GT-Forté / GTS40 - cockpit gear linkage space

[James Harvey]

Hi

These comments are primarily aimed at the GT-Forté / GTS40 chassis and builders, but input from anyone else / on other chassis is more than welcome too...

I've been thinking about the driver cockpit space and the space for the gear linkage mechanism. In the GTS40 chassis, the drivers width is a little wider than the passenger side to accommodate space for the gear linkage. (The seat belt mount is longer on the drivers side to pass through the gear linkage area).

I'm planning to use a centrally mounted cable shifted gear stick, so don't need the gear linkage space. I'm thinking I can use this space for either

1 – Running the a/c lines, wiring loom, brake lines etc through here and box them in or
2 – Leave the space exposed and have a little more room for the driver (and route the items above somewhere else)

What's everyone else doing / what do you think?

Cheers
James

 

[Richard]

Depending on the expeted size of the passenger you might want to divide the space more evenly between the two seats. Remember, Big wemon are warm in the winter and shady in the summer. P) Just a thought....

 

[James Harvey]

Thanks True. That was actually my first thought too - dividing the space equally between driver and passenger. But doing this would alter the drivers position relative to the steering wheel.

PS - have you been able to make a start on your chassis yet?

 

[David]

I plan on running my electrics and brake/clutch pipes through that bit. Mostly because I'm not 100% happy about roasting either the electrics or the brake/clutch fluid in what could become a very toasty tunnel.

 

[Jayson]

Same here Dave. The central column for me will be for cooling, heater and servo hoses only and hand brake

 

[James Harvey]

Cheers guys. Think I'll do the same.

 

[Dylan]

Not to resurrect this for a tangent but....that tunnel should never get any hotter than the coolant pipes, assuming it is totally boxed off (no airflow) and the pipes aren't insulated from the other lines/electrical.

How is this different than a brake line running across a firewall a few inches from an exhaust manifold? Brake fluid boils around 400 degrees. With insulated coolant pipes....is this really something to be concerned about?

 

[Darrin]

That's true. Should get to, what, 220 or so max and I would think much less than that.

Heck, what you said made me think you could vent it from the front if you wanted too.

 

[David]

You are right. Except that it will put heat into the braking system so reducing the amount of heat required before the brakes do boil. More importantly its likely to affect the brake/clutch feel.

As for wiring, std thinwall is only rated to 105 degrees C with occasional excursions to 120 degrees C. That's a bit close for me.

 

[Bill Musarra]

Other 40s run into the same conundrum. I solved it by running the braided cable for the eletrics along side of the frame rail and the floor board, and along the base edge of the console and the floor. It can be covered if you wish by the carpet or 1/4 round of skinney PVC for protection under the carpet. 2nd idea is to run a piece of plywood on the floor to a point just in front of the seats with small side pieces raising a 1/4" space underneath and run the lines underneath. Same for hydraulics. Run the carpet lenght to the rear of the cabin to hide the remanider of the lines. If your seats toudch the floor, they will have to be run to the sides to clear the seats. My seats go to the floor, so I raised them with two flat washers and that was enough to get the wires and lines through. The throttle cable can be left exposed or covered, just secure it with P clamps after you decide. I had one line for the shifter(Toyota cable) on the outside of the console(drivers side) and a space buit on the top of the console for the second cable. the console was modified so that it barely cleared the cooling lines(side by side), so the extra height brounght it back up to normal height. then it sloped down to the pipes along the front run to the footwells in a step fashion.

Bill

 

[Jim Cowden]

I ran the brake pipes on the side of the tunnel.
The water is in the lower section of the tunnel.
A/con and wiring on the upper level, the cover goes over the pipes to get the tunnel profile.

I have no issues with heat as the tin ware has heat insulation on the inside (not in pic).

 

[James Harvey]

Thanks Bill & Jim - gives me some other options to think about.

Jim - I like the look of your pedal box. Is that something you've fabricated?

 

[Brett James-McCall]

James, my advice is to get your seat/steering column/pedals to where you want them aligned and then work out where you want to run lines from there etc