FLOOR PAN CONSTRUCTION

As a preface to continuing, I should let you know that I have a local machinist fabricate my pedal pivots, my pedal mount, my steering necks, my master cylinder mounting plate, and a few other things I can not drill or fabricate for one reason or another. Right now he’s mad at me, and I have been held up on this project because of it. So be nice to your local machinist. You never know when you’ll need his services. Prepare a candlelight dinner for him, give him chocolates on Valentines day, give him a little peck on the cheek when you leave his shop......just do what you gotta do to keep the #*%#@ jerk happy.

ON WITH THE HELLTRIKE.......

Floor Pan Construction

PC-1

The pedal arms are made of 1” square tubing.   The outer dimensions { When Assembled, BEFORE they are welded to the pivot} are 6” X 9” edge to edge. The center piece in the pic, is a 7/8” pipe. Cut 4” off of it, and thread it with a 5/8” NC Tap, as seen below the arms. Now make two pieces of pipe that will freely rotate around the non threaded portion of the bolt. These will be welded to the pedal arms, and will become the pivots. The right side of the PC-1 shows the pieces as in an “exploded” view. The left side shows them as they will bolt to the frame when completed. We will get back to these later. They form your Brake pedal, clutch pedal, and the assembly that holds them to the Twin-beam frame.

Pc-2

This is the seat pedestal. It is cut from 2” X 3” tube. I tapered mine because I am building an Art Project. It doesn’t have to be tapered. Mine is 6&1/2” X 4&1/4” The bottom measurement should be at least 5” minimum. PUT THE SHIFT COUPLER ON THE TRANNY, PUT THE TRANNY IN NEUTRAL, and pull the shift lever all the way foreword. Make sure everything is tight, including the bolts that hold the tranny in place, then place the lower seat pedestal about 1/4” from the leading edge of the shift coupler.

Pc-3

Align and clamp it properly, then weld the lower seat pedestal on the front, and rear bottom only. This is more than enough weld to hold it, and if you ever decide to change anything, all you have to do is make two cuts.

Pc-4

Clamp a flat piece of material to the lower front of the Twin-beam. Using that as a guide to find your leading edge, measure back 11”, and then 1” up from the bottom of the lower beam. Carefully drill a 7/8” hole to fit your 7/8” X 4” threaded pipe that holds the bolts that the pedals will pivot on. Drill this in steps, CAREFULLY making sure it is not off Vertically or Horizontally side to side, or YOUR PEDALS will swing in a crooked arc. Drilling in small steps, you can use a square to measure the upper edge of the hole as you drill each step, allowing you to correct any errors by steering the drill bit.

Pc-5

By the time you reach 1/2”, you may have to use a step drill as shown. If your final angle is off slightly, you can correct it later by filing the hole slightly egg shape, before you weld the pipe in the frame, and fill in the gap later. But for now that’s all we’re going to do with it.

Pc-6

Cut two lengths of 1”X1” tube. One piece 18”, the other, 42”. Using a flat plate as you did in PC-4. Make sure the plate hangs a couple of inches below the front lower edge of the beam. Next, center the 18” bar by measuring side to side from the bottom beam to the outer edge. This will center your 18” bar even it isn’t cut to exact length. Re check that it is square with the beam, by using a large square. Tack weld it good enough to hold, but not so much that you can’t break it loose if it isn’t exact.

Pc-7

Flip your frame over, and measure back towards the rear of the lower beam about 39&1/4”. { Inside edges} Center and clamp the 42” bar, just as you did the 18” bar, making sure it is square with the lower beam. Recheck the distance from this bar to the front one, edge to edge. Make any corrections to square things up. Weld it. Double check EVERYTHING, make any corrections, and weld them solid. These are structural welds. They reinforce the beam to torsion bar strength.

Pc-8

Measure from the front inside of the 1”X18” bar, inside edge to the rear {1”X42”} bar inside edge. Cut another bar from 1” stock about 1” longer than your measurement. Place the new bar under the front and rear bars, then line up the edges. Prime both ends so you can see your cut marks easily. Next trace the line from the front and rear edges to the side bar. Cut it and check the fit.

Pc-9

Now clamp the side bar in place and weld it solidly. These are structural welds. Now use the same procedure for the other side. Weld all the inside edges, but grind the top welds smooth, as the deck plate will be mounted to this surface later, and we don’t want it rocking and rolling and making a bunch of noise while other family members are trying to hear the TV.

Pc-10

This is where you should be now. Check to see if everything still is squared. If the pan tilts up or down, a couple whacks with a 16 lb. sledge will align things properly.. JUST KIDDING.

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