• Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

Talk about timing! Not iggy timing... sheesh

Nunyas

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
This past weekend, while driving my B, I noticed that the accelerator felt "funny". Pushing it all the way down resulted in half throttle performance, and it felt "odd" when it was at rest... almost like it wasn't coming all the way up. So I investigated by trying to lift it with my right foot. Sure as poo stinks, the pedal came up with my foot about an half inch.

Soon as I could, I pulled over and investigated further. As soon as the hood was up, I saw the issue. The accelerator cable had frayed. So with the 'ole trusty Super Leatherman handy, I undid the screw pulled the cable, and did my best to eek out as much cable as possible. The best I could manage was to tighten it enough that the last "bundle" of cable could be used, and I had full throttle travel.

As soon as I could, I ordered a new throttle cable, 2 actually.

Fast forward to today: I'd been driving the car very gingerly to and fro work the past couple of days for fear of completely snapping the cable. That fear came true as soon as I pulled out of the office parking lot. I didn't even finish making the turn out of the lot and I felt the pedal go "limp" and the car dropped to idle.

Out comes the trusty Super Leatherman again! This time I wiggled the catch nut up onto the full cable bundles and ~tried~ to eek out even more cable by adjusting the cable shroud nuts to give me the maximum length. That ~almost~ worked perfectly. The idle ended up being 1500 - 2000 for my drive home. Nothing really to worry about, but kind of annoying at a stop light.

I got home ~hoping~ to see a package on the door step and I was pleased to see that there was. However, I made an important discovery when I opened the package. MGB SU HS cables are ~different~ from MGB ZS cables. Most notably at the end that connects to the accelerator. The ones I bought were for SU HS4s. I figured I'd get the cables for SUs since I have an SU. The lead lug at the accelerator end is barrel shaped, and the ZS version has a ball on the end.

No worries, out comes the Super Leatherman again, and I trim down the barrel to a size that would fit through the hole in the fire wall. Cinched everything up and a couple of test blips later I was happy.

In retrospect, I ~suppose~ it might have been easier if I fed the cable through from the cockpit out to the engine bay... Maybe I'll try it that way with the next one, if/when the one on the car right now dies.
 

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
Platinum
Country flag
Offline
There's GOTTA be a bicycle shop in walkin' distance of your hovel, Rob! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif


Half the price, rig a pivot barrel connector at the carb end. Beats steppin' out into traffic and havin' the loud-pedal go all limp. BTDT.

Adapt. Overcome.
 

Steve_S

Yoda
Offline
I seem to remember four Moss cables coming apart in a mechanic's hand on your car. Cheap garbage cables! I hope they remedy the problem with their supplier soon!
 

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
Platinum
Country flag
Offline
Bicycle brake cables!!! Keep one inna glovebox, you'll hopefully never need it.
 
OP
Nunyas

Nunyas

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
Steve_S said:
I seem to remember four Moss cables coming apart in a mechanic's hand on your car. Cheap garbage cables! I hope they remedy the problem with their supplier soon!
ZS cables are different from the SU cables. ZS cables have lugs on both ends. It was the lug that connects to the carb that kept breaking on the ZS. SU cables only have 1 lug at the accelerator pedal, and the ones Moss sent are good, the lead lugs are cast dead center on the cable.

DrEntropy said:
There's GOTTA be a bicycle shop in walkin' distance of your hovel, Rob! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
Adapt. Overcome.
I know I've said it before, I'll say it again. I'll have to look into that. Seeing as how I couldn't use the ~new~ sleeves in my application, it certainly would have been less expensive to nab some bike brake/gear shifter cables.
 
OP
Nunyas

Nunyas

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif
 
OP
Nunyas

Nunyas

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
I was thinking a bit about my accelerator cable. I need to fabricate new butter fly lever for the carb. The one I'm using is an ugly arse piece of pooh that bends the cable at a hard angle at the point of connection.

Any one know where I can find a pivot barrel, or know where I would find the parts to make one?

The bit I'm using right now is no more than a screw and a barrel with a hole drilled through it. However, it's not really big enough to work easily with to create a lever that'll balance the load across the barrel.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
J General TR Let's Talk Timing a TR2/3/4 for Performance. Triumph 6
DrEntropy Talk about TIMING!!! Racing 3
drooartz MGB Talk to me about bottom end bearings MG 34
R TR2/3/3A Let's talk seats Triumph 27
Patrick67BJ8 Let’s talk motor oils Austin Healey 64
exfed12825 MGB Lets Talk Windshields MG 5
RickB Tom Magliozzi, MG owner and co-host of Car Talk - RIP Spridgets 3
T let's talk paint jobs Austin Healey 2
H If Austin Healeys could talk... Austin Healey 10
Willie_P TR 3/4/6 -try to talk me out of this: [suspension] Triumph 28
tri_carb_healey outrigger talk Austin Healey 4
T Let's talk spring pans for Disc brakes Spridgets 4
T Let's talk tropical fans... Triumph 1
B Someone talk me off the ledge Triumph 15
T So let's talk paint colors... Triumph 39
T Let's talk acid Triumph 11
T So let's talk about powder coating Spridgets 17
T OT - let's talk about car control Triumph 20
QuickSilver Let's Talk Tail Lights MG 7
T I couldn't talk him into something British.... Other Cars 8
T Let's talk about stainless steel brake lines... Triumph 4
R TR6 Wiggly Winders or lets talk window regulators TR6 Triumph 7
healeynut Talk about your rare cars Other British Cars 0
lbc_newbie Talk about your Barn Finds... MGB on WA craigslist Spridgets 2
JPSmit Can someone please talk me through Spridgets 10
S Talk about rare....... Other Cars 25
RickB OT: talk about making a Spridget Hybrid? Spridgets 0
T TR6 Let's talk TR6 door gaps! Triumph 20
2wrench TR6 TR6 Builders STOP TILL WE TALK COOLING Triumph 19
7 lets talk about radiators Triumph 13
J So let's talk brake lines Triumph 16
Atrus Let's talk towing a spridget! Spridgets 10
6 Lets talk about this!!! Spridgets 8
jlaird Sprite talk Spridgets 11
2wrench TR6 '74 TR6. Let's talk about disconnecting smog stuf Triumph 29
2wrench Let's talk about the dreaded thrust washer wear. Triumph 8
AngliaGT Someone Talk Me Out of This Triumph 23
T Someone talk me out of this.... Triumph 37
RickB Talk her into keep it &join here! -was:64 Sprite.. Spridgets 4
B So that's the sound you all talk about!! Austin Healey 9
Atrus Let's talk oil leaks ;-] Spridgets 16
jlaird Had a long talk Spridgets 17
jlaird Can we talk carbs Spridgets 4
G Someone talk some sense into me... Triumph 33
T ok, lets talk about headers Triumph 9
jlaird Can we talk about tire brands here? Spridgets 2
Alan_Myers GT6 Please talk to me about Rotoflex, GT6 in general Triumph 10
J Talk me out of it- '79 B for play and track [noob] MG 27
jlaird Question-lets talk steering racks Spridgets 1
HAN8L1965 Lets talk rear springs 1965 Spridgets 4

Similar threads

Top