Moss Motors, Ltd

I have a 1979 mgb with a Weber downdraft and have to replace th cable aout every 6 months along with the guide on the firewall.

does anyone else have that plroblem and is there a fix.

With all due respect to our host, the aftermarket cables have not been so great in the past couple of years. We make all our own cables from high quality components available at bicycle shops. I'm not sure why you keep needing to replace the guide. It sounds like there is some kind of alignment problem. That may also be shortening the life of the cable. Check it out.

---

Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon

The accelerator cable in my '77B w/a Weber downdraft carb broke at the connection on the carb.  I was able to cut the sheething (sp?) back enough to connect the cable after rerouting it.  Where did you purchase your new cables & do you have the catalog #, etc.  Thanks for the help.

  

There is no part number. As indicated, we make them up one at a time, from components any good bike shop has. This requires a high quality stainless woven inner cable with a preinstalled "Barrel" on one end. To keep the other end from fraying, once the length has been determined, we tin the last half inch with silver solder. Electrical solder with resin core will not work. You must use an acid flux and silver bearing solder, not lead.

The outer jacket should be the teflon lined type.

Perhaps you could get the bike shop to duplicate the entire cable by showing them your old one. They make cables from stock components all the time.

Remember that no cable, no matter how good, can stand up to misalignment or poor installation for long. The operating end must be able to swivel in the carburetter linkage and the open end of the jacket must be "aimed" correctly at the lever to be actuated. You also need to pay attention to the cut end of the jacket so that there are no sharp edges which will tend to saw away at the new core. You can do this with the core out of the jacket using a jewelers file or a Dremel type tool if needed. I find that cutting the outer jacket to length neatly requires a Dremel tool with a cut-off disc so as not to crush the spiral wrap and reduce the end opening. After cutting this way, the teflon has usually melted a little and it's necessary to get into the end with a nice sharp Exacto #11 blade to recarve everything nice and smooth. Sounds time consuming, doesn't it?

It is, and our cables, well made and properly installed, are far more expensive. But, they don't feel notchy, and they outlast four or five "storebought" parts. We think it's worth it, and so do most our customers. But it is a choice, and the commercially supplied cables will give reasonable service if careful installation is practiced. It is worth noting that in most cases, the problems seem to arise with custom adaptations, like the Weber downdraught. 

---

Motorbill
From Lola to Land Rover, If it's British and has wheels, it's likely I've bloodied me knuckles thereupon

I'll endorse the bicycle cabling for this application. A new "MGB" cable proved just as sticky as the one from 1967, and I was still lurching around the parking lot.

Some bits from the bike shop made up a really nice cable that runs "smooth as silk". The good quality outer sheath will have a Teflon liner to ensure free running of the inner cable. It's also not expensive.

Wish I'd put 2+2 together for this application - I've 3 bikes, all of which I've either built, rebuilt or repaired, but it took another thread from motorbill for the light to go on.

Ed

---

I want my MGB