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MG MGB Technical - Speedo cable frustrations

So driving around the other day in my 72 B the speedo stopped reading and the mileage stopped recording. Guessed it was the speedo cable. Ordered a new one. Attempting to fit last night - disconnected from the guage no problem. Jack car up. Undo from gearbox no problem. Old cable out of the car within 20mins. Attempt to fit new one and cant persuade the knurled end to go through the hole in the transmission tunnel. Turns out the knurled end is bigger on the replacement by 0.8mm.
Doesn't sound a lot but its the difference between going through the bodyshell hole or not. Faced with opening up the hole in the shell or filing down the new cable fitting I chose the latter and eventually got it to fit but it turned an hours job into double that. Why oh why do these things get made close yet wrong. Sooooo irritating........
G Britnell

Has been a problem for some years. Around 2004 I had the same issue and adopted your solution. Seemed better than filing around a painted edge and needing to reseal the metal. I was lucky the knurled end was plastic. Was yours?

Regards
Roger
R Taylor

Was it the speedo end or the gearbox end, or are both bigger? I'd have been tempted to use the new inner in the old outer ... but then the lengths are probably different as well!
paulh4

Quality parts again!!
Colin Parkinson

It was the speedo end that was bigger than original - it was knurled aluminium. The gearbox end is bigger anyway so the cable has to be passed into the car through the transmission tunnel from underneath. Tricky enough with the original cable because the hole in the shell is only a fraction bigger than the end of the cable. I did think about reusing the original outer but the new cable was about an inch longer!! Had to file down the knurled alloy.
G Britnell

To avoid the speedo sticking, its best to oil the inner cable well before fitting. Also avoid any tight curves where the cable goes through the bulkhead and up to the speedo.

Andy
Andy Robinson

Light oil only, I suggest.
paulh4

This thread was discussed between 23/05/2019 and 24/05/2019

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