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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!

Can't help on the cluster removal -- been too long. Would wonder about the condition of wires and how they will react if you start disturbing them though.

In addition to the cleaner, suggest at a minimum a drop or two of oil in the oil hole. Yours may be in a different location or partially hidden but there is a felt wick to the bearing somewhere. Better yet, remove and clean inside then lube. This speedo is from a 47 and the gear train inside was full of dried grease which was causing a bind. Would halfway expect yours might be in almost similar shape.

As to cable, no real suggestion other than wacky ones. Maybe hanging the cable vertically with OD end up and turning in the direction needed to see if you can wind the strand back up and also let gravity help get cable down. Possibly take it to some grass and make like a whip to see if the cable would come out with centrifugal force. Don't believe that OD end can be taken apart but could be wrong. Once it's out then a new inner cable. Believe most cables are unidirectional -- even with both ends attached.

Here is a photo of the 47 end which I think is the same as yours. Length is about 1/2 inch extended when fully seated in OD end.

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Thanks, Howard.

My cable must have developed a knot inside, and as I pulled a few strands came out and now I'm unravelling the whole cable.

The info about the extension at the speedo end along with the lubrication hole is just what I needed. If I had know about the 1/2" measurement, I probably would have been successful in my attempt at replacing the cable. I probably jammed it into the speedometer causing it to bind.

I do know the cable can come out the OD side, but I'm thinking if I have a knot it's not going to come out either end very easily.

If I can get it out, I'll get another kit at NAPA and try again using your measurement.

I am surprised yours was configured to come out the OD end. Didn't realize it would fit because of the gear that slides inside the bottom adapter. That shoulder on the cable bottoms in the top cup on this one & prevents cable from dropping down. It appears to extend about 1/2" into OD end as well so I guess maybe no difference but if the stop is on top, then cable can be removed from inside the car to lube and service rather than having to crawl under.

EDIT If any help, this cable is from a 47 Custom 8 with R9. You can check parts list to see if same as yours. If so, the cable itself is 80" with the stop at 1" from the end. The housing from tip of adapter end (no gear) to tip of top cup is 81 1/8 + another 1/2" of cable extending for 81 5/8..

I guess it came out the OD end because the top was missing. Normally, you would pull it out the top, but when I removed the outer cable from the speedo, there was nothing there. I simply removed it at the OD, removed the gear, and pushed it through from the top with the new cable.

So the total length of the inner cable should be 81-5/8" total, tip to tip?

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That is a different cable than I've used before. I've always used the type with the flat shoulder on the tip which will duplicate the original.

Total length of my inner cable is 80" with the flat side or base of stop at 1" from one end. It is for a 47 though. Measure your housing length. If it is 81 1/8" then it is same as mine. If not, then you need to cut your cable so there is 1/2 extending at top end and if like this one, 1/2 sticking into bottom of adapter or end is just past that small diameter portion before the shoulder.

This photo of my 47 adapter. Dimensions are 1 5/8 from shoulder to tip. Inserting a small 1/4" wide ruler inside hole, I can go in 2" before it bottoms in the narrow part where the flex attaches when empty and 1 1/2" with cable installed and sticking inside. If that is your adapter end, then we have different cables.

EDIT: Here is a picture of a Dorman cable. This end is the kind I have used before. It matches the original end shown in my picture in the earlier post above fairly well.

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The cable in you bottom photo looks exactly like the repair kit I bought from NAPA. One end has the square flattened for insertion into the OD, and the other is where you cut it to length and stake the supplied end on it.

My big problem now is just getting the cable out of the housing. I really messed up when I tried to pull it out the second time- my fitting was trial and error, culminating in the latter.

Just curious, in regular maintenance, who goes to the trouble of oiling the speedometer at the point described in you photo?

Could you imagine a mechanic in 1951 having to remove the instrument cluster or dash in a three year old car in order to put a drop of oil in the speedometer cable housing?

I guess we are spoiled today by eternally lubricated impregnated plastics, or however they do it now. I know you can service some modern autos that have front hubs that don't use grease, but instead are sealed for life. You just replace the whole rotor/hub assembly. Planned obsolescence.

Best bet would be to feed the new cable through from the top end with the drive gear in place until it bottoms out at the transmission end. The socket in the drive gear is almost 1" deep, so the squared end of the cable should stop it before it hits bottom in the drive gear. Subtract about 1/8" for expansion and mark the cable at the top end so that the new tip will extend about 1/2" past the end of the housing.

Edit: That's assuming you can get the remnants of the first replacement cable out of the housing.
Good luck!

That sounds about right. I wish I had read this post a few days ago before I wrote it!