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Video Overview:

We're back in the shop at work for an unplanned upgrade on the 1967 Sunroof Beetle with a first view of EMPI's upgraded, ball bearing equipped, Accelerator Pedal Kit. Sam is a fan of stock style accelerator pedals in lieu of the often installed "roller" pedals. Roller pedals are commonly installed because the stock accelerator pedal linkage wears out and the accelerator pedal starts to get clunky or notchy. EMPI has engineered a new roller lever with a sealed long life bearing equipped roller, that mounts to an upgraded lever. The upgraded Accelerator Pedal Kit includes a replacement pedal pad, pedal, and the exclusive EMPI lever, roller bearing, and mounting hardware. The accelerator pedal kit will improve the feel and engagement of the throttle for improved drive-ability and smoother acceleration. EMPI's upgraded Accelerator Pedal Kit fits 1967 through 1977 Standard Beetles, 1971 through 1979 Super Beetles, 1967 through 1974 Karmann Ghias and 1973 through 1974 Things. Follow along as Sam installs the Accelerator Pedal Kit and covers the minor modifications needed and then takes the pedal for a test drive!

Video Transcript:

Hi guys, Sam from JBugs.com here. We’re back in the shop working on the 1967 Beetle. You guys haven’t seen this car in a little while because we’ve been busy since the New Year—doing a lot of work at home after hours and on Nathan’s car here at work. Not a whole lot has changed. We still have the unassembled long block that we need to finish turning into a running engine.

Of course, we’ve got the ’67, and we still have plans for it. Over there we’ve got that damaged aluminum engine case and a whole bunch of parts: an 84 mm flange crankshaft, 92 mm thick-wall pistons and cylinders, and other stroker components. We’re going to build a large engine. If anyone’s good with numbers, an 84 x 92 (or 92 x 84) setup works out to a 2234 cc engine. We’ll be building that soon. Over here we’ve got a gram scale, ring grinder, flap wheels, and tools so we can end-weight our connecting rods and make sure the pistons and rods are all match-weighted.

But today we’re here to work on this little guy right here—the foot pedal assembly. The biggest upgrade is this heavy-duty lever with a ball-bearing-equipped roller and a flat accelerator pedal with a thicker pin for more strength and much smoother throttle actuation. Let’s get to it.

We’re going to take that AMP kit and install it with the upgraded pedal. This involves jacking the car up, loosening the clutch cable, then going inside and pulling off the access plate on the back side of the tunnel. From there we’ll disconnect the clutch cable, remove the pedal assembly, bring it over to the bench, and make one small modification—depending on whether it has the small arm on the back side of the accelerator pedal. If it’s there, we’ll cut it off. Otherwise, it’s pretty much a bolt-on affair.

We’ll note where our “six-shooter” clutch cable adjustment nut is and how much cable is sticking out so we can put it back in the same position later. I’m going to disconnect that real quick so you can see how easy it is to use this six-shooter clutch cable adjustment. Have you ever seen a clutch cable adjust this easily? These things are so nice. This is the stainless steel version, too—super solid.

Next, we’ll pull out our access plate. With that removed, the clutch cable is disconnected. I’ll also disconnect the throttle cable and the brake pedal push rod to make removal easier. With everything disconnected, the pedal assembly comes right out.

On the bench, we’ll drive out the pin and take a look at the stock accelerator lever. It only has one pivot point. The upgraded version doubles that pivot, giving it much more stability. You can also see the stock roller is plastic and can get clunky if it wears out or gets bent. The upgraded kit replaces it with a bearing-equipped roller.

We’ll drill out the stock pedal slightly to fit the upgraded shoulder bolt. A 6.5 mm drill bit is ideal, but a 17/64 works well too. Once drilled, we’ll test-fit everything and confirm whether any modification is needed. On this style, no additional modification is required.

From there, we’ll install the upgraded components: lever, roller, bearing, spring, shoulder bolt, nut, and clip. One tricky part is feeding the spring into place, but slightly bending the tab for access makes it much easier. Once everything is aligned, we’ll tighten it down and verify smooth operation. You can really feel how solid and smooth this setup is compared to stock.

Now the pedal assembly is ready to go back into the car. This kit replaces the pedal pivot, spring, pin, lever, roller, washer, and clip with heavier-duty components. The pedal is now spring-equipped and much more robust.

Reinstalling is mostly the reverse of removal. The brake pedal spring is always the least fun part, but once that’s in, we’ll reconnect the cables and secure everything. I did have to disconnect the throttle cable at the carburetor to get enough slack to reinstall it, but once it’s in place, it’s solid.

After reconnecting the throttle cable, we’ll verify full throttle operation. With the pedal floored, the carburetor arm should be fully actuated—parallel with the ground. The pedal feels much more secure and sure-footed. Super nice.

With everything back in place, I’ll reattach the clutch cable and button up the tunnel. This is also a great upgrade for anyone who’s lost their accelerator pedal lever or wants to return from a roller pedal setup back to a stock-style pedal, as long as the mounting point at the bottom is still intact. The rubber pedal pad still needs replacement, but we’ll get to that later.

At some point during filming, my microphone stopped working and I didn’t catch it, so I had to take the car out for another drive. It feels great. I’ll give a rolling example of why I like SVDA and vacuum-advance distributors: in second gear, the car is idling and bucking, and I can just roll into the throttle and it takes off smoothly. Try that with a 009 distributor.

That’s the MP 98-1093 upgraded accelerator pedal kit installed. Pretty simple overall—just a little drilling and some fidgeting with the accelerator cable. There’s slightly less clearance against the tunnel compared to stock, so it’s a bit tighter to install, but once it’s in, it’s in.

On that note, this is Sam with JBugs.com saying the world’s full of good people—if you can’t find one, be one. Later, guys.