Reverse Lights & Speedo Cable ii

Got a new speedo cable and a new reverse switch and a pair of ridiculously tall but very useful blokes and made a start. No way would my stomach have fit under that car!

Crappy old speedo cable

(Watching Simon) fit the new cable!

Lionel got on with the switch using the new electrics from a few weeks ago. 

Job done: working speedo and working reverse lights. Thanks chaps! 

Reverse Lights & Speedo Cable i

On 20th July, the Tamed Electrician and I had a go at fixing the reversing lights and the shafted speedo. The speedo hasn't worked properly since April when it was taxed. It was found that the cable had buggered. At one end is a lump of metal that fits into the gearbox. It was still in the gearbox but it couldn't be guaranteed that the cable was pushed in properly. The problem was the plastic plug that fits into the speedo housing, This was cracked and taped up badly. New cable required.

The reverse lights used to flick on and off between first and second gear. They eventually stayed on at ll times. I temporarily fixed it by unplugging the bulbs at the back! It was a the reverse switch. It would appear that I tightened it too tightly all those months ago. The 12 volts to the switch had also disappeared for some reason  so Lionel found some more electric in another wire. Another switch required.

Dodgy switch

Finding some electric

Roof Down in -3

That was cold! Villa hat on and gloves on. I looked like a bellend, but a nice crisp drive to work.
Usual problem of the temp gauge suggesting the engine was about to blow up. I'll have to get another sender and thermostat, failing that, another gauge.

Oh and the speedo has decided to stop working. It must have been knocked when we were trying to fix the taco over the winter. That doesn't work either!

You put the dashboard in...

... the dashboard out ... well, that was the plan. in fact the plan was quite ambitious this weekend. With Lionel's assistance, I was going to change the dash from grey to black, change the clocks at the same time, lay the speaker wires and fit all of the carpets!

The dash was unscrewed and the clocks came out(ish). It was decided that we would test the new (they are the ones salvaged from the Teabag!) speedo by bodging the cable in the back of the clocks and a quick burn/backfire up the road. It didn't work. It must be the speedo cable then.

As if by magic, Simon appears. As if by a little more magic, Paul appears. Paul then showed us where the speedo cable meets the gearbox. He accomplished this task by jacking one of the sides of the car very high. Whilst Simon (as he is the only member of the pit crew who can get under the car to undo the speedo to box holding screw thing, (maybe Lionel but he was still having fun and games with the dash)).

It was at this point that Paul noticed that the rear springs had popped out of their rubber mountings. he was not unduly concerned as he had obviously seen this sort of thing before. However, I was and I hadn't. Whilst worrying, we tested the speedos in both consoles to see what was going on. This involved fiddling with a drill, Artur Daley style. It was found that the "new" one worked fine. And thus, it was installed.

It was at this point that I realised for the first time, that BL had made slight changes to the console in the year between a fixed head V and a drop head W. It became clear that all was not well when the choke light illuminated when the hand brake was pulled and that the fuel light came on when the main beam was flashed. Even I managed to work out that this was not correct. If I recall correctly, Lionel called me something unpleasant and Simon buggered off for a tab.

But fear not. Paul came back to help fix the spring thing and Simon came back to retighten the box-speedo screw thing. The eventual solution was to remove the speedo from the "new" console and to swap it with the defunct one. Overall, another good day as I can now insure it and get it MOTd as the miles now go round. Not as much completed as planned though! However, I did manage to find the time to swap the grey door pillar edges for some black ones! Black really does look better than grey! [NB. Sorry Line, I know it is a difficult one but I still want to change the grey dashboard for the black one!]