I can no longer push down evenly on the accelerator pedal. I get a slight hesitation and jerky start off from a stop.

My first thought in s to inspect the pedal cluster but not sure what to look for. I assume MN e the cluster has to be pulled ? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I understand that the throttle body plate can wear a groove in the body and cause sticking.

Mine did not have the syndrome, but once my TB was re-freshed, 1st gear accel was super smooth.

Do you have FI or Carbs?

Jim,

You need to get access to the area where the throttle cable goes down the center tunnel from the pedal cluster. Pull on the cable going to the back and see if it feels stuck somewhat. You may be able to decide if it is stuck from the gas pedal back or if the gas pedal is sticking in the cluster. My friend’s cable was wrapped around something like the clutch for some reason and I unwrapped it and he was good to go.
That was a long time ago.

Bob B

After Malcolm point out the groveing thing, the cable goes in a tube going to the back of the car. You have to get down and look at it.

Jim, disconnect the cable at the trans. At our age it's easier than disconnecting at the accelerator pedal. Then tub the cable from both ends as suggested by Burton. This is the time to check your pedal for rough spots. Worst case scenario is the tube end on the front has begun to wear a slit in the tube and it is dragging there. If it's the pedal cluster, Bruce has rebuilt ones in stock. We're getting close to WCR so if you want to bring it over this weekend or next and throw it on my lift I'll lend a hand to get you road worthy. Kent

Thanks; good info to get started. Throttle body was just rebuilt by Phil in NM
Will start in on this Wed am.....

Tugged from both ends; seems the cable was Routed in correctly in the engine bay. The cable emerges from the shelf, up the side of the tin, then across the motor to the throttle body. The section where it turns was not a smooth run. Moved a hose and realigned the TC; better. Gonna lube it next.
Seems like the cable could be a couple of inches longer....

How smoothly did the pedal move once the cable was disconnected?

sounds like you found it, but- how does the pedal feel by itself? mine was doing the same thing, but while the car was up in CT at Tangerine last year, while Ed was taking care of rust, they pulled the pedal cluster to do rust repair under that section and rebuilt the cluster , the bushings were in bad shape- now its like new!, I didn't realize how bad it was!

Pretty good. I'm going to disconnect again at the throttle body and pour some oil into the cable sheath for extra measure. I tried lubing with red bearing grease, but it's hard to get into the cable sheath

Pedal cluster is ok, it is a 3 year old BS rebuild. Gonna leave it alone for now. Gotta do a test drive next

Therebis also a heim joint linkage that Kent was referring to. That thing takes a lot of the foot pressure.

I have had the same issue for years. I just kept putting up with it. Well yesterday I rebuilt my throttle body.The hole for the throttle plate gets ovaled out. I rebushed the hole with an oilite bushing. OMG! This car feels like new. Off idle it is smooth as expected. What I didn't suspect is the entire range of operation is better. My car feels like new.

Where did you get the polite bushing and how did the old one come out.
I have a backup TB and would like to do the same...

The TB does not have a bushing. I needed to machine and install one. It is a lot more involved than what can be done at home. I am thinking of providing this as a service. Interested?

Mark Kinnaman

Sir Jim, do u have the return spring on your trottle that stretches to the rear engine wall? When I remove mine a few years ago, I noticed some jerking when on low speed and have to play with clutch pedal to make it a little smoother. But early this year, befoee thinking of sending my trottle body for rebuilt, I noticed when the trottle returned completely to the trottle stopper, it is a little harder or not smooth pulling the accelerator cable, so i installed back a soft return spring. Kinda hard to explain here. Well my accelerator improved and a lot smoother. Just enough before my car went to new owner.

Click to view attachment

I recall seeing your age recently when the birthday fairy did her thing. Are you sure the problem isn't with your foot?

Foots fine; not an age thing yet. Most of the friction was eliminated by just moving the throttle cable so it's not going over a hose.
I like Mark's proposition to install a bushing; this has to be a major improvement.

The pedal can stick if rusted. Take it off with a 10MM socket and test it. If rusty, I'll send you a new one.

Did the cable come out clean? or rusted? if it got hung up, run something through the tube. I used brake cleaner, but I'm not that smart. See if rust comes out. I think I have an extra cable if you need that too.

Cheers!

BTW, I learned that the 2nd spring that attaches to the cooling tin is a safety incase the main spring on the TB shaft fails.

I found Phil Eslin on The Samba. He made my TB better than new. Added a few new design features too. But I remember, maybe on The Samba site that the sticking issue comes from the plate digging into the inner bore of the TB. It cuts a bit of a trough that grabs the plate.

He did awesome work on my TB. Re-plating, blasting, adding an o-ring to the idle screw, added a throttle stop. It looked and operated like brand new. I did not have the major issue with the plate sticking, but I could really tell a diff with my acceleration from a stop and engine reaction coming out of a gear shift.

here is a pic he sent on his bench and almost finished.
Click to view attachment