Bowdenex conversion

[John Gould]

I found this article in 'Car Mechanics' mag, Jan 1960. Quite interesting and might be useful to some folks.
ps. First pic should be read last!

[Colin Wilks]

Both my cars have the Bowdenex conversion, so thanks for posting this John. I like the idea of the time to just cut a hole in the floor to gain access and then bending it back once finished. Telling how attitudes to these cars have changed over the years, and reminds me I solved the less than weather proof nature of the hood on my Lotus Seven by drilling a drain hole in the footwell.

[John Cornforth]

Ah, the days when car magazines told you how to actually DO something, rather than fretting about smartphone compatibility or PCP rates !

I read somewhere that the term "Bowdenex" referred to a superior type of bowden cable where the outer was made of square section steel wire.  This made it fairly incompressible, and thus ideal for applications where it was called upon to transmit considerable pressure.

[Bob Culver]

The mix of Girling and earlier must have bewildered a few. It is easy to see why cars bear so many scars of crude work. Although not the prime theme, does skip over much. A direct analogy with bicycle cables and their accomodation of spacing changes would have made the operating principle instantly apparent. Many owners would not have owned an expensive Crescent; just an F spanner. No emphasis at all on the critical importance of the rear taper being very firm (and associated difficulty of dismantling). If Austin had designed the brake shoes for easy removal a lot of butchery would have been avoided. I can understand Bowden brakes on specials with lowered radius rods and very poor front axle support but seems little point on others esp with later radius rods.
As for the advice up the side, over the ages I have lost numerous tools and items using the car roof as a shelf. My fathers apprentices used to delight in reminding him of his RP driving through town with his roofing sand shoes on top.