well im begining to make the transmission tunnel. its a +4 chassis and a rover 3.5 v8 engine. what is an acceptable width on the footwell ends?? (where the steel plate goes on. the clutch housing seems pretty wide and the footwell ends arent going to be very wide. how wide is yours??? and its wider on one side than the other (starter motor) so should i make one side wider than the other or keep them the same and have some fresh air in the tunnel on the passenger side?? thanks.

How much room is available for feet is a variable- factors include-
How far forward the engine/gearbox is (the further forward, the less width is needed due to the bellhousing being sort of triangular
How far back the footwell line is (due to the angle of the rails, further back the more width
How much clearance is allowed between bellhousing and tunnel (depends on how much movement the engine and gearbox mountings will allow)

My suggestion would be to start by deciding how much foot room you need to be able to safely operate the pedals, and consider where you are going to put your left foot when cruising, then vary one of the factors above until your requirements are met.

John

Personally I'd make them as big as you can get away with giving the engine/gearbox about 1/2 inch clearance depending on how hard the engine mountings are. There's precious storage space away on these cars and passenger footwells are great for stuffing things in. The hot air will flow under the car rather than through the tunnel so just get as much foot room as possible.

so when fitting the engine is there anything to cater for such as where it is to be positioned? how do i decide where it needs to be?? do i need to have a rolling chassis before i make the engine mounts etc?? because the origional plan was to mount the engine before anything else??

Really you can be quite flexible how it’s lined up, nothing says it should be exactly centred though it’s better for the prop shaft joints but not critical. More important is trying to keep the engine as close to the same level as it was in the donor so carbs and oil levels function normally. Check also the steering column route, exhaust downpipes and the alternator location before making the mountings as its very common that those end up clashing, especially the steering column. Sometimes it’s just an inch which could make all the difference and you’ll curse yourself if you spot that later on once the mountings are made. Check too where the gearlever is coming out and sit in the car and see if its where you want it, you might have to change the location of the steering wheel and column to get it all spot on. One of the great things about building your own car is you can make it fit you rather than the other way round

Get as much drivers foot room you can.
My engine is offset 1" because I needed that 1" of pedal room. I will still need skinny shoes to drive. Also have 1" more butt space on the drivers side. Not sure my gf will fit her nice hips in the passenger side though

Mine is quite different side to side, if you will not be taking many passengers push it over a little bit to aid weight distribution and grow the footwell on the drivers side.

No-one has ever noticed looking, although when people who have driven westfields have got in they have commented on how roomy the pedal area is.

Regards Mark