Well, might be time for an update.
I'd banged my head on the gas tank mounting for a while and decided to stop, so I called Corwin (metal worker buddy). He hasn't finished it yet but named a price I could live with to just finish the gas tank & add a rear cross member to replace the one I cut out.
So I asked the little lady "Babe, you want that we should work on brakes next, or cooling?" and she says Brakes.
So here we go. The 55-59 Power Brake Pedal Assembly from Speedway Motors, torn down to be easier to work on...
This uses a 4 on 3 3/8" pattern, compatible with a lot of boosters. Not compatible with the HydroBoost I want to run, though. Get one cheap out of an Astro Van. You need to buy the one with a flat / 90 degree bracket. I goofed and bought one with an angled mount. To correct both problems, I got an Ebay adapter plate with the keyway cut in it but not bolt holes.
If you look close, you can see the indexing tab that mates to a groove in the HB's body. These plates can be bought, blank, for $25 on Ebay. I measured out the pattern of the Speedway bracket, drew it onto the blank plate & chucked a bit into the drill press.
This is my face when I realized two of my holes were a little off. Dunno how that happened, but it was somewhere between the measuring and the drilling. I think I was off with the center punch...
So I threw two bolts into the holes that lined up & shot primer over the adapter plate. This way, I knew where the holes were *supposed* to be.
Next, I took my little friend here
and ground out the primer that shot onto the speedway bracket. All 4 bolts now go through just fine.
So, weather permitting, I'll drill out the last rivets in the OE clutch pedal pivot and test fit the pedal assembly w/ hydroboost and MC mounted. Should be before next weekend.
Slow progress, but progress. Also : metalworking is harder than most of you guys make it look, so, much respect.