A couple days ago, I was waiting at a light, clutch pushed in, when I heard a metallic noise, like something snapping.
No idea where it came from, but everything was fine.

Today, I need to push the clutch really hard to get in gear. After investigation: the metal sheet onto which the pedals are bolted tore! it has a large rip and if you push the pedal, the whole assembly moves in.

I took a picture:


The question now is: how to fix this? what kind of shop should I talk to?

 

huh...

i cant tell much by the pic but from what it sounds like, you gonna need to remove the petal assembly and have a good welder strengthen up the area where the petal mounts to.

good luck,

 

where you see the crack on the pic is where the bolt goes to hold the clutch cylinder.

Do you think metal should be added and wleded on the inside of the car or on the outside?
Even pushing the brakes moves the whole thing, so this piece of metal is falling apart

 

i would cut out the whole general section, then lay it on top of new metal as a template and have the new metal cut into shape and welded in. im not sure how easy that will be if the bad floor section is curved, it may take some patience and making a few smaller sections at a time instead of getting it done all at once. good luck, keep any of your progess updated.

 

what kind of shop should I turn toward for this?

 

im not sure if a regular welding shop would be willing to so this but you might have to find a custom fabrication type shop, one that maybe builds race cars or installs cages. they gotta have some car knowledge, as well as a good welder/ good welding skills. im sure around LA youll be able to find something,

 

Difficult working there! I once had a '79 Monza V8 with the cable clutch. I adjusted it twice before I realized the nipple on the firewall for the cable had cracked the sheet metal and was sinking. I couldn't weld it but was able to make a stiffener with a piece of 1/4" steel ("hacksaw & File Company") that used one of the brake master cylinder housing bolts to position it. Worked for years.

 

So, the shop's estimate is $1600+tax

It turns out that fixing/welding is $300, the rest is to disassemble everything.
I ended up telling them I take the car back, will disassemble everything to make clean easy access and then have it welded.

They talked about disassembling the inside and also removing the master cylinder to get a good access from under the hood. Do that make sense?

Also, the guy at the shop said he doesn't know where he's going to weld the support (he said the sides are going to be weaker, so he wouldn't weld something across) so that it holds. What are the strong structural elements around?

 

from trying to swap my clutch master cylinder this weekend I can tell you they will definately want to remove the brake booster/mc.

to avoid $1600 I would definately disassemble everything and tow it in.

it seems like nothing is strong...it's all just sheet metal, but i don't see why they can't just cut out the torn part, and weld in a new section as if they were patching a body panel. if it's weak maybe weld a strip or two across the section to reinforce it?

 

To answer your question take it to a body shop.

What type of shop did you take it to for the estimate?

 

it was a general repair (with a bias toward exhaust) kind of shop.