I have an S4 with Strombergs that the po installed, they are the high balance pipe type. My question is how to secure the throttle cable at the carb end. The po had clamped a small bracket to the balance pipe with hose clamps. I’d like to do something better that looks ‘right’ . In the attached photo you can get an idea what I’m trying to improve.
It’s because you don’t have the Stromberg version cam cover. That one has a flat area machined about half way down the inlet side where the cable outer is located. The inner then continues down to the throttle spindle.
These are the high-specification Strombergs.
The original plan was to drill a couple of holes and fit a simple bracket, but I’m hesitant. Is there a downside to drilling holes in the cam cover? In the correct cover are holes threaded or is the bracket affixed with bolts and nuts? The installations pictured look good. I’d have to replace the carb mounting bolts to fix anything as they are too short.
The Stromberg cover is thicker in the area where the bracket sits and the screw holes are tapped into the metal. The Weber ones are too thin to do that so it would have to be a bracket fixed to the sealing bolts - like 661’s - or similar using the manifold bolts. Doesn’t look that difficult to do either though.
The threads are tapped into blind bosses cast into the cover.
A good many engines have been converted from Stromberg to Weber heads over the years … maybe somebody has a Stromberg cam cover they would swap with your Weber one ? Try posting in the Wanted section on here.
He is a throttle cable bracket that I build myself. It was a first try, and after I am done with some other fixes, I will go back and make another that looks a little more elegant. It was done with aluminum stock, aluminum weld, and a propane torch. Here is a link for low temperature aluminum welding: youtube.com/watch?v=jtvOkI_pvMI
Anyone know the source to purchase, or are they standard bike cables?
Thought they were thicker?
Maybe a standard bike cable with a washer over the end
Are throttle cables on the elan not thicker?
The inner wire on my throttle cable is 1.50mm. I doubt it’s the original but its been on there for so long I can’t ever remember changing it. 1.50mm is a standard size for many bicycle and motorcycle applications and you can buy the inner on its own for around £1.50/ metre (ie very cheap). Not sure who you’d get it from in the US but I’ve used these people in the UK a number of times when I make up motorcycle cables -
venhill.co.uk/cables-and-co … trand.html
The pedal end has a nipple soldered on it (which is slightly tricky to do if you don’t have the bits) but the carb end uses a screw on type fixing. Mine looks like it was home made by a previous owner (it’s secure but doesn’t fit very well (so I suppose it could be Lotus!)).
Anyone have a picture of what the original Lotus Stromberg carb end cable fixing looks like?
Is this what you need or do you mean the bracket on the cam cover ? I have a drawing of that if needed.
Thanks for those Roger. It was the inner cable fixing to the carbs themselves I was after so your pictures were perfect. My attachment is not like that - picture below - which makes me wonder why someone would mess around with a very simple and perfectly adequate method. The only thing I can think of is that it looks like you have to pull the cable through the nipple to remove it and that does lend itself to the end fraying. Whichever DPO constructed my clamp must have wanted to avoid that as you can take it off without undoing the cable. Taking it off is very simple but putting it back on requires considerable experience of microsurgery
Oh my goodness!
Mine is the original type like Roger’s, easy to loosen and slip through and pull the whole thing out at the pedal-end, however when I bought a new one not terribly long ago from one of the US usual suspects, the sleeve was too short. I inquired about this and was told that that’s how they came from the maker, so I improvised by using a short piece from the old sleeve grafted-on with a couple of layers of heat-shrink tubing. So far so good, although I’ve hardly put any miles on it. To prevent fraying at the carb-end, I trimmed the cable to a decent length and then tinned the end, same way you’d tin an electrical wire to be soldered. Makes getting it back into the clamp really easy!
Hi Stuart,
Looks like your lever is clamped rigidly to the coupling shaft. The original set-up allows the lever to rotate slightly on the shaft and this is necessary so that the choke levers can rotate the throttle shaft to achieve fast idle without acting against the throttle cable return spring. My photo doesn’t show that very clearly as I can’t get the camera in there but the parts list does show the component parts.
Well you live and learn as they say. Yes, that’s exactly what happens and is probably partly why the choke cable is tough to pull out. I’ll have to investigate what bits I’m short of and see if they’re available. The set up I have now works perfectly well and has done for decades but it’s always niggled me slightly so an investigation wouldn’t be a bad thing to do. Thanks again.
Ray @RDent carries the standard LHD Stromberg throttle cables - 36S0703N $48.00, he also notes “Cable termination at one end (pedal end) only. No additional adjuster section as cable above. Adjust pedal free play at carburetor attachment.”