Broken throttle cable question

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J

Justcruisin'

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Near Fresno, Calif
The throttle cable on my '65 'cuda broke today. It snapped off at the end where it goes thru the hole in the bracket . My question is this: before I start looking for one on Monday, is there one type that is better than another? Is it going to be hard to find one for the '65? It has a 273 with a 4 bbl. Since I'm new to vintage cars, and I'm a mechanically challenged female, any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Also, just before it broke the car was bogging down like it wasn't getting any gas and it backfired a couple of times. I got it back to the barn, parked it, & shut it off. When I tried to start it again later that's when the cable snapped. Is it possible that the cable had been kinked & sticking? I sure hope I don't have a throttle problem AND a fuel line problem.
 
LOKAR makes a great cable, I have the throttle cable and the kickbown cable on my '68. To me, they are made better than the original. Cut to fit and easy to install. Peace
 
You can thread a piece of bicycle brake cable through the housing if you want, it's the same thing really. It might not look 100% correct, but it will work exactly the same way. It's just a cable. Obviously something is wrong if it snapped off, maybe the angle of it at the carb was making it pinch or maybe it was rusty inside and sticking?
 
A stock unit should snap like that. It should be just fine as a replacement. If it needs to be "Correct" to the car, thats another story.
Reguardless, did the pedal feel stiff to push on?
Is the carb stock to the engine? On the bog of the carb, besides a good cleaning, or rebuild if that bad, a simple tune up, clean filter and such may be inorder. Tuning a carb is trail and error for newbies and not a big deal. It'll just take a little time. O2 sensors are great for this if the expense is OK with you.
and I'm a mechanically challenged female, any tips would be greatly appreciated.
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Thats what were all here for. Female or not. Believe me, I've meet alot of guys that fit that description help and school by the girls. Consider this and other things you do as "Cutting your teeth" on it. Gotta learn somehow. We were all there once.
Have faith and keep an even temper. You can do it.
 
I`ve used 65s`s suggestion more than once and never had a problem. The secret is to use shifter cable, not brake cable that you can cut with wire cutters. The cable and a cable stop will cost you about $5.00.Perhaps if you took the cable with you ,someone at the shop will string it for you.
 
Make sure the pedel is not over running the carb. Meening that when the pedel is floored its not pulling the carb past wot. Happend to me back in the day. Just my 2 cents.
 
Thanks for all the help! I've got the cable out & someone is looking for a new cable for me. I live in the boonies so it takes a day or two to get parts. With luck, the car should be up & running in a couple of days.

The carb is not stock - it's an Edelbrock 4bbl that only has a few hundred miles on it. I put a new air filter on it yesterday, too. We had 2 weeks of snow and cold damp weather. All the problems started the first time I drove it after the bad weather. I'm thinking that the ugly weather could have had something to do with it.
 
Good news, the throttle cable is fixed. I found a mechanic who lives just down the road from me and does mobile work. He customized a new bracket where the cable attaches to the carb. It works much better! The old one made a bit of a turn at the end and I bet that's why it wore thru. Now it feels much more smooth. It was sticking pretty bad before.

Bad news, the engine is still bogging down. We will look at the fuel filter today & the mechanic will check out the carburator. I put on a new air filter & also ran some Seafoam thru the gas. The carb is a brand new Edlebrock so I'm hoping that it's just a minor problem.

The car got detailed last week, too. It's looking good! It probably won't make it to the car show tomorrow so I'll take my '62 Fury & have a good time. The weather has been so incredibly bad here that everyone has cabin fever. I'm ready for cruise nights & car shows!!!
 
Justcruisin, did this bog just start after you put the new air filter on there, and what kind of a filter is it? You may be blocking a vent or causing some other problem with the new filter. Have any photos of your rides that you can post? We all LOVE pictures. :) Good luck.
 
The bogging started just prior to the throttle breaking and prior to putting the new air filter on.

Here are pics of both cars:

furyat show.jpg


cuda 010.JPG
 
I believe so, but not sure. Pioneer is the one that sells the throttle cables. they have 2 sizes. Magnum HP sells these to go with their throttle brackets for taller intakes.
 
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