So far, the parts that I have been making are quite simple and easy to build.
However, now the items that I need to make are going to be a lot more complex and a lot harder to build.
One of the modifications that I made to my crawler was to change the drive clutch from being hand operated to making it foot operated.
This way I can keep both hands on the controls, whether steering the crawler or operating the hydraulics, and I'm able to stop or start the crawler without taking my hands off any of the controls.
The clutch is operated by this foot pedal by the left foot rest.
The linkage from the pedal comes up behind the steering lever on the right side of the crawler and attaches to a lever arm on a rocker shaft that is mounted on top of the rear plate.
The mounting bracket for this end of the rocker shaft also holds the throttle lever arm ( the arm with the red knob ).
The linkage extends down from a lever arm on the other end of that rocker shaft and attaches to the lever arm on the left side of a offset pivot assembly, that is mounted to the back of the rear plate.
A strong spring is attached to the lever arm on the right side of that offset pivot.
When the clutch pedal is pressed down, the linkage opens the drive clutch and it also rotates the spring lever arm up until it is almost at top dead center.
With the spring in this position, there is basically no pressure exerted on the pedal and it takes very little effort to hold the clutch pedal down.
This comes in handy when driving the crawler in parades at tractor shows because they stop and go a lot and I can sit there holding the clutch down without my foot getting tired.
When I'm ready to go again, all I have to do is release the clutch pedal and the spring snaps the clutch closed and holds the clutch linkage tightly in place.
You can see how well this top dead center spring pull works.
The clutch pedal is pressed down and the spring lever arm is rotated up to the TDC position. I'm taking the photo from the right side with my foot stretched out and holding the clutch pedal down with just the slight pressure from the edge of the sole of my shoe.
These are some of the parts to start making the clutch linkage.
I took that one piece of linkage with the hole in one end and the other end is cut off and I'm forming it into a " U " shape around the end of a piece of brass.
This is the mounting bracket for the left side of the rocker shaft and also the throttle lever arm and it is soldered onto a piece of brass angle.
The mounting bracket for the right side of the rocker shaft is also soldered to the right end of the brass angle.
Here is how it looks mounted to the top of the back plate on the model.
I have made up the rocker shaft and it is getting soldered together.
These are the pieces for making the offset pivot.
And how it looks when all assembled.
![Image](https://images2.imgbox.com/60/87/t1CFWWLm_o.jpg)