Brake pedal 65 GP

[Fitzy]

So, here's a curly one. There I am, idly surveying my stripped interior and I know I need to contort myself to get in there and continue wire brushing surface rust but am making excuses to postpone such pain. I examine my brake pedal - it has never looked right. The car is a factory auto, so it's the wide brake pedal, but it's not flat - it's slightly curved, so that the centre is higher than the sides. Is this how they came from the factory, or has the previous owner stomped on the brakes over the years, hitting the pedal off centre and thereby bending it's surface?

I reinforced the centre of the pedal with my extended leg (foot on pedal) and bent the outside edges back up with a pair of multigrips in order to restore a nice, flat pedal surface. It now looks how I imagine it should look, but if it's meant to be curved (perhaps in order for a smooth transition from accelerator to brake) can someone let me know? At any rate, I'm leaving as it is, because it now looks like a brake pedal on a regular car, you know - with a flat surface!

[Last Indian]

5 hours ago, Fitzy said:

So, here's a curly one. There I am, idly surveying my stripped interior and I know I need to contort myself to get in there and continue wire brushing surface rust but am making excuses to postpone such pain. I examine my brake pedal - it has never looked right. The car is a factory auto, so it's the wide brake pedal, but it's not flat - it's slightly curved, so that the centre is higher than the sides. Is this how they came from the factory, or has the previous owner stomped on the brakes over the years, hitting the pedal off centre and thereby bending it's surface?

I reinforced the centre of the pedal with my extended leg (foot on pedal) and bent the outside edges back up with a pair of multigrips in order to restore a nice, flat pedal surface. It now looks how I imagine it should look, but if it's meant to be curved (perhaps in order for a smooth transition from accelerator to brake) can someone let me know? At any rate, I'm leaving as it is, because it now looks like a brake pedal on a regular car, you know - with a flat surface!

Yes the original pedal was curved! I believe most of the pre 1990 car pedals were curved, clutch & brake. Some more than others, but still curved not flat! The two  reasons I believe are simple. One as you push down on the pedal it goes through an arch. The curved pedal allows your foot to stay in contact with the pedal as it goes through the arch better than a flat surface, this is a proven fact. Secondly an curved surface allows greater psi pressure on the pad surface, not pedal pressure, but pressure on the pedal surface. Which minimizes the tendency for your foot to slide of the pedal, aka a type of hydroplaning if you will and this does actually happen. 
As I’ve said before, the old timers were pretty dam smart, not so much today! Now most pedals are flat, which is why that’s what you are use to seeing!

[Fitzy]

Goodness me, I hope a Pontiac purist never inspects my car- they'll pick it to pieces, what with it's incorrect headlining, exhaust cutouts and flat brake pedal - it's my very own Pont-enstein.

I am astounded by your answer, and am grateful that you took the time to respond and am equally astounded by the engineering behind a curved brake pedal. Simple, elegant innovation - once the driving force behind the auto industry, now robot assembled characterless bubbles with a life expectancy of 5 years or so.

So, can you tell me why GM put the bloody distributor at the BACK of the engine, in a black painted engine bay, where anyone less than 7 feet tall will never see what's inside the dizzy without actually physically climbing on top of the engine? I remember tuning my old Cleveland V8s and how easy it was to adjust points with the dizzy front & centre of the engine.

And the inlet manifold? Are there improvements in flow and breathing from that distinctive Pontiac design? I must admit, I enjoy peering into the inky blackness of my engine bay and marvelling at all the unique characteristics that my car displays.

[Last Indian]

20 hours ago, Fitzy said:

Goodness me, I hope a Pontiac purist never inspects my car- they'll pick it to pieces, what with it's incorrect headlining, exhaust cutouts and flat brake pedal - it's my very own Pont-enstein.

I am astounded by your answer, and am grateful that you took the time to respond and am equally astounded by the engineering behind a curved brake pedal. Simple, elegant innovation - once the driving force behind the auto industry, now robot assembled characterless bubbles with a life expectancy of 5 years or so.

So, can you tell me why GM put the bloody distributor at the BACK of the engine, in a black painted engine bay, where anyone less than 7 feet tall will never see what's inside the dizzy without actually physically climbing on top of the engine? I remember tuning my old Cleveland V8s and how easy it was to adjust points with the dizzy front & centre of the engine.

And the inlet manifold? Are there improvements in flow and breathing from that distinctive Pontiac design? I must admit, I enjoy peering into the inky blackness of my engine bay and marvelling at all the unique characteristics that my car displays.

Peter, if I may? First off, nothing you’ve done should offend anyone! It’s your car you should do exactly what pleases you! Period! Besides, you’ve saved another poncho! You’re posing a question so I answered it, nothing more. 

With regard to the distributor question. No engine is perfect, some come closer than others and to some degree I think that is proven by a specific engines longevity. The Cleveland was a good motor, but as an overall motor, meaning beyond standard production cars, it fell short! It had several issues, that could be overcome with extensive work, but never really gave back in power for the effort when compared the Pontiac or Chevy. That said you can actually build a GM V8 with the distributor up front! The main reason to set a distributor in the rear of an engine of a rear wheel drive front mounted engine is protection of the electronic brain! Is it necessary? Probably not! In the end though, those engines dominate the car market, race market and more, for more than three decades virtually unchanged, that’s domination! And yes, I’m not a big guy, so I have actually sat inside an engine compartment at times or laid on a covered fender to work on a engine.

With respect to the Pontiac manifold design! Just shear genius! There is a whole world of physics around that design principle. It all deals with principles of fuel delivery, vaporization of fuel, density of the charge, volumetric efficiency and separating that from the rest of the engines thermal impact. In essence these are two different worlds that should never meet, except in the combustion chamber, which to a greater extent is why direct fuel injection can actually deliver more power than port injection or carburation.

Edited March 28, 2020 by Last Indian

[Fitzy]

Thanks Last Indian! I will now scowl at my distributor with nenewed vigour, as it sits at the back of the engine, defiant, grinning at me as I grunt & strain to see where I should put the points!

I sorta figured that the Pontiac manifold distanced itself from engine heat, and we all know that a cooler inlet charge is good for power, so I'll now look at THAT with a different set of eyes too.

Clearly, because I'm self isolating at the moment, I have too much time hence peering into my engine bay and asking questions! I hope we're all doing the right thing and staying at home. The best way to stop the virus is to prevent it finding new hosts.

Keep pottering with your cars, guys. It may transpire that the ICE actually helped save the human race, rather than tried to kill it off!