Problems with my brake pedal firewall bumper brushing with my shift linkage have been solved by trimming the rubber bumper to prevent interference. But I learned that both clutch and brake shafts in my 1940 have some horizontal and vertical play in the floorboard hole, not severe but clearly noticeable. I have replacement bushings but would welcome any advice on their installation, which I would guess to be a similar process with Chevs of the era. The bushings I have are cut along their length as if to be squeezed, press fit into the floorboard but I'm not sure how they should be adequately secured to prevent them from being pulled out by pedal action. Any guidance on their correct installation would be appreciated, and Happy New Year to all. Bob
I suspect your 1940 will be similar to my 1938. I have new bushings as you describe.
The master cylinder has two "ears" on it that the clutch and brake pedal main shaft goes through. There are clips on the ends of the shaft to hold everything together. The pieces all become VERY crusted together. It is very common to break the pedal arms if you are not very careful and soak everything with lube before disassembling.
It is not hard to disassemble, clean up, lube and replace bushings but would be a tough job laying on your back. It would be easier to remove the master cylinder, mount it in a vice and work carefully removing all of the pieces. Even with a hoist, i think the job would go better if you removed the master.
See attached pictures - these are 1938-1939 Chev and Pontiac and almost each set has something broken by someone but you can see what you need to work on. The bushings should be in the bottom of those pedal arms but I've never looked closely enough as this project is a ways off for me.
Do you have shop manual to follow?
The bushings should reduce some slop but based on the interference you were having, you may have some slop side to side on the shaft and you should be able to remove the play and shift your pedal left or right with some type of shim material depending on where you position them.
Last edited by canadiantim; 01/02/2103:25 PM.
1938 Canadian Pontiac Business Coupe (aka a 1938 Chevy Coupe with Pontiac shaped front sheet metal - almost all Chevy!) 1975 4-speed L82 Vette
Just re-read your original post - do you have brass bushings as I described location above or do you have rubber/felt seals for the pedal openings in the floor?
1938 Canadian Pontiac Business Coupe (aka a 1938 Chevy Coupe with Pontiac shaped front sheet metal - almost all Chevy!) 1975 4-speed L82 Vette
Actually, the master cylinder is new. I'm observing the play with the brake and clutch pedal shafts in the floor board holes and thought the bushings I have were to be fitted in the floor board for the pedal shafts to ride through. Am I way off base?
Are they brass or rubber/felt? If you have slop, it would likely need to be addressed below the floor as the floor and the "seals" that go in the floor are only to keep noise and fumes out...
Mechanically, the pedals should operate just fine even if there were no floor at all. It's all the pieces mounted to the master cylinder that control the movement. The floor is just somewhere for your feet and has no structural support.
Last edited by canadiantim; 01/02/2105:05 PM.
1938 Canadian Pontiac Business Coupe (aka a 1938 Chevy Coupe with Pontiac shaped front sheet metal - almost all Chevy!) 1975 4-speed L82 Vette
The bushings in hand are brass but perhaps they are intended for the master cylinder....I do have rubber/felt seals but had thought that there were also bushings through the floor board as well....both clutch and brake pedal rods do have some play that I can observe where they go through the floorboard.
If there is enough play to be causing you a problem, the only way to reduce it is to replace those 2 bushings on the pedal arms and try to shim the side of the arms. This is all done on the shaft that goes through the master cylinder. It would be easiest now if master cylinder has indeed recently been replaced as the longer you wait the tighter everything will be to get apart later.
Try to get underneath the car with a helper in the drivers seat and have the helper create the movement while you are watching the master cylinder shaft and pedal arms to see if you can see the MAIN source on the play. You should use a bright light and watch each joint for movement.. Maybe the pedal arms were not tightened completely on the shaft after the master replacement.
1938 Canadian Pontiac Business Coupe (aka a 1938 Chevy Coupe with Pontiac shaped front sheet metal - almost all Chevy!) 1975 4-speed L82 Vette
Thanks so much for all of the foregoing as I was totally thinking in the wrong direction. Having a helper to actuate the pedals to permit close observation on the source of play sounds like a great idea and we'll go from there. Again, thanks so much for getting pointed in the right direction. Regards, Bob
