Choke cable

General Chat with an emphasis on BMC Minis & Other iconic cars of the 1960's.
Jamie
850 Super
Posts: 207
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:47 am
Location: Surrey

Choke cable

Post by Jamie »

Morning
Quite a while ago i bought one of the repro locking Mk1 choke cables from one of the usual suspects as what was in mine before i restored it was a very worn out 80s one.
I have only started the engine about 5 times since we got it running as i'm waiting for a few bits still to come back before i get it tuned.
It has now stopped locking, took it out and the casting has worn away already!
The casting on the old 80s one is much better and that locks fine still.
I'm presuming all the repro ones will be made by the same people or maybe someon knows different?
Do i need to hunt an old one down at a show or ebay? or try and modify a later genuine one?
Any suggestions please!
Thanks for your help

Jamie
nick@dunsdale
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 874
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:30 pm
Location: Scottish Borders
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Choke cable

Post by nick@dunsdale »

Jamie wrote:Morning
Quite a while ago i bought one of the repro locking Mk1 choke cables from one of the usual suspects as what was in mine before i restored it was a very worn out 80s one.
I have only started the engine about 5 times since we got it running as i'm waiting for a few bits still to come back before i get it tuned.
It has now stopped locking, took it out and the casting has worn away already!
The casting on the old 80s one is much better and that locks fine still.
I'm presuming all the repro ones will be made by the same people or maybe someon knows different?
Do i need to hunt an old one down at a show or ebay? or try and modify a later genuine one?
Any suggestions please!
Thanks for your help

Jamie




Ah flashback moment anybody remember a period mod for this problem back in the day........................................





you need one of these

Image




then you use it like this, sorry google did not have any with a mini dash layout

Image


I remember my dad's old mini's often had this high tec mod back in 70's
The best repairs go un-noticed
Jamie
850 Super
Posts: 207
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:47 am
Location: Surrey

Re: Choke cable

Post by Jamie »

:) so my only way round this is to find a genuine new old stock 1964 clothes peg?
STG95F
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 1423
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2011 6:10 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: Choke cable

Post by STG95F »

I am having the same problem , the repro ones are CRAP :x . why do they make them so bad ??
i am now on the look out for a N.O.S one



Ian
guru_1071
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 2109
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 7:47 pm

Re: Choke cable

Post by guru_1071 »

its even worse when the knob comes off and you punch yourself in the face!

i bought an extra long one the other week (for a project... 8-) ) that did one tug and failed - gah!
please note, these are my own, individual sales, nothing whatsoever to do with my employer, minispares
User avatar
Pandora
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 3105
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:01 pm
Location: Dunfermline, Fife

Re: Choke cable

Post by Pandora »

Jamie wrote::) so my only way round this is to find a genuine new old stock 1964 clothes peg?
exibit A: http://www.flickr.com/photos/44645707@N ... 6668652684

a photo of my old car showing both a crappy repro choke cable, and my period '64 wooden peg.

can anyone tell me how prevelent the use of plastic clothes pegs was by the mid '60s? perhaps I was wrong with the wooden one!
User avatar
Andrew1967
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 7903
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:35 pm
Location: Usually in my garage on the east coast of Norfolk, UK
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Choke cable

Post by Andrew1967 »

You're lucky for it to have lasted 5 uses - the one I bought did not work at all !!

By chance I had a NOS later BL type cable and the repro inner cable works perfectly in the OE outer cable, so problem solved.

I did complain to the supplier and to be fair, they did send me a replacement FOC. It's still hanging up in the garage and haven't tried it to see if it has the same problem but would not be surprised if it does.

Typical repro crap from China, I would hazard a guess at. :roll:
JC T ONE
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 3180
Joined: Fri Aug 13, 2010 5:25 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Choke cable

Post by JC T ONE »

No wonder that NOS items, recive the high bidding on Fleabay.

