I recently swore my way through the replacement of the front e-brake cable on my '67. Overly happy with myself, I went under the car to hook up the middle cable. I found out the new "replacement" cable is 6 inches longer than the original...which by this time was in 3 pieces.

Now the middle cable is too long. Since the new cable is 6 inches longer, I'm assuming that I need a middle cable about a foot shorter.

Anyone know where I can buy a new middle cable by length? Most ads are vehicle-specific and don't state length. The cable I need is about 8 feet long.

I ran into the same problem a while back and ended up shortening a cable I got from a junk yard with some cable clamps. It has stayed tight.

Cable Clamps?

Where might a worthy soul purchase such items?

Marine supply usually stocks the very small size and you can also pick up some great ideals cause the sail boat crowd is really into cable rigging.

Trees

Good idea Trees..the marine guys can make up a cable with swaged ends that is the correct length..of course it will be stainless wire..

OMT

__________________
I would rather make it work than make it popular..And if it does not work it will not be popular..

You can get the clamps at any hardware store like Home Depot. The above mentioned marine supply idea is defintely better though because they can swag the ends.

Here's a photo of what I did.

Being an ex-rigger at Newport News Shipbuilding, this method of using two clamps is sufficient, however for safety wire "fence", then ends should be secured with string to prevent the wire from slipping through, but if the clamps are tight enough, they aren't going to slip through.



(Pardon the rust while we're remodeling!)

Attached Thumbnails

 

One afterthought, this type of repair may not pass inspection if applicable in your state.

Excellent ideas guys. I'll try the marine angle first. I should probably replace the whole cable anyway.

Had to do something similar on my Jeep..... it works.

I have been looking for an OEM replacement cable for a while and gave up. It's one of those 66 things where they have it for every year but 66.

These things look cool, but they might be expensive: swagless wire rope fittings

Went to a marine supply place today. Thank God Michigan has the second highest number of registered boats in the US and I had a bunch of choices.

Anyway, you guys never warned me about speaking "Boatese". I asked for 1/8" stranded cable and got some blank stares. Finally, my linguistic expertise broke through the language barrier and I purchased some stainless cable. I'll need to make some measurements tomorrow and go back and have the ends crimped/swagged on.

Slicker than snot.