Proper way to cut a throttle cable?

Putting in a throttle cable for the first time, and I want to make sure that I cut it correctly, in spite of the vague directions. It's a Lokar cable, and the mount hole on the firewall is right behind the driver's side valve cover. It's only about 10" from the hole to the carb cable bracket, and I think it's asking a little to much to make it bend into two 90 degree angles back to back. I was thinking of accomplishing it through looping the cable, but didn't know if that was a no-no? I was thinking it would be similar to how I had to run the B&M shifter cable for my th350...they asked for no bends and wide loops. I thought this may be the ticket here, too.

Thanks!

 

Don't think that is what he was asking.

I am not exactly sure what you are trying to ask here. If you need to offset around the valve cover to the carb, you do not want tight 90 degree bends. obviously the cable must move freely. I don't know about looping it.

 

Hey man, I just cut a throttle cable for my car. For the cable itself I just used the sharpest wire cutters I had. I also used them on the cable housing. I then filed the end of the housing to make sure there were no burs. Worked fine.

 

Loop it if the hood is closed, if you screw it up Lokar will sell you another cable, all of the little fittings are where the cost is, I've bent them in a pretty tight radius you might be suprised how tight they can run without the danger of a stuck pedal..

 

If you can route the cable housing to your satisfaction without crimping it, the cable itself should move freely inside.

You can loop it initially, and if you don't like it try something else that's shorter.

 

If you loop it, you're adding 360 degrees of drag to the cable. Kind of like wrapping a rope around a tree and trying to pull on it. If you put an "S" bend in it, work it out so you have the largest radii possible. It should give you the least drag.

Maybe you could mock up the form with some blocks of wood and see how much drag you get.

 

uh... it would be nothing like wrapping a rope around a tree and pulling it since the cable is inside a housing.. I doubt you'd even fell the difference at your foot.

 

i have one looped, cant tell any difference at all

 

What?

 

to answer the question in the ***le,
I use an acetylene torch, very small tip and flame
put some tension on the cable and as the cable starts to melt gently pull it apart
the individual strands will fuse together and you will have a nice tapered end to feed

of course do not do this on the car or near fuel lines, carburetor, plastic or anything else that might cause grief if flame were applied

 

I cut mine with a hammer and chisel. (Tape it first so the strands stay together) Once cut, I put it in a vise and zapped the end very quickly with a shot from the mig gun to fuse the strands together. This last step is important because the strands will have a tendency to fray and if you have to undo the cable in the future you'll have a mess.

 

Measure cable, solder at the cut point and cut through the solder. No frayed ends.

As far as the bends/loops, test it out first to see if there is too much drag with the bends or loops. Of course you will need someone to help you with the test.

Just my two cents...

Scott

 

The Lokar throttle cable housing is teflon-lined for little or no drag.

 

I've always done it with the soldering method too.

 

Hey Zombie, where's the best place to buy swag from this year's event (t-shirts, metal signs, etc.) a couple of guys here at work love the design on my event t-shirt and want one of their own!