Well, it finally happened. I got my first S.O.S. call the other day from my son Aaron. Many of you followed our story over the past few years while we were rebuilding his '74 Dart Sport. He is attending Texas A&M University (yes, he is an Aggie) in College Station, Texas, about an hour and a half from home. He is still driving his Dart every day.

Aaron was travelling uphill on an overpass crossing over Hwy. 6 in Bryan, just a few blocks from his apartment, when the throttle cable snapped. The carburetor end of the cable snapped off just behind the little ball that keeps the cable in that little U-shaped clip. Fortunately, he was able to contact a buddy who was just a couple of blocks away and was towed home safely.

The best part of this story is that I was able to dig out three cables we had stashed away over the years and sent them to him overnight. One of them was correct for his slanted Dart, and he was back on the road in short order.

Since the braided cable is crimped into the end of the metal "ferrule" that slides over the end of the outer sheath, it seems there is no way to slip the cable out and replace it. Has anyone figured out a way to repair/replace the braided inner cable and continue using the throttle cable? If not, is there a source for new ones that also have the correct end that fits into the throttle pedal?

Two of the cables I sent Aaron have plastic "grommets" that snap into a hole in the firewall and are held in place with a thin metal clip. The one he actually used has a larger hole in the firewall, which is sealed off by using a gasket on the backside of the throttle pedal mounting base. The end of the cable passes through a rubber grommet in that same mounting base.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Jerry,

I needed this cable and one I wanted to do a parking brake conversion from driveline to rear wheel brake..

Look in your yellow pages for a place under "Riggers". These people make up cable for cranes, pipe slings, towables, and so on. They have the proper equipment to press the ball or other ending on a cable with sufficient force it will not come off. They provided new cable plus the pressing for less than $5 for me. I think it was a fun project for them as opposed to working with 2 inch diameter wire rope!

rock
'64d100

just use a piece of wire to move the car to a repairable destination?

_________________
87 d150 2bbl carb 225
79 f250 300 v8
97 cavalier z24
83 f150 straight 6
89 f450 diseal 4x4 dually 5sp

Mine's not a cable, but can you use a bicycle brake cable and come up with something to terminate one of the ends?

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I don't know how long your cable is, but I wound up using a go-kart cable on my van. The reason being is that I hooked up a Super 6 and had to modify stuff. You kinda have to get creative sometimes! Good Luck
http://www.gokartsupply.com/thcable.htm

I'm sure someone will chime in with part #'s an such for a direct replacement.I'll bet there's a few Aggies riding bikes and there is most likely a few bike repair shops in College Station so check them out for making a "custom"cable.Motorcycle shops are another good "maybe" source.

_________________
83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Yes, Aaron kept the broken cable so he can take it by a bike shop for them to look at. I'm sure that getting the braided portion of the cable repaired is not going to be a big deal for them. The only thing to work out is how to clamp the outer sheathing to the throttle bracket. I'll have to take a look at it next time Aaron comes home.

Jerry

_________________
There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Zip ties will free you.......

_________________
Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I have used a non-insulated butt connector for the end. You have to crimp it down very tightly with a piercing-type crimper. You can also get steel instead of the regular connector type (brass or copper), but you usually have to buy them in bulk.

_________________
Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

Get an Annealed nut from Fastenal I use them on cable all the time to make Coyote snares. You will pay about a Quarter for 1 and dont have to buy a full box most of the time. They can be hammered on or crimped with pliers I use 3/16 size.
Frank

_________________
Scrapple: Because a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
73 Duster - Race Car
66 Dart Wagon - DD
178" FED
82 D150
All Slant powered