To install the accelerator cable, I initially thought I would simply graft the end of the Starlet accelerator pedal to the top of the Mini pedal (to accept the cable end) but I wanted the Mini pedal to have the same pedal-to-throttlebody movement ratio as the factory Starlet (eg. 10mm of pedal movement = 15 degrees of throttle body rotation - this is the not actual measurement).
Starlet (black) vs Mini (yellow passivated) pedal sizes :
I measured the Starlet accelerator pedal, specifically the length of the pedal above and below the fulcrum and found that to achieve the same as the Starlet pedal, I needed to move the mounting point of the Mini pedal up approx 40mm. I welded in two new bolts in the firewall for the new pedal mount location and ground back the two original bolts. The Mini pedal was then cut/welded to match the Starlet pedal.
A hole was drilled in the bulk head directly above the pedal to feed the cable through and I also had to make a few bends in the pedal to get the angles correct - so that the pedal pulls the cable out perpendicular to the bracket in the bulkhead. In addition to this I also made sure that when the accelerator pedal was fully depressed, the lower section of the pedal assembly sat approx 10mm above the floorpan to account for the thickness of the underlay and carpet.
In the engine bay, the accelerator cable was much longer than ideal which meant that when fitted, it had a large and unnecessary curve in the cable between the bulkhead and throttle body.
I measured and found I had to trim 200mm from the overall cable length. The problem I faced was there was a cable tension adjustment fitting that was securely crimped onto the cable sheath and if I cut off the fitting to shorten the cable, there was nothing left to crimp it back on to the shortened sheath. After looking closer, it was easy to make a new one on the lathe. In the photo above, this fitting is hidden underneath the vertical brace between the head and intake manifold.
Shortening the cable also meant having to cut off the barrel nipple on the end of the cable. I went to a few bicycle shops to a buy an adjustable barrel nipple (aka barrel clamp, cable end) but no-one seemed to have any so I just made one on the lathe using some brass and a short M4 bolt. It's simply a piece of brass with a 2.5mm hole cross-drilled for the accelerator cable to pass through, and threaded for a small bolt to clamp the cable in place.
After 200mm had been trimmed off the cable and refitted, it fits much neater :
The new adjustable barrel nipple in the throttle body quandrant :
The Starlet (as well as most cars) has a return spring fitted to the accelerator pedal (see top photo in this post) and from the experience of my friend Rob and his 4E-FTE Mini swap, the pedal feel is rather light without it. I have driven his car a few times and with his small mod (http://glanzamini.blogspot.com/2013/06/throttle-spring-addition.html) it has a nice feel to it so I copied his idea of installing a second spring to supplement the factory spring in the throttle body quadrant. Once the car is on the road, it won't be hard to change out the spring to a lighter or heavier gauge if I'm not happy with it but sitting in the car and giving it a quick test, it feels good.
The secondary spring was mounted using two brackets - one on the top of the inlet manifold and one on the outside of the throttle body quadrant.
The reason for the complex shape of the bracket on the throttle body quadrant is so it moves the spring outward by approx 10mm. In the wide open throttle position, the spring then clears the main nut and also doesn't bind up against the bracket. The bracket mount hole has also been shaped to exactly fit over the M8 threaded shaft - which has two flat sections shaved off to keep the assembly in a specific rotational position.
The last thing I had to sort out was the free play in the pedal. Once the cable and spring was installed, the pedal still had an amount of free play in it as it had nothing to prevent the top of the pedal assembly from moving when the pedal had no pressure on it. I used an arrangement of a small steel plate welded to the pedal (and rubber stopper bolted to the plate), and bolt & nuts to make a adjustable stopper.
Starlet (black) vs Mini (yellow passivated) pedal sizes :
I measured the Starlet accelerator pedal, specifically the length of the pedal above and below the fulcrum and found that to achieve the same as the Starlet pedal, I needed to move the mounting point of the Mini pedal up approx 40mm. I welded in two new bolts in the firewall for the new pedal mount location and ground back the two original bolts. The Mini pedal was then cut/welded to match the Starlet pedal.
A hole was drilled in the bulk head directly above the pedal to feed the cable through and I also had to make a few bends in the pedal to get the angles correct - so that the pedal pulls the cable out perpendicular to the bracket in the bulkhead. In addition to this I also made sure that when the accelerator pedal was fully depressed, the lower section of the pedal assembly sat approx 10mm above the floorpan to account for the thickness of the underlay and carpet.
I measured and found I had to trim 200mm from the overall cable length. The problem I faced was there was a cable tension adjustment fitting that was securely crimped onto the cable sheath and if I cut off the fitting to shorten the cable, there was nothing left to crimp it back on to the shortened sheath. After looking closer, it was easy to make a new one on the lathe. In the photo above, this fitting is hidden underneath the vertical brace between the head and intake manifold.
Shortening the cable also meant having to cut off the barrel nipple on the end of the cable. I went to a few bicycle shops to a buy an adjustable barrel nipple (aka barrel clamp, cable end) but no-one seemed to have any so I just made one on the lathe using some brass and a short M4 bolt. It's simply a piece of brass with a 2.5mm hole cross-drilled for the accelerator cable to pass through, and threaded for a small bolt to clamp the cable in place.
After 200mm had been trimmed off the cable and refitted, it fits much neater :
The new adjustable barrel nipple in the throttle body quandrant :
The Starlet (as well as most cars) has a return spring fitted to the accelerator pedal (see top photo in this post) and from the experience of my friend Rob and his 4E-FTE Mini swap, the pedal feel is rather light without it. I have driven his car a few times and with his small mod (http://glanzamini.blogspot.com/2013/06/throttle-spring-addition.html) it has a nice feel to it so I copied his idea of installing a second spring to supplement the factory spring in the throttle body quadrant. Once the car is on the road, it won't be hard to change out the spring to a lighter or heavier gauge if I'm not happy with it but sitting in the car and giving it a quick test, it feels good.
The secondary spring was mounted using two brackets - one on the top of the inlet manifold and one on the outside of the throttle body quadrant.
The reason for the complex shape of the bracket on the throttle body quadrant is so it moves the spring outward by approx 10mm. In the wide open throttle position, the spring then clears the main nut and also doesn't bind up against the bracket. The bracket mount hole has also been shaped to exactly fit over the M8 threaded shaft - which has two flat sections shaved off to keep the assembly in a specific rotational position.
The last thing I had to sort out was the free play in the pedal. Once the cable and spring was installed, the pedal still had an amount of free play in it as it had nothing to prevent the top of the pedal assembly from moving when the pedal had no pressure on it. I used an arrangement of a small steel plate welded to the pedal (and rubber stopper bolted to the plate), and bolt & nuts to make a adjustable stopper.
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