Build Diary
Wednesday 10th March, 2004
I've been thinking a lot about the pedal box over the last week or so. I'm eager to start work on the chassis, but am reluctant to do so until I've finalized plans for the pedal box, the reasoning behind this lies in the modifications to the cockpit. At 6' 3" it's a forgone conclusion that I'm not going of fit the standard book chassis, the car's going to have to be larger, but by how much? Once the pedal box is sorted out I'll be able to accurately calculate the minimum amount of space required.To date, there have been two main issues with the pedal box. I've known from the outset that I would prefer to have all three pedals mounted on the floor, but have been in two minds about the brake setup and whether the clutch should be cable operated or hydraulic.
Issue one: The brakes. The question here is simply one cylinder or two? The benefit of having two cylinders over one is the amount of input the driver is afforded by being able to adjust the bias between the front and the rear calipers. There will inevitably be a greater expense, but the finished product should be highly tunable. In having only one cylinder the expense will drop and the amount of space available in the engine bay will be marginally increased, but the drivers input may be reduced. I think that it's still possible to retain a degree of control by introducing a bias valve into the brake line which is designed to inhibit the rear calipers, but this is unlikely to give the same level of control as dual master cylinders and a bias bar.
Issue two: The Clutch. I have heard tell that by fitting a hydraulic clutch I will be able to move the gearbox further back in the chassis. This to me sounds like a good idea as many builders using Type 9 boxes have diarised problems relating to the position of the gear lever.
Both of these points will require further thought, but hopefully not too much.
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