By altering the bend of that thick part, you have destroyed the geometry that was engineered into this setup.
SInce the end of that rod is bolted to the pivot bracket on the back of the gas pedal and the pedal is hinged at the toeboard, the pedal swings forward on an arc.
The curved bend in the rod is there to accommodate the arc in the swing of the pedal to avoid contact with the hole in the toeboard.
If one has a need to alter one of these rods to work with a non-stock engine, bends and extensions need to be limited to the skinny part of the rod.
It is also important that the skinny part of the rod travels in the same direction/angle as the original.
Failure to do that will also result in destroying the geometry of this rod.
