Wilwood dual m/c pedal assembly installation

langsen · Post by **langsen** » Sat Jan 25, 2003 12:04 pm

I have this pedal assembly -- the Wilwood dual m/c w/ balance bar and hydraulic clutch, and was hoping to install it in my bug. This pedal assembly has one master cylinder for the front brakes and a separate one for the rear. In theory, this can be used instead of a vacuum brake booster. I am using the 944T brakes, by the way.

The pedal assembly is wider than the stock VW pedal assembly. It looks like it is going to be very challenging to install, and I was hoping somebody else has done it and can offer advice. Thanks!

Paul Illick · Post by **Paul Illick** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 3:55 am

Sounds like you have a floor-mount pedal assembly, which means the M/C's are going to stick through the front of the footwell where the original M/C is now. If the Wilwood assembly is too wide and there's not enough room on the left, so the clutch M/C interferes with the wheelwell, well, then you're going to be into some serious modifications of the sheet metal. If that's the case you might want to think about exchanging the assembly that you have and mounting the pedals overhead, which is much more straightforward. You can see how Jeff did it in one of the "Oval" albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/bgfrmnceh2o

One other thing about mounting them overhead (with forward, not rear-mount M/C's) is that you can bolt the pedal assembly to a plate and then have the plate bolt to the car. That way you can slide the plate forward and back to have adjustable pedals. Not necessary, of course, but simple to do and a nice touch.

kdanie · Post by **kdanie** » Mon Jan 27, 2003 12:16 pm

The bulkhead area at the stock brake M/C on a bug is double wall with about an inch gap between the 2 pieces of metal. You will need a longer pushrod for your brake M/Cs. The body mounts angle down in that area and may interfear with having 2 M/Cs. The dual master cylinders do not compensate for the lack of a power booster. The pedal ratio takes care of that. You will be able to fine tune your front/rear brake bias though.

I am using a 944 m/c with my 944 N/A brakes. Some people say that the 944 M/C will give too hard of pedal, that is the piston dia. is too large to use the stock VW pedal to have enough leverage. The VW pedals have about 4.33-1 ratio. My car was an auto-stick and I needed a clutch solution anyway so I am fabricating my own pedal set. I am using a 5.33-1 pedal ratio for more leverage so the 944 MC should function fine. The pedal set is about 3/4 done, I'm waiting on some small roller bearings for the pedals to pivot on. Then off to the powder coaters.
ken

[This message has been edited by kdanie (edited 01-27-2003).]

Richard Olafsson · Post by **Richard Olafsson** » Tue Jan 28, 2003 12:20 am

Ken,
Do you have any pictures of your set-up?
Are you using a NA 944 m/c? I'm using a turbo (aluminim version) with my NA 944 brakes but find it gives too much bias to the front...
Rich

------------------
http://www.ricola.co.uk

kdanie · Post by **kdanie** » Tue Jan 28, 2003 7:57 am

My digital camera died... I'll take some print pictures and scan them when the pedals are completed. This weekend, I hope.
ken

langsen · Post by **langsen** » Tue Jan 28, 2003 6:37 pm

I looked at the pics at the "oval gallery," and I think those pedals might be the way to go. Is that Bugformance in San Jose? If it is, I might have to go check it out in person.

I am not sure which pedal ratio I have now, but they are definitely floor mounted, and they would definitely interfere with the wheelwell space.

Is there anyone currently using a Wilwood pedal assembly w/ balance bar on any aircooled VW?

Paul Illick · Post by **Paul Illick** » Wed Jan 29, 2003 3:38 am

Yes, that's Bugformance in San Jose. Some car, huh? The buggy guys can use any floormount pedals, but Jeff is the only one I'm aware of who's using Wilwood in a full-bodied VW. He posts here sometimes as 55SUPERBEETLE, I think.

Oh, and by the way, with the Wilwoods you actually can kind of adjust the pedal pressure (travel) by choosing different MC diameters, kind of like Ken and Rich are doing with different Porsche MC's.

[This message has been edited by Paul Illick (edited 01-29-2003).]

GS guy · Post by **GS guy** » Thu Jan 30, 2003 7:16 am

I am having a similar problem fitting Wilwood pedals (dual MC brake, hyd. clutch) in my fiberglass buggy. That brake pedal takes up so much "real estate" down there there isn't room for clutch and a CNC gas pedal. After looking at long an hard, the only real solution I can see is to re-work the clutch pedal to work similar to the VW set-up. I'm going to make up a custom mount for the pedal, then a rod that will extend from the clutch pedal into the tunnel area, with a small arm on the end. This rod will run through and act as the pivot for the brake pedal, be roll-pinned to the clutch pedal, with the original Wilwood clutch pedal mount re-located inside the tunnel and MC for it in there. The assembly will be mounted on an aluminum plate in the passenger compartment, solidly locating all the pieces in proper relationship to each other. Since my "tunnel" is fiberglass this isn't too big a deal. A standard Bug will require a bit of metal-work to do it this way. Just an idea, I think it'll work great for my application.

Jeff

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 3:58 pm

kdanie wrote:The bulkhead area at the stock brake M/C on a bug is double wall with about an inch gap between the 2 pieces of metal. You will need a longer pushrod for your brake M/Cs. The body mounts angle down in that area and may interfear with having 2 M/Cs. The dual master cylinders do not compensate for the lack of a power booster. The pedal ratio takes care of that. You will be able to fine tune your front/rear brake bias though.

I am using a 944 m/c with my 944 N/A brakes. Some people say that the 944 M/C will give too hard of pedal, that is the piston dia. is too large to use the stock VW pedal to have enough leverage. The VW pedals have about 4.33-1 ratio. My car was an auto-stick and I needed a clutch solution anyway so I am fabricating my own pedal set. I am using a 5.33-1 pedal ratio for more leverage so the 944 MC should function fine. The pedal set is about 3/4 done, I'm waiting on some small roller bearings for the pedals to pivot on. Then off to the powder coaters.
ken

[This message has been edited by kdanie (edited 01-27-2003).]

So Kdanie hows the pedals going? Any pics?

sorry for dragging up an old post.

volkdent · Post by **volkdent** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 6:47 pm

Ditto, I'm not there yet, but it will become an issue in a month or two, so I might as well get info while I can.

Jason

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