Pedal Box Positioning

[brainbug007]

Managed to get 10 mins tinkering tonight! :) Thought I'd start looking at putting my pedal box in so I can start sorting out my brake lines. Surprise surprise it doesn't fit very well :(

If I put it in the proper position by putting in from the engine bay side so the top of the pedal box in the engine bay if that makes sense? I end up with a gap of around 5mm under the pedal box and the floor :( You can kinda see it in this pic:

http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n603/brainbug007/IMAG0215.jpg

It looks like part of the problem maybe the welding on the floor but it's really hard to tell for sure. So I'm wondering whats the best way to deal with this? I suppose I could weld some plate under it as a sort of platform for it to sit on but that will make drilling the holes into the floor a nightmare...

The other thing I thought I might get away with is putting the pedal box in from the inside and cutting off the section on the right that's bent slightly (at something like 20 degrees) so that it would sit flush. It would appear that this resolves the gap between the bottom of the pedal box and instead puts it behind between the pedal box and the bulkhead?

[brainbug007]

It wouldn't let me post the 2nd pic in the same post for some reason, said I had 5 pics already?? anyhow here's the 2nd pic of where I thought I may be able to put it:

http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n603/brainbug007/IMAG0216.jpg

[K4KEV]

smilies count as pictures....I would take the pedals off and see if you can heat the offending of twist and use a shifty spanner to bend it back or persuade it with a striking implement:D

[ayjay]

I had a similar problem BB
I ended up putting spacers between the floor and box to bolt it up.

[Bonzo]

smilies count as pictures....I would take the pedals off and see if you can heat the offending of twist and use a shifty spanner to bend it back or persuade it with a striking implement:D

I agree with Kevin on this one :)

Looking at the first picture, the pedal box has pulled badly when it was welded up.
Fabricating angles from flat strips tend to do this & can be countered by tacking up with an greater or less than a 90 degree angle ( depending what side is being welded ).
With experience, you kind of Learn how much a joint is likely to pull when being fully welded & it becomes second nature to allow for this kind of distortion.

If you do not have the means to heat the affected area up, perhaps you could clamp the box assembly down & gently tease to bottom straight with the use of a large adjustable wrench ( working slowly along the length giving it a wee tweak )

If all else fails, personally, I would be tempted to cut the bottom section off & replace it with a strip of 30 x 30 x 3mm angle.
I know that will mean removing the brake pedal brackets but they could be re-used & you'll end up with a nicer fitting pedal box assembly. :)

[brainbug007]

Cool thanks for the advice guys. Bit annoying really the pedal box is as twisted as it is considering I bought it from saturn :( I had a closer look tonight and i think there's some weld in the corners which isn't helping so I'm gonna go after that with the dremel. For pedal box, would it work to clamp it down tightly to the bench then heat it up with a torch. As it cools will it retain the new un-bent shape from being clamped down?