Choke Cable Replacement

[Bordfunker]

I am in the midst of rebuilding my dashboard, and one of the last items to go back in is the choke. However while the choke knob and associated assembly are in good position, the same can’t be said for the Bowden cable, which has lost half its outer sheath.

Therefore rather than just buy a complete new cable and knob assembly, can I just replace the cable?

If so, how?

Thanks

Karl

[Pete Lewis]

if you are on the inner which rust due to being an open coiled outer thro the heater plenum  the inner is not an easy replacement , there are various ways its held in the choke knob shaft some crimped some solder some nippled   the stiff piano wire is not easy to solder sucessfully to last . the inner needs to be stiff wire as it does have to push and pull

a flexible inner would need a spring to return it at the carb end 

the outer is easy use bike brake cable  cut to length and re join up to old with short bit of fuel hose and two clips 

pete

[Graham C]

If you are just after the outer part the try phoning Speedograph in Nottingham, they make cables to order. They may just sell you that part.

Worth a call.

Graham

[68vitesse]

The outer cable was always in two parts with a short bit of rubber tubing and star washers on the outer cable.

Regards

Paul

 

[Bordfunker]

Thanks for the responses.

The inner cable is mine, it’s just the outer sheath that is missing, and it looks like mine has lost the section between the rubber tube and stat washers and the carb.

I might see if I can order a new length of outer sheath, and make up a replacement rubber joint as suggested.

Out of interest, why the rubber joint? Neither the heater, nor interior heater control flap controls have this feature?

Many thanks 

Karl

[Pete Lewis]

generally these rubber insertions were used to reduce engine noises getting amplified by the dash board

any cheap bike cable is a good source and often better than our usual supplies of cables 

a rear cable from a ladies gives long run and  will make a few cables  ,  a solderless nipple might be required on some but 

cheap and reliable

and grease it well as its out in the rain , a bike cable is covered,  getting the cable aligned thro' the offset plenum holes is fun 

i use a bit of stiff tube to pick up the end and guide it home 

Pete

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

Stainless steel bike cables are good.

I'm working on the 1200's dashboard cables at the moment and some are simply screwed in whilst others are soldered and crimped; it's a pity they weren't all just screwed in as I could replace them all so easily!

[Bordfunker]

Colin, mine appear to be both held in with nut/screw, and soldered!

Pete, I’ll pick up some outer sheath, and then make up the isolating section as suggested.

Thanks

Karl

 

[Peter Truman]

If I remember our Mk2 Spit Choke cable has the knob moulded to the inner cable solid shaft so its a bugger to remove & refit as the inner cable snags on the outer sheath as your trying to push it thro file the inner cable smooth helps.

But the point of this reply is I have a couple of heater cable dash assemblies the outer cable just push's into this assembly and is pinned with two indentions into the fitted outer cable, these can be lightly drilled out and a new outer sheath fitted and soldered or re-indented into the dash assembly, Whereas the inner stiff cable slots into the  knob dash assembly inner brass sleeve/slide shaft and is held with a grub screw. If originality isn't too important would this conversion work and be easier, it also has the advantage the knob is separate and a push on type.

You can see the grub screw in the slide groove & the outer cable drilled out indent at the top.

Peter T

 

[Colin Lindsay]

I had thought of using that for a choke; after all the indentations in the tube will hold the choke out and you'll have better control over half choke or lesser positions than just the slide cable.

As proper choke cables used to be hard to find - I haven't checked in years - it was always a case of having to put up with an aftermarket knob on the dash. I might experiment with different setups later just to see if it can be done.

[Adrian Cooper]

My only experience is with my Mk2 Spitfire but I have been wrestling with poor aftermarket choke cables ever since I bought the car in 1985. Most never stay where you put them, many of them look cheap and all of them have been far too stiff. The last one required such force that it needed both hands to pull it out, and the dashboard would bend outwards too. Time for action.

I started by looking at the return spring on the carbs. I undid the one that was there and was surprised to see that the jet tubes returned to their normal position just with the action of the springs that are built into the carb spindles. The other surprise was that the choke knob was just as stiff even when disconnected from the carb. I decided that the problem was with the heavy gauge piano wire that is used in the modern replacement cables and the sharp angle that the cable has to operate through in the narrow space between the carbs and the bonnet. Seeing that the control cable wasn’t really needed to push the jets back I thought that I could use a more flexible cable. After hours of sorting through my collection of choke cable bodies and playing with different types of control wires I found a workable solution using ptfe lined bike brake cables. I did this a couple of months ago and forgot to take any pictures but I have had a go at drawing what I did.

I found a spare knob and drilled it through from the back. When I felt the drill bit break through the plastic I stopped drilling and used a thin rod to push out the transparent plastic disc and knob icon. I then drilled a bigger hole through the knob from the front to accommodate the nipple on the end of the cable. I dismantled an old radio aerial and chose the size of shaft that just fitted into the main body of the choke cable outer (the bit that screws into the dashboard and has the knurled chrome ferule) and I used epoxy to glue the nipple, knob and shaft together (behave yourself Doug). I could have used the original cable outer but the bike one was much better and so I joined this onto the back of the chrome bit with several layers of heat shrink cable wrap. I used Photoshop to draw the choke icon and I printed this onto silver card using a laser printer at work. The original transparent plastic disc just pushed into the front again. With everything fixed back together the choke is now easy to pull out and it does push back reliably. 

