The installation of the spedometer cable between the type 9 gearbox and the rear of the dashboard
is problematic. The cable exits the gearbox at right angles to the case and pointing slightly downwards
on the offside. The transmission tunnel is not a great deal wider than the gearbox case at this point.
Simply attaching the drive cable to the gearbox and forcing it into the tunnel leaves a cable turning
through a right angle shortly after exiting the gearbox in order to pass the bell housing, avoid a hot
exhaust, and route through a hole in the bulkhead to the rear of the dashboard.
The perceived wisdom is that the cable should not have any bend within 2 to 3 inches from a connection
and a MINIMUM radius of 6 inches anywhere between connections. For more information see
Speedograph Richfield Ltd
The chance of an Exmo being on the road today with this arrangement must be small, it would not last long
and need an engine/gearbox out to detatch the broken cable.
So what are the alternatives?.
Use a GPS speedometer, a solution not peculiar to the Exmo.
Use an electronic speedometer that uses pulses from a sensor attached to the cable
drive at the gearbox. There are many available, most will require a small adapter that
converts the type 9 flat collar connection to a threaded male connector. For example
carbuilder.com
or
demon-tweeks.com
Fit a right angle drive adapter. The bespoke adapter for this purpose can be obtained
from here
burtonpower.com
although I don't know if this has been fitted successfuly by any Exmo owner, please let me know
if you have. Notice that the way the cable or drive attaches to the gearbox is via a flat circular
collar that is held in by a circlip expanding into a groove in the gearbox case apeture. Some
alternative drive adapters for other gearboxes use a female threaded collar to a threaded male
on the gearbox. An adapter that converts the type 9 attachment to the threaded type (see above)
could be used with a possibly less costly 90 degree adapter with two threaded connectors.
Cut a hole in the transmission tunnel, run the cable on the drivers floor and loop round to rear of dashboard. This is the cheap option, it
has obvious challenges however. Apart from position, the aperture needs to be large enough to facilitate the fitting of the circlip
when the cable is attached. Such a hole could also be useful if a sensor is fitted, to save having to remove the engine and
gearbox for maintenance or replacement. Here is an example of such a hole.
