Beck TD, Part 17: A Speedometer That Actually Meters Speed

Here's a little side trip from the recent brake work - getting the speedometer to work. Beck TD came with a cable sheath, with no cable inside, that I presume was the original stock MG part. It would connect to the speedometer, but not the transmission. On the Volvo Engined MGs group on Yahoo, Charlie Baldwin posted that he had found a company in British Columbia, Vintage British Cables, that could make a custom cable to mate the Volvo transmission to the MG speedometer. Charlie ordered one, and I did too. Mine was 68.5" long to match the MG cable I had.

Of course, with Beck TD it's never straightforward - the connection point for the cable on the transmission was mangled, looking like this:

Beck TD, Part 16: Three Bushings (Better Brakes, Part 2)

This is the second of several posts about rebuilding Beck's brake system. In my last post (link) I noted that the Internet called replacing the pedal shaft bushings in the frame, "the worst job you will ever do on your T car".  I'm happy to say that I've now done it!

Beck TD, Part 15: Better Brakes, Part 1 of Several

When I blogged about my first drive of the Beck TD on this link, I wrote this: "The brakes right now are truly abysmal. I understand why former owner (and racer) Steve Fox told me that he sold the car because the brakes were so bad." Further investigation led me to understand that the wheel cylinder on the left front was seized, and the one on the right was leaking. After I freed the seized one, it started leaking too. Time to replace a bunch of stuff.