Dead Pedal DIY

Catbert

Catbert

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I want to install a dead pedal. I searched this site and did a general search. I came up with little. All e9coupe.com posts were over 10 years old. None contained any pertinent photos or DIY solutions. I'm pretty handy with DIY projects like this, but only have basic tools and would prefer a polished option... something not looked hacked together. So, does anyone have any ideas they can share? This photo is just for reference. Thanks!

03FAB4EB-E609-45D1-B3AE-FEDCEE17F3AE.jpeg
 
the one in the pic looks to be the Alpina dead pedal. those are not easy to find and are not INexpensive. i have one (not for sale), but its the only one i have seen come up for sale on the forum in 16 years.
 
rsporsche said:
the one in the pic looks to be the Alpina dead pedal. those are not easy to find and are not INexpensive. i have one (not for sale), but its the only one i have seen come up for sale on the forum in 16 years.
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I'm not looking for an Alpina dead pedal. I am only interested in the structure the pedal surface gets mounted on, so the deal pedal assembly.
 
the pedal is mounted to the firewall + floor - it has legs that are integral to the pedal. traditionally there is foam that is mounted to the cover panel on the firewall. i'm sure you could find another style of dead panel that you could fabricate a mount for ... its just the only one that i know of that was made for the coupe was the Alpina one.
 
rsporsche said:
the pedal is mounted to the firewall + floor - it has legs that are integral to the pedal. traditionally there is foam that is mounted to the cover panel on the firewall. i'm sure you could find another style of dead panel that you could fabricate a mount for ... its just the only one that i know of that was made for the coupe was the Alpina one.
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Thanks for your reply, @rsporsche! Do you by any chance have any photos of what the mounting structure looks like? This will save time for me to measure and figure out what works with the basic tools and materials I have on hand.
 
I saw on an older post that @paul cain had made some repros a long while back. Maybe time for him or someone else to do a second run? Given the capability for 3d scanning these days (which I have just begun to explore a bit) maybe more feasible than it used to be.
The design above is nice, for my taste I almost would prefer just solid black without the silver accents just so it’s a bit less obvious, but clearly that wouldn’t be to original spec
 
I've done a little more AI-assisted search and found two methods for a DIY dead pedal base. Due to the complex contours of the footwell and floorboard, one method is to use expanding foam to create the contour and then use it as the base. Another method is to use a block of wood and then shave away the wood to follow the concave countour of the bodywork. The foam method is good for either approach as it gives you the precise contour to avoid lots of hit-and-miss tinkering.
 
If i were tasked to create such a part, i'd ask rsporsche for some basic dimensions, then cut it out in cardboard, fold and tape the corners, and tweak to fit (bend, fold, add, subtract) where needed.
Once happy with the cardboard, draw it out on alu or steel and origami yourself a happy man.

The Alpina part seems to be a flat fold piece with 2 welds, one on either side at the top.
Which you can do without if you want to skip welding: choose steel of 1mm thick - thats plenty sturdy.
 
eriknetherlands said:
If i were tasked to create such a part, i'd ask rsporsche for some basic dimensions, then cut it out in cardboard, fold and tape the corners, and tweak to fit (bend, fold, add, subtract) where needed.
Once happy with the cardboard, draw it out on alu or steel and origami yourself a happy man.

The Alpina part seems to be a flat fold piece with 2 welds, one on either side at the top.
Which you can do without if you want to skip welding: choose steel of 1mm thick - thats plenty sturdy.
Click to expand...
The Alpina dead pedal @rsporsche posted is interesting in that the angled feet seem to fit the contour without having to create it using expanding foam or some other method. As you indicated, making something like that is pretty straightforward without any welding.
 
I have one of Paul's on Sixto my turbo Coupe. When I bought my Coco mats I had them cut the mats to fit around and beneath the foot print of the dead pedal. Having a dead pedal is better than not. My Sahara Coupe doesn't have one and on long drives the lack of one is noticeable. Paul's is a very good reproduction, sturdy and looks like the Alpina.
Regards, Jon
 
Additionally it fits perfectly. All you have to do is fasten it to the floor and upper part of the firewall/wheel well with sturdy sheet metal screws.
Regards, Jon
 
Seems easy enough to 3D print in solid ABS. Then add whatever trim you want to it. Emboss the roundel, or maybe replicate the criss-cross pattern of the pedals
 
e9Leveque said:
I did just buy some carbon fiber based 3-D printer filament. Maybe this will be a good one to try to print out in that. Just need the specs of its sizing
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LMK the dimensions and I'll work up a model for ya.

So the important question...do we want the pimple surface of the Alpina, a cross hatch surface like the clutch and brake pedals, or a roundel with horizontal ridges around it??
 
Catbert said:
I want to install a dead pedal. I searched this site and did a general search. I came up with little. All e9coupe.com posts were over 10 years old. None contained any pertinent photos or DIY solutions. I'm pretty handy with DIY projects like this, but only have basic tools and would prefer a polished option... something not looked hacked together. So, does anyone have any ideas they can share? This photo is just for reference. Thanks!

View attachment 228454
Click to expand...
This is my Csl…….. more interesting than the dead pedal are the green floor mats! Those are actually from Burkhardt Bovensiepen’s personal office carpet. For those who don’t know, he was the founder of Alpina.
When he retired, his office was being renovated for his son and a good friend of mine who was an Alpina employee, removed the carpet and made 3 sets of E9 floor mats…….
 
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