Bicycle Mechanics - Hello from Ohio and need help

Hello. Can anyone help me with a small problem. I need a diagram of a 3 speed shifter assembly for a Huffy Regatta. I needed to replace the cover for the shifter because it's broken and the cable slips out of place. So being the do it yourself kind of person I took the cover off and then the cable promptly came out of the slot and I can't figure out how to put it back in. I went to the library and looked through all of the repair books they have and I've been digging through the internet to no avail. The bike cost me nothing last year through my communities freecycle, everything else is in working order.

Hello there are a few different 3spd shifters. does this help?

http://sheldonbrown.com/sturmey-archer/cable.html

The results of a quick Google search lead me to believe the Huffy Regatta used a Shimano PPS 3-speed hub and shifter.

Does your shifter look like this?

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/k4drd/Bicycles/Shimano3-speedShifter.jpg

Yes my shifter is very much like the one in the picture except that where the cable goes in the cover has a neck that is broken. That is the whole problem because the cable slips inside the shifter and doesn't work. I had all my cables replaced last year when I got the bike. I wanted to have it for running to the library and some other local errands to save gas.

If the shifter in the pic is actually what you have on your bike, it is a unique system that was abandoned by Shimano many years ago. It used a solid wire instead of a cable to shift, so it's harder if not impossible to find parts for it since nothing interchanges with newer stuff. Really-it's way worse than trying to find 20 year old French or Italian car parts!

Good luck in your search!

One caveat:

Sturmey-Archer shifters aren't compatible with Shimano shifters. Too bad, too, as finding Shimano 3-spd. shifters presents a real challenge. This is why I pulled my Shimano hub and installed a new Sturmey-Archer.

Good luck!

Vegasmom, where in ohio? Orrville Cycling and Fittness may be able to help. Plenty of old school parts there.

In Cleveland, Vegasmom? Then give Jim at Ohio City Bike Co-op a call. Many, many old parts!

Hello I now have a picture of the shifter so you can see exactly what the problem is. What I need is the cover for the shifter. You can see where it is broken.

Every shifter for a Shimano 3-spd. hub I've seen are broken like that. Must be a conspiracy. But they can usually still shift.

It won't shift because the cable slides out. I'm stuck in 3rd gear. I will keep searching maybe something will turn up on ebay. What about a hand shifter?, the type that was like a handgrip.