Hi all,
Just got back from another lovely day. (This can't last...) Today I
jacked up the TR4 and got busy with the speedometer cable. Inspection
revealed that the outer plastic had cracked in some places and worn
through in others.
Pulled the drive cable out and found 3 pieces. Got new drive cable, a
universal one (made by Perfect Parts!), at 72" it's 5 inches too long. It
came with "all parts necessary", which was a square-ended drive cable, a
square end, and a mysterious chunk of metal (which got discarded, btw). I
soldered the round end of the cable into the square thing. Had to consult
the list archives to come up with a length-of-inner-cable (9/8" longer
than outer cable) Kudos to whoever put that up.
Constructed a new bearing for the speedo end out of a chunk of what seemed
to be phenolic plastic, or nylon, or something like that. It was small
and donut shaped (and bright green) but should do the job.
Cleaning out the cable was quite a chore, I removed the cracked bits of
plastic (and discovered a lot of grease and dirt). Ran out of degreaser
cleaning the cable, had to resort to Palmolive, and electronics-trace
cleaner. Liberally applied dry graphite spray to inside of cable, outside
of cable, and arms of owner. (me)
Assembly was the reverse of removal, although I don't remember getting
that dirty when I took the thing off.
Test drive: oh joy, we have a speedometer! It's reading a little high (I
don't care, it's close enough... and the odometer works now too :-) :-)
Reward self by washing car, then yanking hardtop off and going in to play
badminton (evening!) Drive is uneventful, give thumbs-up to a nice
looking Volvo Amazon/Canadian/? Maybe it was a Morris Minor, I didn't
look too close.
The drive home was an absolute blast. Clear night, cool breeze (a little
cold near the water, but oh well, I've got many layers on) No moon but I
think I followed one of the planets. Gotta get that front valence fixed
so I can aim the headlights proper.
Tomorrow's project will be to examine the handbrake, or work on the hard
top. Or go and find some Gainful Employment (tm), to finance further
endavours!
-Malcolm ('62 TR4)
* There is a FAQ for this list! Its temporary home is:
http://www3.bc.sympatico.ca/walker/triumph/trfaq.htm
|