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I’m working on a 1954 3800 Panel Wagon. I’m not sure how to hook up my gas pedal to my carburetor. I’m a novice at all things regarding working on cars. It’s got what I believe is a 261 engine. The main problem is that the rod going from the pedal (ball and socket) is straight and doesn’t end up anywhere near the lever that would end up raising or lowering throttle in the carb. Any suggestions. Could I install a hot rod style cable pedal? If so how does that work?

The rod should have a slight curve in it.

It’s straight. I attached an image of what I think it should look like. Mine is straight and is also nonfunctional. Anyone know where to find one of these curved rods? I’ve looked on the internet and haven’t found one.

The image you attached is for a different setup. Look at the shape of your pivot compared to the one in the image.

Why is the exhaust manifold missing? It seems that you have a lot more problems to address before you worry about the throttle linkage!
Jerry

The exhaust manifold is in place.

Jerry, it looks like there's some sort of header arrangement, judging by the two pieces of tubing on the left side of the photos.

@Hooligans, Just about anything can be bent, but maybe post in the Swap Meet and see if another 'bolter can fix you up. Probably not available aftermarket.

According to the "GMC" Casting code 2135412 in your picture, your engine is a GMC 270 per this GMC resource document. That would account for the difference in the accelerator bellcrank as compared to your other pic from a Chevrolet FAM. You will definitely need to modify/fabricate the needed rod to connect your pedal to that bell crank.

I don't know of any parts immediately available at the moment, but when I get a chance I can check and see what might be out there.

Clarification question: Is your 1954 3800 Panel a Chevy or GMC??? Maybe post some pics of the truck so we know and can try and help more.

On my 302 GMC Military motor, the accelerator linkage connects to the bell crank which is mounted on the manifold. Are there any vertical bolts on the manifold between the carb and firewall ? Send pictures as I may have that bell crank, but need to confirm.

I suppose those broken studs on the bottom of the intake are just there for decoration, then!
Jerry

Looks to me that the bell crank is not oriented correctly.

An update on my carburetor linkage issues…. First off, I’m completely new to working on this car and have little to no experience dealing with this issue. Thus my desire to seek help here on this forum. Helpful info to help me solve this issue.

1. The engine is a GMC 270 that was swapped into a 1954 1 ton Panel truck.
2. I’m not sure what type of carburetor I have but will include pictures. I also don’t actually know how it should properly function. First timer here.
3. I have a throttle rod that has a ball and socket connection that clearly is meant to connect to the underside of the gas pedal. But when installed, the geometry makes it impossible to connect to where the lever should cause the rod connected to the carb to go up and down.
4. I’m now wondering what my options are for getting my gas pedal to make my car go.

The carb looks like a Holley. Sorry, but I am no help on Holleys.

Jon.

That vertical rod looks like it is supposed to hook, with appropriate bushing, to the aft end of the bell crank, foot feed to to other end of bell crank. I’ll look at one of my engines.

Ed

What do you mean by the word “bell crank”?

Here are some pictures, carbs not there, bellcrank is cast with two arms about 90 degrees apart to change directions from fore and aft via foot feed to vertical to control carb. Note in picture the fat part of the horizontal rod hooks to the foot feed(302). The springs in that picture control slack. Other picture shows another bell rank with control rods(270). Top picture shows how vertical rod Hooks to missing carb.

Ed

The lever on the throttle linkage that changes the direction of motion of the accelerator pedal to operate the carburetor is called a "bellcrank". That accelerator pump with the four attaching screws is definitely a Holley part, but we would need a number from the carburetor body to make a more accurate guess about its original application. The adapter that turns the carb 90 degrees from the intake manifold studs pretty much indicates that the carb isn't an original equipment item. Some more modern Holley carbs have a "list" number stamped on the air intake area that can be used to identify which repair kit to order.
Jerry

Many thanks for your input Hotrod and EdPruss. I clearly have the wrong style rod connecting the gas pedal to the the bell crank. I’ll do a bit of searching and see if I can find the appropriate setup.

If that engine was originally installed in a big truck (2 ton or bigger) that spacer between the carburetor and the intake manifold could have been replaced by a governor to prevent over revving the engine in the lower gears. Trucks with 2 speed rear ends and/or auxiliary transmissions were routinely equipped with governors to save the trucks from lead-footed drivers.
Jerry

Hooligans - After rereading through your posts and others replies, it's clear that your 270 GMC engine in the Chevy Panel may cause part of the accelerator rod length from pedal to lever (bellcrank) confusion. The lever (bellcrank) in your pictures is very different from Ed Pruss's pictured part. It lacks the return springs and such to make the accelerator function properly. I tried to zoom in and get a read on the casting number on your lever, but either I'm reading it wrong or it's not a Chevy or GMC part??? Can you read/post that casting number so we can better try to ID it?

In an attempt to help sort this out with the lever and rods you already have (making a leap of faith here that this setup was actually already functional at one point), the lever orientation and rod connections needs to change. Try and rotate the lever counterclockwise so the lower rear facing lever arm points towards the 3 O'clock position and attach the rod going to the carburetor there, with the lower rod end going through the lever hole from outside to inside. This should leave your lever with the upper arm pointing about the 1 O'clock position. Your accelerator pedal rod should then attach to that arm, with the rod end again going from the outside of the hole towards the block.

If this setup worked previously (past owner did the engine swap and had it running), and the current carb opens and closes the throttle to coincide with the rod and lever movement, you may have resolved most of the accelerator issues.

Still yet to be resolved would be some sort of a return spring to cause the accelerator assembly and throttle to close on it's own when you let off the gas pedal.

Hopefully this helps make sense of the problem and gets things moving forward for you. Come back and let us know please.

Thanks to all that helped me figure things out. Based on your feedback and my own research I solved the linkage issue. The hardest part was buying/finding the right part. I ended using a curved linkage rod and all was good.