I have to confess that the aerial shaft has lost its grip a bit and the choke knob does slide back in a little after a bit of driving. I have resorted to the time honoured tradition of using a wooden clothes peg to keep it in place. As you can see from the picture, I have embraced this failure.

[Colin Lindsay]

My choke cable is both crimped and soldered, but it's in good condition and can be reused when I get the dash back in. I'd just like the option of an easy replacement if it ever comes to that. 

[Pete Lewis]

the other option to hold the choke out is hang your handbag on it  

replies on a postcard 

Pete

[ahebron]

On 26/04/2020 at 12:02, Peter Truman said:

If I remember our Mk2 Spit Choke cable has the knob moulded to the inner cable solid shaft so its a bugger to remove & refit as the inner cable snags on the outer sheath as your trying to push it thro file the inner cable smooth helps.

But the point of this reply is I have a couple of heater cable dash assemblies the outer cable just push's into this assembly and is pinned with two indentions into the fitted outer cable, these can be lightly drilled out and a new outer sheath fitted and soldered or re-indented into the dash assembly, Whereas the inner stiff cable slots into the  knob dash assembly inner brass sleeve/slide shaft and is held with a grub screw. If originality isn't too important would this conversion work and be easier, it also has the advantage the knob is separate and a push on type.

You can see the grub screw in the slide groove & the outer cable drilled out indent at the top.

Peter T

 

I did that today on my Vitesse 6
Today was refit the dash plank and connect everything up.
Like Peter I have a surplus of heater cables and an acute shortage of choke cables but I did have one removeable choke knob.
And I like the way the control has detents inits travel
I undid the wee bolt that holds the heater control wire and replaced it with a length of 1.6mm steel TIG wire which at present until I learn to TIG is the most use anything to do with the TIG has had in nine months. Using the rubber joiner and some spare outer sheath it made it to the carbs. Time will tell how long the solid wire lasts and if it vibrates with the engine but it will be easy to replace with a flexible cable if needed.

Thanks
Adrian

 

 

[68vitesse]

Just be careful not to lose the ball bearing under the clip which is how the detent works, had to order some of eBay after it went missing.

Regards

Paul

[poppyman]

On 27/04/2020 at 19:30, Adrian Cooper said:

My only experience is with my Mk2 Spitfire but I have been wrestling with poor aftermarket choke cables ever since I bought the car in 1985. Most never stay where you put them, many of them look cheap and all of them have been far too stiff. The last one required such force that it needed both hands to pull it out, and the dashboard would bend outwards too. Time for action.

I started by looking at the return spring on the carbs. I undid the one that was there and was surprised to see that the jet tubes returned to their normal position just with the action of the springs that are built into the carb spindles. The other surprise was that the choke knob was just as stiff even when disconnected from the carb. I decided that the problem was with the heavy gauge piano wire that is used in the modern replacement cables and the sharp angle that the cable has to operate through in the narrow space between the carbs and the bonnet. Seeing that the control cable wasn’t really needed to push the jets back I thought that I could use a more flexible cable. After hours of sorting through my collection of choke cable bodies and playing with different types of control wires I found a workable solution using ptfe lined bike brake cables. I did this a couple of months ago and forgot to take any pictures but I have had a go at drawing what I did.

I found a spare knob and drilled it through from the back. When I felt the drill bit break through the plastic I stopped drilling and used a thin rod to push out the transparent plastic disc and knob icon. I then drilled a bigger hole through the knob from the front to accommodate the nipple on the end of the cable. I dismantled an old radio aerial and chose the size of shaft that just fitted into the main body of the choke cable outer (the bit that screws into the dashboard and has the knurled chrome ferule) and I used epoxy to glue the nipple, knob and shaft together (behave yourself Doug). I could have used the original cable outer but the bike one was much better and so I joined this onto the back of the chrome bit with several layers of heat shrink cable wrap. I used Photoshop to draw the choke icon and I printed this onto silver card using a laser printer at work. The original transparent plastic disc just pushed into the front again. With everything fixed back together the choke is now easy to pull out and it does push back reliably. 

I have to confess that the aerial shaft has lost its grip a bit and the choke knob does slide back in a little after a bit of driving. I have resorted to the time honoured tradition of using a wooden clothes peg to keep it in place. As you can see from the picture, I have embraced this failure.

If the car struggles to run with the wooden clothes peg? Change to a plastic one, they are a bit wider  

Tony.

[iana]

I’ve reverted to the clothes peg option, I tried to locate a period looking choke cable for the vitesse as PO has fitted a spitfire type choke cable and it looks wrong and it is past its best, apparently the new round knob cable come without the logo and glazed cap so my search continues

[Chris A]

The 'factory option Triumph clothes peg' wasn't available for the Herald, yet another instance of the vitesse being more upmarket 😀

[Colin Lindsay]

14 minutes ago, Chris A said:

The 'factory option Triumph clothes peg' wasn't available for the Herald, yet another instance of the vitesse being more upmarket 😀

So how come the female prospective buyer in the ad looks into the Herald in the showroom and says: "Oh look, it's even got coathooks?"