MTFCA Forum

Anyone know the right size pin to secure the commutator lever, on the end of the steering column?

I'm thinking of locating a nail of the correct diameter, cut and pien it over. That is how the throttle lever looks to be done.

A small finish nail is the correct size. It worked for me. Don’t know the size. I found one in my nail bin and braded it on. I used a back up on the head side and used a small hammer to brad down the other side.

The rivet pin is 3/32" x 9/16" length.

But that assumes your lever and rod holes are original and not worn.

Best for me a finishing nail, trimmed to length, the nail head already provides the outer side of the pin pre-peened!

That rod length, from the steering frame bracket, can't really wear, the hole may oversize, but that fix is a tad bigger nail, or you may have to grind the nail dia. of a bigger nail to fit. The lever arm hole can be worn larger, OR sometimes the shaft hole for the rod can be worn really over if the rivet was sloppy for a long time .

If the assembly of the rod and lever arm, as you slip the lever arm up the tip of the rod, allows the lever arm to really wiggle, that you can fix.

You can add some J-B Weld to the inner dia. of that lever arm as you slip it up. Then rivet the best you can with proper sized pin that fills the hole of the rod and the hole of the lever arm.

When done, you don't want any wiggle wobble of that little spark lever arm, or that will influence the action of the timer, and......you know.

I'm not a big JB Weld fan, but I think that is a good fix for this application.

Drill and tap the rod and lever out for a 8/32 screw

Don't allow the pin or what ever you use (rolled pin in mine) to stick too far out on the steering shaft side, it will bind on the steering shaft and not allow full rotation.

Since you have the lever off, make sure it's the correct one. The early ones are bent in the middle so the hole for the timer rod will lay flat when installed.

I used a piece of 3/32" stainless steel welding rod on the TT and the coupe when I replaced the spark and throttle rods. Cut them just a bit long and lightly riveted the ends. By useing stainless, I figured they may be easier to remove for the next owner/caretaker. Dave

Drilling and tapping that hole is just the kind of nonsense I don't like to see on this forum! If you want to mess your own car up, go ahead. Keep in mind there are people on this forum that are new to the hobby, and may take that kind of information as gospel!

Agree. Drilling and tapping is overkill. A nail or piece of metal rod work fine. In a pinch have used a cotter key, a bag tie or Henry wire for a temporary fix.