Speedo cable help needed

Posted by Joseph Earl On 2012/6/23 11:23:38

The '48 has been running well, and I figured it was about time to see if I could fix the speedometer. It was stuck at 33,177 miles on the odometer, and a lube sticker indicated that mileage in 1957, so it apparently has been non functional for a while.

I bought a repair kit from NAPA, the kind where you cut the insert to length and stake a square aluminum peg on the speedo end.

There was nothing visible at the speedo end, so I disconnected the cable at the OD. Inserting the new cable in at the speedo end pushed the old one out at the OD side. The top end of the old one had been twisted and broken off, so I figured I'd better check and make sure the speedo wasn't binding.

I inserted a small screwdriver into the back of the speedometer, which was still in the dash, and it seemed to resist turning a little, but the more I turned it by hand the freer it got. I sprayed some electronic contact cleaner in and around the attachment point, and it loosened up some more. Finally, I cut a short length from the old cable, chucked it in my cordless drill, and gradually ran it to see if I could free it up some more.

Running the drill in reverse, I observed the top speed of the Makita at 60 mph.

It seemed to be working pretty well, and short of removing the instrument cluster and disassembling the speedometer for a good cleaning, I thought it would be okay for now.

Not having a complete cable insert to measure the exact length needed, I inserted the new one until it engaged fully with the gear in the OD, and marked where I thought it should be. I cut it, and attempted to stake the end onto the cable with the tool provided. I put it all together, and testing with the car on stands, and got no activity on the dial. I then removed the cable from the speedo, and the cable released and sprung back to the resting position.

Thinking I had the cable too long causing it to bind, I removed the end, shortened it, and tried to re-stake the end. That doesn't work too well. The end didn't hold, and I had to try and pull the cable out of the housing with needle nose pliers and somehow began to unravel the cable which is now stuck in the housing!

So, summarizing, here is my plight. I either need to obtain a replacement speedo cable assembly, or try to pull the unravelling insert from my existing housing and buy another kit from NAPA and try again.

I'm wondering if there are any used cable assemblies out there- I don't have the money to invest in the Kanter offering- or even if I could just get a used housing, and somehow the proper measurement to cut the insert to the correct length.

I also would like to remove the instrument cluster, but upon examination of the dash, I seems nearly impossible to get at anything. Any tips on that?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!