewy79]

I'm mounting to the frame, so I'm not worried about reinforcing the firewall. I'm also not too worried about the wiring getting in the way. I'm just trying to figure out the rough distance from the foot box to the middle most mount. I understand that the lever arm can be on either the inside or outside of this depending on the position of the throttle body. I just want to make sure the mount is not directly in line of the throttle body as this would cause an angulation of the linkage arm. I'll mock it up and will figure it out eventually but would like to get the bar mounted before installing engine.

[cv2065]

I just pinned mine. If you plan to do yours, I have to say that if you can mock it up beforehand then take it apart and drill for the holes off the car, you're going to be much better off. I ate up a few Cobalt bits just to get through the SS bar and there's not much room to work, so do yourself a favor. Patience and cutting oil is your friend. I had one out of two of those. Pin size was 3/32" as recommended by Mike.

[egchewy79]

Do you drill completely through the bar when pinning or part way through?

[cv2065]

Do you drill completely through the bar when pinning or part way through?

First one I was able to get all the way through. Second one about 3/4”. After a couple of drill bits I just pinned what I had. It’s definitely not going anywhere.

[CraigS]

I would put the rodend mount at about the center of the engine. Look at a bunch of engine pics to find that because the engine is offset slightly to the passenger side. This way you are guaranteed the lever will be 2-3 inches toward the driver side. If the included shaft isn't quite long enough for that you could put it toward the driver side so it is inside the lever location. The shaft itself is plenty strong for this. I did my home made install before Mike had his kits and on a complete car so I didn't want the other mount inside the footbox. That means that the distance that mount to the inside lever is about 2.5 inches and it is no problem. I could add a pic of mine but it is an old MkII and the footbox metal is different than the MkIV so it might lead you astray.

[David Williamson]

I have the Forte linkage, a few minutes with some metal polish and it will shine like chrome.
David W

[phileas_fogg]

My center-most pedestal mount is 9" from the foot box side. Note that this is for the SBF aluminum NOT the Coyote aluminum.


John

https://live.staticflickr.com/4297/36248672626_feb0c5440c_4k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XeaVuf)IMG_3502 (https://flic.kr/p/XeaVuf) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

[egchewy79]

Thanks John. You're the first to actually answer my question! I'm also running a SBF. I was going to mock it up and figure out the the lever for the gas pedal needs to be and then figure out where the middle pedestal should sit.

[rich grsc]

I would think it's a very easy answer, put the middle pedestal in the middle of the fire wall. Too much over thinking

[phileas_fogg]

...I was going to mock it up and figure out the the lever for the gas pedal needs to be and then figure out where the middle pedestal should sit.

That's really the best plan. Locate the pedal side of the pivot rod & let that determine the center mount. As I posted on the other forum, just leave 1/2"-3/4" of pivot rod sticking past the rod end (or stop collar, if you use them) & you'll have plenty of leeway to adjust the lever arms as needed.


John

[egchewy79]

Ok. Installed the middle pedestal mount. I mocked up the SS arm, getting it's footbox position set, then figured where the middle mount would sit. By mounting to the 2"frame, there's no flex but more importantly no chance of the footbox lever hitting the top of the box. Had I put the middle mount in the middle of the firewall, I wouldn't have had enough bar in the footbox, so I'm glad i mocked it up first. Drilled an oval hole in footbox wall and it all seems to fit well. 3 questions.
1. What's the thread size of the rod end connectors? It's looking like 1/4-24 but I wanted to make sure. I can check it out at my local hardware store tomorrow too.
2. How in the world are you supposed to drill through the SS bar to pin it? Tried drilling through the lever arm pin hole and barely scratched the bar material. Looks like I'm picking up some cutting oil and stronger bits.
3. What's the typical travel of the lever arm? Assuming WOT is straight up at 12:00, where does the arm sit when foot is off the throttle? 10ish?119438

Edit: to answer the first question, it was 1/4"-28 tap. and to answer the 2nd question, cobalt 3/32" bit with cutting oil and slow speeds. the aluminum drills out in a long ribbon and the SS has more of a sawdust like consistency. you know you're through completely once you stop getting the small shavings and start seeing a long ribbon of metal coming through the hole. I stopped several times to clean out the drill bit and to add more oil. same as when tapping the aluminum arm after it was cut to length.

[cv2065]

Mine sits about 10:00 when not engaged. And yes, the SS rod is not easy to drill. My advice would be to have the arms clamped in position so they don’t move then drill. Use Cobalt drill bits and take it easy on the speed using cutting oil. Don’t go full bore. Titanium bits don’t cut it.

[egchewy79]

Amazing how easily job are with the right tool. Got some cobalt 3/32"bits, some cutting oil, and slow drill speed and the SS bar gave little resistance. No broken bits!