Throttle Cable Question

[Naughty Magpie]

Hi, I'm picking up my Sumo 3.5V8 on Saturday but upon test-driving it a week or so ago, it's obvious that the throttle cable needs adjusting/changing - not sure until I can get a good view at what needs doing.

The accelerator and clutch are at one level/height but the brake pedal is nearly buried below the two which doesn't inspire me with confidence to drive it fast, go to brake and think "where the heck is it?!"

Am I right in believing I may need a new throttle cable, can the existing one be adjusted to bring the brake pedal "back up" or am I completely clueless?

If I need a new cable, where can I get one from? Directly from Pilgrim or a spares/parts catalogue?

Can someone give me a bit of advice as I'm a bit lost and would like to fix it as soon as I get the car as my boyfriend is not keen on me driving around, the way the pedals are at the moment. :drive:

Hannah.

[wilf]

Hannah - I am rather at a loss as to why you want to change a throttle cable in order to move the static resting point of the brake pedal. The two are not related.

If you want to adjust the static level of your brake pedal in relation to your clutch and throttle pedals, then, (in theory and within limits) you should be adjusting the pushrod between the brake pedal and the brake master cylinder - it needs to become longer in order to move the pedal upwards.

Most of these pushrods have some adjustability at the point where they mate up with the brake pedal via a clevis arrangement. You should be careful how this is adjusted, as there should always be a length of the pushrod equal to it's diameter engaged in the clevis fork. And there should be a locking nut on it too, to stop it unscrewing itself.

I hope this helps, not totally sure if it will, tho'.

If the boyfriend doesn't like the way it is, make HIM adjust it!

[Clive]

Why did you buy it if you were not happy with it? If the brakes are not right what else isn't? You should have got the seller to sort the problem or walk away!There are plenty more Pilgrims out there for sale.

[Sidecarbod]

Originally Posted by wilf leek

Hannah - I am rather at a loss as to why you want to change a throttle cable in order to move the static resting point of the brake pedal. The two are not related.

If you want to adjust the static level of your brake pedal in relation to your clutch and throttle pedals, then, (in theory and within limits) you should be adjusting the pushrod between the brake pedal and the brake master cylinder - it needs to become longer in order to move the pedal upwards.

Most of these pushrods have some adjustability at the point where they mate up with the brake pedal via a clevis arrangement. You should be careful how this is adjusted, as there should always be a length of the pushrod equal to it's diameter engaged in the clevis fork. And there should be a locking nut on it too, to stop it unscrewing itself.

I hope this helps, not totally sure if it will, tho'.

If the boyfriend doesn't like the way it is, make HIM adjust it!

Wilf,

If Hannah's sumo is anything like mine, then it is not quite that striaght forward to adjust the brake pedal position as the pushrod is not adjustable, it has a spring click that goes into a slot on the rod and thats your lot.

Also the clutch is a cable does not have much adjustment, in fact if you set it up with any play the clutch does not disengage properly.

I spent a couple of weeks sorting out my pedals which involved cutting and welding them. (and making pedal extensions as I'm a short arxe!!)

Hannah, the throttle pedal has probably been setup so that as it just hits the bulk head the carb is fully open. To lift the pedal up you are going to have to shorten the inner cable, you could do this by either cutting off the nipple at the pedal end and crimping or soldering on a new one so that there is less inner cable movement. You could even leave the original nipple in place and just crimp a bit of steel tube that has been cut along its length with a hack saw.


What ever you do you must make sure that the pedal hits something solid just as the carb is fully open, if you rely on the carb stopping the pedal via the cable you will either bust the carb or the cable! You really should have a postive stop on the clutch as well or you could overload part of the clutch mechanism.


Welcome to Cobra ownership!! :thumb:


Regards,

Pete

[Sidecarbod]

Hannah, don't be put of the car just because it has something has not been setup the way that you like it. Your probably going to find at least 10 things that aren't quite how you like them, that part of the fun of owning a kit car, you can fiddle about to get it just right.

Having said that it you are your boyfriend doesn't know a spoon from a spanner get ready for a steep learning curve!

Enjoy,

Pete

I SHOULD LEARN TO READ!!! ITS YOUR BRAKE PEDAL THAT YOU WANT TO ADJUST...DOH!!

JUST READ IT AGAIN, IN YOUR FIRST SENTENCE YOU WRITE ABOUT THE THROTTLE CABLE!!! WHICH PEDAL DO YOU WANT TO ADJUST???

[Naughty Magpie]

Guys - I get confused myself! Thanks for your input. LOL

Boyfriend is an extremely enthusiastic & pretty good mechanic but says I have to ask my own questions & arrange my own parts & solutions and he'll fit them. So I'm trying. He keeps mentioning "throttle cable, throttle cable" so that's what popped into my mind when I wrote my garbled post. I do apologise - I shall show this thread to him & sort him out.

I buy with my heart & not my head, this Sumo is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and I come to the conclusion that if I don't like something on the car, it can be changed so why worry about all of the little niggly bits - they are just projects for these dark & cold nights! I could never buy a car and just drive it and never change a thing then sell it on - I'm not one of those people that think "you keep a car for its next owner" - you should enjoy the car!

But boyfriend does strongly think that these pedals need sorting out - I personally did not have a problem with them, it was just a little quirk of the car & certainly different from anything I had driven before. I didn't expect to get in and be an immediate master of the car, I'd like to learn gradually & be gentle with it - I don't want it to bite me!

There are many things on this Sumo that niggle the boyfriend but just don't bother me at all & I do wonder whether I ought to be more concerned about a slight fray on the dash or a slightly stiff clutch but aren't these features not faults?

Oh well, I'll show the thread to him & see what he says.

[Naughty Magpie]

Sorry for the confusion. This is the problem...

The throttle pedal is too high compared to the other 2 pedals which are in the correct position. So the first step to sorting this out is to buy ourselves a new throttle cable in case the other cable is just too short (thats on the car at the moment).

This may or may not sort out the problem but at least we'll have a throttle cable when the car comes so that we can try it!

So is it likely to be a Pilgrim part or off a donor car - & which donor car would it be off?

Once again - sorry for the confusion & thanks for all attempts to answer a pretty strange question. I'm learning & am incredibly excited about getting the car on Saturday! :drive:

[gareth08]

Hannah,

Your throttle cable depends on what type of fitting you have on the carb end.
There should be a nipple on the pedal end though.

If it is a "socket" on the carb end that clips onto a ball on the carb and the cable has a plastic adjuster with a spring near the carb then a Ford Sierra/Granada etc cable should do it.

If not you will have to see what you have and work it out from there.

Speedy cables could make you one if needed.

HTH

[Sidecarbod]

[quote:884563655f="Naughty Magpie"]Guys - I get confused myself! Thanks for your input. LOL quote]

I guess it's because it's like all your birthdays at once!

Your throttle pedal should be alot easier to sort out than if it was the brake pedal that needed adjusting.

Regards,

Pete

[Paul B]

Hannah

I suggest you wait until you have got the car, then have a good look.

If the pedal end has a small block with a hole in it that fits over a small round ball on top of the pedal, it is almost certainly straight from a Sierra. You should find that it is held in place by a short sleeve that slides over the end of the small block thus trapping the ball inside.

The other end is then customised to suit the carb that you are using.

Hope this will help.

Paul