Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I have what I believe to be a standard throttle setup on my Webbers, but the linkage has a rather alarming tendency to come unclipped. I've seen what appear to more robust solutions on eBay.

See: eBay link

Does anyone have any experience of these?

Thanks,

James

Just had a look on the E Bay throttle cable bits. Seems a little OTT and expensive when a bit of bent wire is all you need to stop the throttle cable from detatching itself from the air box bracket. My +2 has had the bent wire treatment for years and never lost connection yet.

Gordon

I'have the same kit from tony tompson, but it's always on the list to do !

Reason for buy is same as you, Have few experience with cable uncliped !

Not very interesting !!!

Regards

melon.28
1970 S4 FHC

I don't know if all Weber throttle cables are the same but when mine became unhooked through pushing the lever down or an almighty bump or whatever, I put a second solderless nipple above the first and this prevented the cable from popping out.

Jimbo,

the picture on fleabay shows the TT Weber linkage.
I've had it fitted to my Zetec Elan for 6 years it's a good solid bit of kit. I only use one throttle cable.
Maybe a second cable is mandatory for some forms of motorsport.
The TT cables can be improved on though, the ones I was supplied with had a lot of friction. I bought some posh (read expensive) bike cable which uses a nylon sleeve running in a nylon sleeve.
That stopped the Kangaroo starts & vastly improved the handling (yes, think about it) & fun factor.
Check out TT's prices before going down the fleabay route.

John

Mine is actually coming off the throttle lever end, possibly because the cable is a bit sticky. I also tend to knock it off if blipping the throttle by hand when the bonnet is up ...

jimbo wrote:Mine is actually coming off the throttle lever end, possibly because the cable is a bit sticky. I also tend to knock it off if blipping the throttle by hand when the bonnet is up ...

James,

This being a Lotus, your arrangement may be different, but on my car there a brass cylinder fitted in the end of the throttle lever. The cable housing end fits into a recess in the side of the cylinder. There is a slot cut into the side of the cylinder that allows the cable to pass through - this allows the cable to be fitted into the cylinder recess after the cylinder has been placed in the throttle lever. OK so far?

The throttle lever essentially forms a "U" shape with holes in each side of the "U". The cylinder fits through these holes. The slot in the cylinder should point into the closed end of the "U", not the open end. This traps the cable in the "U". The worst that can happen is that the cable housing end pops out of its recess but it can't go far. This shouldn't occur in normal operation, only when blipping the throttle by hand as you described.

To assemble, start with the brass cylinder out of the throttle lever. Place the cable (the wire, not the housing) in the bottom of the "U" and then depress the lever slightly and insert the brass cylinder. (There is a flat on the slotted side of the cylinder to facilitate this.) Slide the cable through the slot and pop the housing end into its recess and you should be good to go.

If your cable is sticky, replace it - it's a safety issue and also makes the car less fun to drive (see recent posts).

Andrew,

Thanks for the info - it's appreciated. I'll check to make sure it's located correctly.

Cheers,

James

Hi James, et al,

This simple bracket and spring keeps tension on the "U" throttle lever. This in turn allows the brass cylinder to remain firm against the bowden cable, throughout the range of travel.

I've been hitting bumps in the road and "blipping" away to my hearts content for almost 40 years without the cable coming loose!

Regards,

Jim

(a new/old guy.... '65 Elan S2)