Which year was the throttle cable Brown ??
I have one, and vendor said it was for a very early MK I ?? is he right ?
morris-miner
998 Cooper
Posts: 502
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:50 pm
Location: Sunny Devon

Re: Choke cable

Post by morris-miner »

Ah PEG, Petrol Enrichment Gizzmo
User avatar
SteveG
998 Cooper
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 7:59 pm

Re: Choke cable

Post by SteveG »

guru_1071 wrote:its even worse when the knob comes off and you punch yourself in the face!

i bought an extra long one the other week (for a project... 8-) ) that did one tug and failed - gah!

haha classic
mk1
Site Admin
Posts: 19842
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:30 am
Location: Away with the Faries
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times

Re: Choke cable

Post by mk1 »

The peg & putting a new inner in an old outer both work perfectly well.

My personal preference is the clothes peg, far more original looking :lol:
User avatar
Pandora
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 3105
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:01 pm
Location: Dunfermline, Fife

Re: Choke cable

Post by Pandora »

extensive research leads me to believe that the period correct clothes peg for a '64 car is in fact the wooden / coil spring type.
for '59 fans, the traditional style of wooden 'dolly' peg is OE.
The use of all plastic pegs is correct for '66 model year onwards.

have a look at Beulieu.......


:D
Jamie
850 Super
Posts: 207
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:47 am
Location: Surrey

Re: Choke cable

Post by Jamie »

Thanks for the research!

I'm sure someone enterprising will start selling them, maybe with a photo of them all spilling out a bmc bag (bag not included obviously)
InimiaD
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 1526
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:20 pm
Location: West of Offas Dyke.

Re: Choke cable

Post by InimiaD »

Mine came in a box. Is that correct for the period.??

Image

There was 5 in the box, but her indoors used one to hang her smalls on the rotary. :lol: :twisted: ;)
User avatar
Pandora
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 3105
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:01 pm
Location: Dunfermline, Fife

Re: Choke cable

Post by Pandora »

sorry, but you've been had. these are poor repros. what tube falls for the old BMC box trick these days? :D

I now understand that the period correct pegs were in fact all aftermarket accessories and as such the more desirable ones were supplied by the likes of Speedwell, Downton, etc. either individually sealed on a backing card or arrayed on a dealer display card. The dealer display cards are of course highly prized.

Perhaps the most sought after however are those from 'Grays of George Street, Edinburgh' Purveyors of Fork 'andles and Brasso to the emminent char ladies of the new town. These were often supplied by the dozen, in a paper poke.

Several of these char ladies were apparently under the impression that the choke was in fact a pull out handbag hook.

What was this thread about?
Austin Cooper
Basic 850
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2010 12:53 am
Location: Bristol

Re: Choke cable

Post by Austin Cooper »

I was reminded of this topic when the new choke cable I put on my MGB stopped locking after 2 weeks, it is seriously annoying that these repro parts are such poor quality. Anyway, I decided to investigate and quickly discovered the cause of these premature failures, the little crescent shaped segment under the spring which the cable locks against is made of plastic, the originals are made of metal. It is no surprise that these cables fail so quickly as the plastic wears out with hardly any use. I took the metal segment from my old cable and put it on the new one, now it locks again and it has that satisfying 'click' that the new cable never had.
mk1
Site Admin
Posts: 19842
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:30 am
Location: Away with the Faries
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 5 times

Re: Choke cable

Post by mk1 »

Always worth sticking the new inner into the old outer.

M
The Collector
850 Super
Posts: 204
Joined: Sat Oct 02, 2010 6:36 pm

Re: Choke cable

Post by The Collector »

Funny really, my good wife-bless her-has used said pegs to hold a pr of her knickers on the washing line, alass the other day a pr of her knickers were stolen :shock: she's not to bothered about that perticular pr of knickers-but would like the 6 pegs returned :lol:
User avatar
Pandora
1275 Cooper S
Posts: 3105
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:01 pm
Location: Dunfermline, Fife

Re: Choke cable

Post by Pandora »

Any neighbours called Arnold Lane?

....moon-shine, washing line,
Arnold Lane, don't do it again!

8-)
bmcman.ie
998 Cooper
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:38 pm
Location: dublin ireland

Re: Choke cable

Post by bmcman.ie »

it was dark when i robbed those knickers, and no, you cant have the pegs back, but you will definitely get those knickers hung back on the line soon, jesus! :?
Post Reply