The engine crankshaft is now centered and the engine is at an acceptable height, so it?s back to the pedal box.
- A center line was stretched over the body and a plumb bob dropped. The crank is centered.
Initial fitment of the pedal box proved to be a little too high at the front panel and not quite horizontal side to side. Holes that were previously drilled for the master cylinders and pedal box through studs, needed to be slotted to get a better fit. Once everything was the way I wanted it, I added material to the foot well panel to clean things up. The first step was to glass in crescents at the tops of master cylinder through holes.
- You can see the material added to the master cylinder holes in this photo. The through stud holes have not yet been addressed. Note the pedal box assembly was not level side to side initially, thus the more material was added to the hole closest to the steering column.
The next step was to reduce the slot sizes for the through studs to ensure positive placement of the pedal box. Reasonably tight holes assure the pedal box will go back into the proper position after paint. The last step was to trim the master cylinder holes so that there was clearance between the master cylinder boot and the sandwiched fiberglass panel. This was accomplished using sticky back paper over a length of aluminum tube I had lying around. Master cylinder boot fit into the steel bracket holes, either side of the foot well panel, is very tight on the clutch master cylinder. This end cylinder is supported by little more than half a crescent of the forward side steel doubbler plate. When the retaining nuts are tightened, this master cylinder cocks a few degrees, which I?d like to eliminate. I will try to build up the bed for the minimally supported side.
- A minimum outline hole was cut in the left (port) front wheel well to accommodate the clutch master cylinder. The hole will be enlarged and trimmed to facilitate a closing blister on the wheel side. Note the base of the master cylinder is not seated at this time. A metal plate extends from the engine side to just past the retaining studs. I want to fill the gap at the mounting base.
I?m not sure now if I need to notch the carbon fiber beam running under the bottom of the pedal box. I?m now thinking that it may be ok. Full depression of the accelerator pedal bottoms out on the beam face, about 3.75 inches from the face of the wheel well panel. The pedals on my S2 will depress more. Still, this may be acceptable as the pedals travel through a vertical plane before stopping. The push rod on the slave cylinder actually seems a little long, but without a clevis and pin on hand, I can?t tell for sure. It may need to be shortened. I?m also not sure what the full stroke measures on the master cylinders. I haven?t tried to fit the balance beam assemble yet and I?m not sure what the relationship should be between the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal heights, assuming heal/toeing is desirable.
- All three pedals are positioned as far forward as possible in this picture. The accelerator pedal is about 3.75 inches from the front panel of the foot well. The other pedals are not yet attached to their respective master cylinders but a clevis and pint for the clutch, and a balance beam for the brake pedal.
The other reason for addressing the pedal box and outer master cylinder at this time is to check clearance with the wheels and tires. To this end, I took delivery of a pair of Toyo RA1?s in a 205/60R13 size. I had 2 tires mounted on 26R Kelsport sourced, center lock wheels. These wheels are made of cast aluminum in classic 26R style. I don?t think they are particularly light or strong, but should be fine for a street car. I have open center, matching knock off spinners, also made of aluminum, somewhere in my inventory, but for now, the US style octagon nuts work for fitting purposes.
- The left front KO wheel is shown in natural cast aluminum with an RA1 tire fitted. You can just see the clutch master cylinder at the 2 o'clock wheel position. I expect the tire will contact the anti roll bar a full lock before it contacts the master cylinder blister. S3-S4 rack stops plus 0.120 inches will be fitted to my new rack, then trimmed in situ to just prevent contact with the anti roll bar which has not yet been fitted.
Initially, I set the ride height with the longest leg of the 26R lower front wishbones horizontal. This setting didn?t work with my wheel and tire combination. I then set the inner and outer lower wishbone pivots on a level line. That is the setting used for these pictures and I now believe it is correct. The previous setting left almost no room for bump travel. Even with this setting, wheel travel will have to be checked. All suspension geometry will have to be reset. The 26R lower wishbones are fixed in length, but the uppers are adjustable. The other thing is I?m having a replacement rack assembly rebuilt with new components. The special rack is ? inch shorter, which moves the inboard tie rod pivots ? inch more inboard per side, but minimizes bump steer effects over a much larger range of suspension travel.
- This photo shows the relative position of the lower 26R wishbone in the static position. While not readily apparent, the inner an outer pivots are at the same elevation. The suspension is supported by a threaded rod for convenience.
You still have to set the rack height as usual, but toe change will be less or even eliminated altogether over a much larger range of travel than with the standard length rack. I expect the new rack to be shipped by DBE at the end of June.