My feet are too big! (4-speed swap)
 

I managed to hang the brake/clutch pedal assembly from the '79 240D in my '77 300D last night after dropping the flywheel off to be match balanced to the flex plate, and then I discovered that my feet are too big to fit between the brake and the console in order to reach the throttle pedal. hmm. I have a pair of dress shoes that are just narrow enough to fit in the space. It seems my car has a dress code. :rolleyes:

Since there is an ample amount of space between the clutch and brake pedals, I figure I can simply cut the metal pad off of the brake lever, and reposition it an inch or so to the left, which is no big deal, but that still leaves me wondering if I am the only one to have encountered this problem.

What? Germans don't have size 13 feet?

jsut try taking off the rubber pad first. cutting the metal off and rewelding it might be a little risky.

Yeah, that would be one weld you wouldn't want to break while trying to brake (stop quickly). :eek:

Well, I would say get used to it. All Germans have big feet, many Hollanders also. I have size 13 and at my age my feet get a bit numb once in a while. I have a problem when I ware my rubber or garden shoes. Surely you can get used to it. Just try it out, it will be OK!

I have the opposite problem. The distance between the brake and accelerator pedals makes it stupid hard to heel and toe downshift.

This is without the rubber pads installed. (I haven't obtained any yet.) My foot literally won't fit in the space without bringing my toe up from under the brake pedal, which means I can't take my foot off of the accelerator and place it on the brake without reversing the process of snaking my foot in there.


This is not a "get used to it" issue, I'm afraid; it's a downright safety concern. The only way out I see is amputation, or moving the pad on the brake to the left a bit. I'm not too worried about a weld failing... I mean, the factory welded it way to the right of the arm, so moving it closer to center will probably be less likely to fail than what MB did to begin with. besides, my welds are strong.

... Stupid big feet. I wonder what Ronald McDonald would do. At least I can laugh at the situation.

Can anyone tell me how much wider the rubber pads are than the metal portion? I want to be sure to move it far enough over, and I don't have time to wait for acquiring the rubber bits. Gotta get on the Sasquatch brake pedal mod so I can get my daily driver back up and running this weekend.

about an eighth of an inch.

I have had this with various cars too. American car always has space for Jordan but us normally well endowed must not wear boots. Ah well it is worth it :D

I'm going to have to make the same mod on the S-10. I need to make room for the accelerator pedal since I made the tunnel bigger. Really no big deal though I intend to weld in a gusset on the bottom of the new "long" side of the pedal pad just for added insurance.

Dan

I just take the shoes off when I get in the car...

about an eight of an inch is pretty minor. Thanks for the info.

It has occured to me that the automatic brake pedal uses essentially the same arm, which in turn attaches to the exact same aluminum brace as the manual pedal set. I need to measure to be sure, but I may be able to simply cut the auto pedal down to the appropriate width. certainly that would be faster and easier that cutting and welding on the manual brake pedal.

I imagine you will find that the right side of the automatic pedal is in the same location as on the stick brake pedal but its just a wider pedal to the left.

this is an interesting problem. I've got the same size foot and never felt any issue with space, especially on a 123 which seems pretty roomy down there generally. I'm routinely driving about with steel toe boots as well, which are pretty big. What kind of shoe do you have? You might need some driving slippers if you have a wide foot or special shoes of some kind.

Plus a twalgumuth said, the pedal location is the same between auto and manual to the right of th brake pedal. Both brake pedals have the same dimensions on the throttle side. Perhaps a pic might explain? Could you have something going on with interior panelling choking off the space?

If you can't fit by the pedals of a W123 then never buy a W201! :D

Well you are just nhot looking at the situation right man. Look, when you are driving the right foot is on the accelerator. You can back off the accelerator if idleing for a long period, but that is where your right foot goes. Your left foot is used for clutch and or brake, when not active is placed to the left side. Simple!