heel and toe

[axis_powers]

Curious if the accelerator pedal is adjustable.

I cant heel and toe properly with the current setup. The gas pedal is too high to roll my foot over. I suppose I could change my style to comprimise. I toe or ball the brake and blip with the heel, I suppose I could reverse but I have too many years doing it the other way, and it is second nature. Also, I can barely fit my foot in between the center console and the brake pedal especially if I wear running shoes that have a wide base. Is this how these cars are designed? or is something misaligned?

I only wear a 10.5.... normal sized feet? what gives?

[Gubi]

Quote:

Originally posted by axis_powers I only wear a 10.5.... normal sized feet? what gives?

switced my trottle linkage over to "euro" type and the difference is great. the Spica pedal setup was impossible with size 13's, no idea why the pedal placement was different. if your running carbs check with Alfa 1750 on EBay and ask if he has any to ship. I Plan on buying a pedal box on E-bay to cut and weld so I don't have as much of a problem with the clutch, right now I have to carefully get my toe on the pedal to depress fully, if I don't pay attention the ball of my foot sits on the pedal and it doesn't depress fully before my toes bottom out.

didn't Shankle make a conversion kit for Spica cars? anybody know.

[papajam]

Yes, they did. But AFAIK, it's NLA.

[lawrencedesigns]

The shankle heel and toe conversion did nothing for the lateral spacing between pedals, but it moved the accelerator toward the front so that it could be even with the brake pedal under hard braking.


I think I have seen the conversion advertised with Ricambi. It wouldn't hurt to give them a call. Otherwise, watch Ebay.
I had the conversion on my 74 spyder. Made a huge improvement...

Keeth Lawrence
84 spyder

[Sniady]

I love the set-up. Maybe because I drove a GTV for a year and a half non-stop. I'm 6'3, and wear a 11.5, oh and I use the stock seats.

My technique - I lay my right foot at about a 50 degree angle, and it works wonders. Downshifts, Upshifts, all day. When I first purchased the car, I could not shft into 2nd. The shift lever would hit my knee. Now I'm faster then speed racer.

[GTV4EVR]

Quote:

Originally posted by Sniady I love the set-up. Maybe because I drove a GTV for a year and a half non-stop. I'm 6'3, and wear a 11.5, oh and I use the stock seats. My technique - I lay my right foot at about a 50 degree angle, and it works wonders. Downshifts, Upshifts, all day. When I first purchased the car, I could not shft into 2nd. The shift lever would hit my knee. Now I'm faster then speed racer.

[genericwood]

Well guys, I'm even larger than the rest of you! I go 6'6", 255 pounds and where size 13 shoes. Had to make a seat to fit properly in my '56 Spider! Here's what I have done to fit better in my '74 GTV.

1) Remove the spacers from under that seat rails. That gives about 1/2 inch more headroom.

2) Loosened collar on the shifter where it enters the tranny (10mm nut) and rotated it away from my right knee before re-tightening. 5th gear is a reach, but plenty of room now for 2nd gear. There wasn't an adjustment on the '56 with the tunnel case so I had to bend the lever!

3) Smaller diameter steering wheel. Even with 205/55-15's, I don't find the effort too high with a 14" wheel.

For the feet, I just learned to deal with the stock spacing, although you should make sure there isn't extra thick carpet or jute between the throttle pedal and the tunnel. I use the ball of my right foot on the brake and "roll" the side of my foot onto the throttle. Works very well with my clown feet.

[GTV4EVR]

Quote:

Originally posted by genericwood Well guys, I'm even larger than the rest of you! I go 6'6", 255 pounds and where size 13 shoes. Had to make a seat to fit properly in my '56 Spider! Here's what I have done to fit better in my '74 GTV. 1) Remove the spacers from under that seat rails. That gives about 1/2 inch more headroom. 2) Loosened collar on the shifter where it enters the tranny (10mm nut) and rotated it away from my right knee before re-tightening. 5th gear is a reach, but plenty of room now for 2nd gear. There wasn't an adjustment on the '56 with the tunnel case so I had to bend the lever! 3) Smaller diameter steering wheel. Even with 205/55-15's, I don't find the effort too high with a 14" wheel. For the feet, I just learned to deal with the stock spacing, although you should make sure there isn't extra thick carpet or jute between the throttle pedal and the tunnel. I use the ball of my right foot on the brake and "roll" the side of my foot onto the throttle. Works very well with my clown feet.

[Romeo85]

Im only about 5'10" with an 11 shoe. I have had to always tilt my foot towards the gas pedal. I got used to get good at it after awhile.

Also with the seat all the way back, I have to watch out for those 2nd gear shifts because the shifter will hit my knee. It also sucks cause occasionally my sister would drive it and shes like 5'0" and moves the seat all the way up which bothers me if I get into the car like that.

[genericwood]

Romeo85, it isn't difficult at all to adjust the position of the shift lever, if you are hitting your knee going for 2nd gear. It's hard enough to smoothly get 2nd in most Alfas, you don't need to fight for space with your knee!

Erik

[conedriver]

My solution to improve the pedal spacing for heel and toe downshifting was to add a spacer to raise the effective height of the brake pedal and make it even with the gas pedal. I made a false brake pedal out of 1/8 in. steel, then used three flat head bolts as "stand-offs". The additional spacing is 1 in.

I made this modification to a '71 Spider, and my current '76. With new (thick) brake pads, and a well-bled hydraulic system, the brake/gas pedal spacing is effectively the same. Now, I gotta do something about my recently purchased '91 spider; when depressed, the brake pedal is far below that of the gas pedal.

Does ALFA(P) really mean "always looking for another project"?

George Schweikle
Lexington, KY

[Bill77]

The console side panel on my spider felt like something was pushing it closer to the gas pedal. Upon disassembly, I found the wire harness and the "Throttle" knob's cable jammed between the transmission tunnel and the console side panel.

Taping these items out of the way to allow the console side panel to move over may help a bit. It might be a small help, but every llittle bit counts.

[alfa63]

Quote:

I use the ball of my right foot on the brake and "roll" the side of my foot onto the throttle