Best method the shorten a throttle cable?

[John_parkeriv]

Hey y'all, making some progress on my 66 and I'm going to put a new throttle cable in it. Ordered one off of summit, I think it's about 24 in. long. From the pedal to the ball on the EFI unit it sticks out about 6 in. I've never cut down a throttle cable, but it looks like I'm going to have to for this one. I haven't got enough cable to do a loop or anything to take up space.

What's the best way to cut one of these cables down? Or how have y'all used them in the past?

Thanks!

 

[papy]

I used and aluminum double barrel ferule to customize my explorer cable on the pedal end

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[1970 Palmer]

When you cut any braided wire cable it's very important to follow these simple directions.

Hold the wire tightly between your thumb and index finger at the point you choose to cut the wire.

Use a sharp wire cutter as close as possible to your thumb.

This will result in a tight/sharp edge cut and not allow the fine braided wires to fray.

This is how it's done in the bicycle industry every day.

 

[John_parkeriv]

When you cut any braided wire cable it's very important to follow these simple directions.

Hold the wire tightly between your thumb and index finger at the point you choose to cut the wire.

Use a sharp wire cutter as close as possible to your thumb.

This will result in a tight/sharp edge cut and not allow the fine braided wires to fray.

This is how it's done in the bicycle industry every day.

So cutting it is similar to -AN braided lines, makes sense. Once you've got the cable in two parts, what holds them back together? Just those nuts on the braided part?

 

[SteveL]

I wrap em with electrical tape before cutting. If you can slip the end fitting on before cutting and slide it back to desired spot.

 

[1970 Palmer]

So cutting it is similar to -AN braided lines, makes sense. Once you've got the cable in two parts, what holds them back together? Just those nuts on the braided part?

Don't confuse cutting a cable with a housing with an AN braided hose, it's an apples and oranges comparison. This is many times easier to fabricate.

The only thing to consider is that you need to measure and cut the housing first, not the inner cable wire. Remove the wire from the hosing BEFORE you cut the inner wire. Make sure you leave a little extra "S" length in the housing to allow for engine movement between the ridged firewall and the flexible engine movement. Stick a screwdriver into the carb to hold the choke fully open and the choke fast idle cam not engaged. The Lokar (universal) throttle cables come with wire ends that have a couple of small Allen screws to retain the cable at it's new length. Do not remove the new end from the wire after it's installed with the Allen screws, it WILL fray.

Sometimes, when you cut the outer housing, you crimp the hosing spring and need to touch it to a bench grinder to get a nice square cut end without any interference with the inner wire movement.