The solution for my big feet
I have been working away, but haven't had much time to post pictures. Here is a shot of the front. The a/c is installed, about 50% of the wiring is done, and the brakes/pedal box are now installed.
One of my challenges (Randy take note), is that I have long legs and big feet (unfortunately, the rest of that old adage is not true). This provides a challenge in that the steering wheel position, dash height, seat position, and pedal location are critical. Fortunately, the RCR design provides ample room for a tall driver (I'm 6'4" and 230 lbs.) as it has an extended foot box and is 2" wider on the driver's side. The foot box allowed me to push the pedal set all the way down into the foot well. I then found the perfect position for the seat and dash. Two things then became apparent. First, in order to push the pedal set into the well, I end up with the accelerator pedal and brake pedal on either side of the steering shaft. Well my big feet then hit the steering shaft when I move from brake to accelerator and back. Unacceptable. Second, the angle of the steering wheel is tilted too far forward for my taste.
After some careful measuring and trial fitting, I found a single solution that address both issues. Originally in the RCR, the steering shaft goes under the chassis dash support, under the spare tire mount and connects to the rack inside the foot box. There is an adjustable bearing mount right behind the dash. The shaft passes through this bearing into a universal joint and the intermediate shaft then passes through a shaft support rod end pointing down just behind the spare tire tray. From there the intermediate shaft rides along the inside top of the foot box to the rack. This is where my big feet hit the shaft.
I found that if I reverse the rod end, pointing it up instead of down and drill an 1 1/2" hole through the back of the spare tire tray, I can move the intermediate shaft up out of the way. This also improved the steering wheel tilt and gives me a perfect fit with nothing in the way of my now very happy feet!
Here you can see the rod end reversed and now pointing up:
Here is the hole drilled in the back of the spare tire tray and the intermediate shaft now in the revised position:
And finally, here is the new steering wheel angle. The pedal set is pulled forward in this shot and not in its final position.
I am also going to put a 2" offset to the right on the accelerator pedal to give me additional clearance around the rack universal and better brake/go pedal control. I am currently welding up a cover for the shaft.
I'm having a blast building this car!