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MG TD TF 1500 - Accelerator Pedal

After doing the O'Connor mod to the clutch I am now turning my attention to the accelerator pedal. I have never been happy with this, both the action and the rattles from the roller. On my car the pedal rod is horizontal to the top of the toe board. Looking at it from the passenger's footwell it bends at 90 degs and drops at an angle of about 30 degs to the toe board. After about 8" it is bent at about 120 degs so the roller is about horizontal. I am certain that someone who is skilled at vector diagrams would be able to show that the pedal is being pushed towards the floor board rather than rotating the horizontal section. Why didn't MG leave the rod straight but angled to be in line with the other pedals. Before I bend mine can any comment?

Jan T
J Targosz

Jan;
Attached is a picture of my linkage.
Mine had been destroyed in some sort of mishap that sliced the firewall. A PO had brazed it back by adding a brass tubing coupling brazed to the two halves.

I got some very good information here and reconstructed the shaft.
I think you can see if you step on the pedal the shaft turns and caused the arm outside the firewall to rotate back.

Jim B.

JA Benjamin

Couple of thoughts: first, the roller doesn't rattle if your foot is on it, and if you're braking I'd be surprised if you could hear it.

Second, I like to set mine up so that the rod hits the firewall just as the throttle is fully open - it saves an awful lot of load on the carb spindle when you've got your foot down. I suspect that was the reason for the original contour.

Third (sorry, can't count) the roller is just where it needs to be for heel-and-toe braking.

Regards, David
D A Provan

Just poked my nose in this thread and thought I'd comment on the roller design of the accelerator pedal. I don't know about most of you guys, but I prefer a more friction feel between foot and pedal. The roller doesn't give me enough of a feeling of being in control, like my foot is slipping off with no feedback. Has anyone ever replaced the roller with a fixed rubber pedal?
Mike
Mike I

Jim thanks for the photo - it shows exactly what is wrong with my pedal. The bend is in the wrong position and at the wrong angle. The section of rod that the roller is fixed to is horizontal so rather than pushing the pedal towards the toe board I have to lift my foot and push it towards to floor. Problem is to re bend the rod I will need to remove everything and do the job in the vice. Once again thanks for the pic.

Jan T
J Targosz

There should be fiber washers on the sides of the roller, which pretty well dampen any rattle. The roller may be worn and hogged out also. You can rotate the clamp to the throttle shaft a little to raise or lower the pedal, but it should be adjusted where the throttle plates are wide open when the pedal hits the floor. George
George Butz

Jan;
I have pictures showing the angles you will need.
If you want I can post them
I re-made mine, by cutting the horizontal bar and re-welding

Jim B.
JA Benjamin

You can also adjust the lekgth of the vertical rod beneath the carbs.
I have an RHD so my comment may not be correct for LHD cars.

Laurent.
LC Laurent31

Mike, I attached a floor hinged pedal that simply rests against the roller for comfort during a very long trip. It worked well for that purpose and I removed it after.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Thanks for the offer Jim. Can you send them to jtargosz@hotmail.com

Mathew and Mike, I have also thought of making up an "organ pedal". I am going to try a mock up made from plywood with a domestic hinge. With luck the roller will simply slide on the rear of the pedal. If it works I will make a proper one from a piece of aluminium chequer plate.

JanT
J Targosz

Slight bending of the pedal rod helped but I managed to make a huge improvement by altering the angle of the leaver on the carburetors cross bar. When in the closed position the leaver was horizontal and thus the arc of actuation was only half of what it should be. I removed the small universal jointed link and screwed the ends in to shorten it and slacked the leaver and moved it so it pointed down. The linkage now moves through an angle with the mid point being horizontal. This has made a huge difference to the feel of the accelerator pedal, the only cost being ten minutes of my time.

Jan T
J Targosz

I know this suggestion will not be popular with the purists, but it can be done in a way that is easily reversible. I would remove the roller and replace it with a rubber pedal using the roller fork for mounting it. The roller is part of the problem since it presents very little friction under your shoe to give you a sense that you are stepping on something. It would function the same way except you would feel the pedal sliding on your shoe. It can be easily reversed back to the roller. The other alternative would be to install an additional resistive spring to the linkage so it takes a little more pressure to move it. Or maybe a little bit of both. Right now, the only way I know I'm on the accelerator is when I hear the engine rev.
Mike
TD15250


Mike I

This thread was discussed between 08/06/2017 and 05/07/2017

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