The 'E' Type Forum

I’m nearing completion of the conversion of my series 1 3.8 FHC; brakes & clutch all bled, wiring completed etc. and I am about to install the dash panels today, fingers crossed,, I have a new RHD speedo cable which formed part of the kit from Hutsons but have noticed that when (out of curiosity) I offered up the the existing LHD speedo cable to the location of the new dash, all appears to be ok in that the cable isn’t being stretched and there are no kinks or tight bends to impede its operation. This has been confusing me but it then occurred to me that my car has had the gearbox changed at some point to a 4.2 unit and I wondered if this would perhaps mean that the LHD cable will also fit on the RHD; can anyone shed any light on this please.
Many thanks
Graeme

I have the "correct" RHD speedo cable in my 3.8 FHC with an all synchro box fitted.

It is about a foot too long. I solved this by routing it backwards around the tail housing then forwards on the passenger side and thence to the dash. I used a P clip on one of the gearbox top plate bolts to hold the cable in place. It seems to work.

Just to check, do you mean the LHD cable is 1foot too long.

No the RHD cable.

It's either 60 or 66"; can't remember.

abowie wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 06, 2019 9:21 am

No the RHD cable.

It's either 60 or 66"; can't remember.

The correct length for a 3.8 cable is 60 inches. Mine had the wrong size fitted and I had one made to order by Speedograph Richfield in the correct grey colour that Smiths Flexible drives were originally produced. Excellent service from them at a very reasonable price.

Can’t determine the length of my LHD cable as it’s fitted to the car but is there any reason why it won’t work; as mentioned the cable run seems fine but will its length impact on the accuracy of the speedo operation.

Grobinson wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 06, 2019 8:20 pm

Can’t determine the length of my LHD cable as it’s fitted to the car but is there any reason why it won’t work; as mentioned the cable run seems fine but will its length impact on the accuracy of the speedo operation.

It'll be fine as long as it's in good condition. It just transfers RPM from the gearbox to the speedo.

As Andrew has said, the length should not make a difference. The only thing I would add (which was the issue on my car), was that the additional length had resulted in the radius of the curve going up to the bulkhead grommet being too sharp. This meant the speedo jumped a lot above 50mph. Fitting the correct length cable meant it was a smooth curve down to the bell-housing bracket with the result that there is no jumping now at all.