Slick 60's

Good day guys,

I need some help with the accelerator pedal on my truck.

This is the accelerator assembly -



I have purchased one of these from Dennis Carpenter which mounts on the existing cab provision -



The new pedal has absolutely no flex or swivel on the base, so if I push the accelerator down is does not return.

Am I missing some parts? Also is the arm from the accelerator bracket supposed to just slide up and down on the back of the pedal?

Any suggestions?

Yes it should just slide on the back. From what I remember there is a pin that goes behind the pedal to ensure that the pedal doesn't come off of the accelerator linkage.

If the accelerator doesn't pop back up into place after being depressed I would think the return spring is either bad/not present/not hooked up.

A little dab of grease on the back of the pedal helps.

The problem on mine was in the casting of the rubber, either too thick or a harder rubber was used.
I inspected the one I replaced and found it had cracked the rubber at the hinge. I just scored a straight V shaped line across the bottom where it wants to bend wide enough that it bends easily and wont look like crap later when the rubber fails.

That is an older pedal than 65. The 65 had a visible hinge. Whether it makes a difference or not I do not know but up to 64 used a mechanical linkage bell crank set up with some stout springs. Stouter than the 65/66 cable set up. I replaced both of my 65 hinge pedals with a bolt up replacement suspended pedal. One spring up top by the cable end saves wear on the carburetor shaft. There are coil brackets with a spring attatchment and add brackets that use the coil bolt.

The hinge in the pedal will get rusty & lock up
I had to unbolt mine to get it to break loose
Once broke loose I flushed the hinge part good in solvent
Then oiled it with motor oil
Works smooth as new

Thanks for all the help gentlemen.

I did clamp the new pedal in a vice at the bottom and try pivot it back and forth and it is tight. I don't see any form of hinge in the casting. I will try cut the rubber back as uni body suggested and see if that improves it.

I don't have any form of return spring on the pedal assembly, only at the carb. So that would make a lot more sense as to why it is not returning. I will check Dennis Carpenter and see if they have any listing for the springs.

chris401 wrote:That is an older pedal than 65. The 65 had a visible hinge. Whether it makes a difference or not I do not know but up to 64 used a mechanical linkage bell crank set up with some stout springs. Stouter than the 65/66 cable set up. I replaced both of my 65 hinge pedals with a bolt up replacement suspended pedal. One spring up top by the cable end saves wear on the carburetor shaft. There are coil brackets with a spring attatchment and add brackets that use the coil bolt.

I don't see any other type of pedal that could possibly suit that pedal assembly on the Dennis Carpenter website. I would prefer the suspended type accelerator but I can't find anything here (Australia) and don't see any new available. I would even use something aftermarket (Lokar) but I am trying to avoid drilling more holes into the firewall.

If anybody has anything they want to sell and willing to ship to Australia I would be happy to cover costs.

dirtbike,
The pedal you bought from DC is identical to mine. The linkage you have is different, but should work the same. If your throttle works o.k. without the pedal attached you have the problem I described.
There is a metal hinge molded into the rubber that should bend freely, The relief cut I made was on the front where it wants to bend, I might have cut a V in the back as well.I will be picking it up from the shop today, I will try and post pics of it when I get it home

I have photos of the original 65 pedal. If anyone is interested. Try loosening the bolts. A stiff pedal sounds like a hinge binding. It is a bad design in my opinion. On my half ton I pulled the suspended pedal from a 71?2 Ranchero, no bending or modifying. Probably used many years in different Ford cars.

Thanks guys, after a bit of a nip and tuck on the rubber I managed to free it up.

Still need to get a additional spring on the pedal to assist the return.

I am not a fan of the pedal assembly and would prefer the suspended type so I will keep a lookout on ebay.

chris401 wrote:I have photos of the original 65 pedal. If anyone is interested. Try loosening the bolts. A stiff pedal sounds like a hinge binding. It is a bad design in my opinion. On my half ton I pulled the suspended pedal from a 71?2 Ranchero, no bending or modifying. Probably used many years in different Ford cars.

Thanks Chris, this is the original pedal that was installed in '65. The truck was manufactured (assembled) in South Africa so there are some differences to the American '65 model. Tub and tailgate been the biggest difference.
The accelerator moves freely with nothing attached to it.

Differences here between plants. According to the official records my 702XXX 704XXX trucks are supposed to have come with suspended pedals but both had hinged pedals with a vertical pedal pattern.. Kansas City must have been using up what they had.?