My clutch rod has turned into a rodent problem...

[65ShelbyClone]

When I put the clutch pedal and associated hardware in for the Toploader swap, I of course had to punch out the hole for the pedal-to-z-bar rod. Knowing this could be trouble later, I made to sure to have the little rubber boot handy and installed it. The problem is that this rod is so off-center that it nearly touches the firewall. When I use the clutch, it grabs the rubber boot and pulls it out, making a nice little mouse expressway into my interior. I'm using the right pushrod, but I'm not sure I have a pedal out of a '67-68 Mustang; it could be from a Falcon or big car(I love ebay sellers ).

I'm fed up at this point. Without exagerrating, I have trapped at least 50 mice in the '68 alone and they keep coming. Is there perhaps another pedal rod I could use, or am I more or less stuck fabricating something?

 

[2nd Mustang]

How about a small shifter boot that would fill that hole in the firewall, but still let the clutch rod through, or make a patch out of sheet metal but this time don't secure the patch until the rod movement is acceptable?

 

[351w_swap]

by the sounds of it, it would be easier to build a new linkage, that is if I am interpreting the problem correctly. That sort of thing really isnt that hard to fabricate with a welder, vise and some steel rod but you could just move the hole in the firewall too. Just weld a small circular patch in the hole, smooth it out and redrill but I would probably just make a new linkage because there would be less work involved and less modification to the car as well.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

This isn't my car, but it illustrates what I mean. I think this is a '67:

 

[351w_swap]

Yea, build a new rod, I would do it in the style of the accelerator linkages to allow for some adjustment of the pedal. Just bend the rod to the point where it is centered in the hole, thread the clutch pedal end leaving it straight. Then take a coupling nut and weld a rod to the side of it in the diameter of the hole on the clutch pedal. Thread that on the end of the new linkage and hook it up. That would be a cool adjustment to be able to make.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

What I might try to do is bend the rod like you suggested, but put a heim joint on the pedal end.

 

[66forfun]

evict the mice first and foremost...
buddy of mine dropped the headliner in his 71 and found where "that smell" was coming from.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

I have traps set on the passenger side floor all the time, so they get snapped shortly after finding their way in. I don't think they've had time to build any nests, at least not yet. I never had a mouse problem in my '65, but it had all the firewall holes sealed.

 

[LMan]

moth balls.


of course, the smell aint that great for people, either