My car is finally driving for the first time since 1960. I appreciate the advice over the years it took to get this far. I am down to the details such as rubber boots for the brake, clutch pedals and the hatch over the transmission dip stick. Is there a source for these parts or do I have to be rough and creative?
Regards,
Dennis.
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No responses for 2 days, so I will offer this thought.
Are you sure there were rubber boots?
I found this in the parts book.
Mine has sleeves sewn from vinyl and stapled to the floor, although they are not original. I suppose one could call them gauntlets.
Aren’t those the long steel gloves that the knights used to wear in battle?
As to the gearbox dipstick access, in my '38 SS I have what I presume is the original carpet over the gearbox tunnel, and it has a round chrome steel ring set in it, through which I suppose one could pull out the dipstick. It’s not very convenient.
The Mark V had a rectangular cover held down by 2 push-in fasteners.
The fasteners are a commercial product, maybe DZUS, and I know we’ve talked about them on the XK forum.
I’m not sure of the reason for the big hole in the center, but I suspect it was for clearance for the tall dipstick handle used on the early cars. Mine has the shorter handle.
As I remember them the “rubber boots” are in fact leather boots. What I can’t remember is which way up they are. They taper of course with the large end attached to the floor and the small end around the pedal shank. It’s possible that the small end is attached below floor level rather than above. This has the advantage that the boots experience less movement than if mounted above floor level.
Peter
Thank you Peter and Rob for your replies. My other Mark IV has what appears to be rubber around a 7 inch oval and down about 2 inches. The material has been painted several time and is petrified and torn. I was hoping this was readily available. Since it does not really show, I will create something in leather of cut an existing rubber part.
The transmission hatch is square and has two push in fasteners. This seems similar to the Mark V hatch mentioned by Rob. I will look for the fasteners and perhaps make my own hatch.
Regards,
Dennis
There was previous dialogue on these a few years ago but I can’t locate it.
The Mk IV gearbox tunnel cover should have the same rectangular insert as shown for the Mk V above, with Dzus fasteners, which only work if the spring clips are intact under the tunnel cover. Its sole purpose is for access to the dipstick. The previous thread clarified that the circular cut out was to provide a running clearance for the dipstick knob, and should be vinyl/Rexine covered to match the carpet.
These photos are of the pedal draught gauntlets that were on my car and they were very old, hardened and dry and I assumed they were original. They pointed down. I had new ones made and added a flat piece on top with a slot for the pedal movement. However, the previous thread included production era photos from a catalogue that showed them upwards, so mine might be wrong. However, I’ll keep them downward as it is much neater looking. I have made a pattern for this if you would like a copy.
I have some photos of the installed items somewhere and can post them when I locate them.
Message me if you need any further information.
That’s interesting. On Mark V the hole in the tunnel is round, 3" diameter.
Try SNG Barratt for the stud fasteners, possibly called either DZUS or ODDIE studs.
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I thought the topic came up once before. Here it is.
Peter L, on mine it looks like somebody copied what must have been there before, probably in the 1960s, and it looks like yours. But they used red vinyl to match the red shag carpeting. 
Hello Peter,
I did find a Mark IX dip stick hatch and fasteners. I believe this will fit, or can be adjusted, to solve the transmission hatch issue.
I do have 2 Mark IVs…after looking at the other one, without a lift, I thought is was a rubber part pushing downward, that was painted glossy black. There is a good chance that it is leather. I will have to jack the car up and make a closer examination. If that is true the pattern would be helpful. If you cannot find it, I can fake the design. It seems to be in 2 pieces…is that due to design?
Regards,
Dennis
Hullo Dennis,
My apologies for my tardiness in replying. I’ve attached here the patterns for the leather gaiters for the pedals. It is a single piece with one stitch line. My earlier picture shows the pair with many decades of underfloor exposure.
They are pushed down to the bottom of the pedal shaft as close to the pivot as possible to reduce the amount of hinging in operation. The top edge is drawn over the edge of the foot plate and held down by the retainer then riveted together. My original used copper bifurcated rivets.
The other piece is fitted under the retainer first before riveting and acts as a shield against anything falling into the boot.
The other sketch is of the retainer plate in case you need to make a replacement or two.
The original factory items seem to have been made to fit upward towards the pedal pads but I prefer the underfloor type. Like with all leather, periodic conditioning is essential. It needs to be a thin and pliable grade of leather. Make up cardboard templates and take to the leather place for them to cut and sew.
A note about the template. The original I made was based upon a radius of 185, not 195. The 185 was an only-just fitting size and fitted well with a bit of wriggling into place. The originals had shrunk a bit. With this extra 10mm top and bottom, there is the ability to trim it back if necessary. I don’t have any installed photos but can do so if it would help.
Come back if you need any more information.
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Thank you Peter. I am sure that people on the forum can also use these patterns.
Regards
Thanks Peter.
My wife was a quilter and left me 6 sewing machines.
I will make an attempt to make these.
But first I have to find her stash of thread. I know there was a whole tub of it somewhere.
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