Swinging Pedal Assembly - Swingin' Pedals

Is space a premium in that hot rod of yours, or are ya just tryin' to hammer together a cool traditional ride? Well, I recently came across a brand new version of those popular (and nearly impossible to find) Ansen-style swing pedals from the early '60s that ended up saving me a lot of time and energy when it came to this particular aspect of my latest project.

We all know how difficult it is to stuff ten pounds of, well, stuff, in a five-pound bag -especially when shoehorning V-8s and manual trannys into tiny Ts and As. Reno Rod & Custom's combination brake and clutch master swinging pedal assemblies are not only an option that could save a bunch of aggravation in this regard but the setup looks as cool as it works, too. Best of all they're affordable, American-made, and come complete with a master cylinder assembly, mounting bracket, pedal arm assemblies, and early-style pedal pads as well.

It all started out one afternoon when Editor Brennan asked how my Model A pickup was progressing. Always needing to vent a bit I proceeded to tell him about the difficulty I was running into trying to shoehorn the OEM '48 Ford clutch and brake pedal assembly I had into the diminutive space between my T5 and the framerail of my A chassis. The '48 Ford assembly would have been perfect if only it was designed totally differently-meaning of course that it wasn't anywhere near perfect for my situation. In fact, given the amount of modification and bracketry required to make it fit (and maybe even work) I'd more than likely have an easier time building a new chassis-a typical situation in my usual style of pipedream project planning. As luck would have it, and as he often does, Brian again came to my immediate rescue. "Turn around and grab that box on the floor over there-it might be the answer," he said. The box contained the aforementioned pedal assembly which Brian had recently photographed for a new product release for inclusion in an upcoming Window Shopper. "If ya think it'll do the trick, give Johnnie at Reno a call and tell him we're keepin' it and doing an install story with it." Not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I grabbed the box, thanked him for his offer and headed back to my office and the phone. Well, Johnnie was as generous as I'd hoped and, within minutes, I was the proud recipient of a new brake and clutch pedal assembly.

The next morning I was out in the garage, pedal assembly in one hand and steering box in the other (by now you'll most likely have seen the recent side-steer install story I did that included a reference to this pedal assembly). Though the Reno Rod & Custom Ansen-style swinging pedal assembly installation is really a straight forward affair and by no means rocket science, every situation is different, especially when I'm involved. I had to start out by trying to figure out how to get a steering setup and the pedal assembly to occupy nearly the same space under the dash. After a couple of hours of head scratching and trial and error I finally settled on a plan of attack and got to work.

All's well that ends well and later that afternoon the pedals and master cylinder were in place and I was ready to move on to the step in completing yet another signature Rizzo homebuilt jalopy. So take a peek at the installation of a neat Reno Rod & Custom pedal assembly that just might speed you along to finishing up that hot rod project of your own.