WPVT Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 I thought I'd post my experience in hope that it might help someone in the future. I had to replace a broken inner speedometer cable on a 1929 truck. Rather than try to find replacement ends for the cable, I heated the old crimped ones to cherry red, at which point it was possible to pull them off the old broken cable. Then I re-bored them to the correct diameter for a slip fit on the new cable. A very easy job since the holes were already there and centered. I cut the new inner cable to length and used an hydraulic press and hex shaped die to re-crimp the ends. Then I lubricated the cable with graphite, installed it, and it was just like new. It can be challenging to find the right cable ends as well as the right replacement cable for an old vehicle. If you have the old ends, this method permits you to reuse them. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Nice work! Do you have any photos? I have a similar project to undertake and I'm worried about making a mistake on unobtainium parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WPVT Posted January 8, 2020 Author Share Posted January 8, 2020 I didn't take photos. It was really pretty simple. Heating the cable ends made them removable. Drilling them out was easy as it was only enlarging existing holes slightly. I was fortunate to have a crimper of the right type. The cable ends are mild steel so it doesn't take much pressure. The idea is to turn a cylindrical part into one that's hexagonal in section, and thereby reducing the size of the interior hole and squeezing the cable sufficient to hold it securely. If you know anyone who installs cable type porch and deck railings, they would have the perfect tool for the job. (You cannot use the type of crimper intended for aluminum fittings on wire rope.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 The staking tool that came with AC cables was quite simple. Some people squeezed them on a vise but many just struck them with a hammer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert_25-25 Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 I tried a similar approach but with not as successful. The end pulled off nicely, but the old part would not take the fatigue of recrimping. I think I would have been better off cleaning the end with solvent and then soldering them onto the new cable. They would be easy to remove again if needed. But you have to be careful that the solder does not wick up into the cable where it will make the cable stiff, so just put a very tiny piece of solder into the barrel, warm the barrel, and then push the cable into the hot solder. Even if you used a 2 part epoxy (JB Weld), heat would allow you to take it apart. For parts, look into this link. http://www.texasindustrialelectric.com/speedo.asp Hugh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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