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I'm now into the fun part of restoring my 72 Z- actually digging through the parts boxes and bolting stuff on.
Most of the parts in those dusty boxes are new or have been reconditioned.
But not all....
I discovered that my parking brake cable is toast:
The price of a new cable is eye-watering. And I haven't been able to find any mention of someone changing only the cable, but lots of talk about sourcing from eBay and wreckers, so I began looking at alternatives. The OEM cable is slightly less than 4mm, so any replacement must match that to slide in the sheaths.
Most cable suppliers sell cable in large rolls and I really don't need 1000 feet, so I looked at marine suppliers (The Chandlery in Ottawa). I discovered that you can buy 7x7 3/32 - 5/32 PVC covered stainless cable by the foot - and the copper nickel swaging clamps to match. A perfect replacement. The original cable is steel - the stainless is an upgrade.
Total cost of 10 ft of cable and 5 clamps was $23 with delivery and taxes. Worth a try.
The new cable slides easily in the OEM cable sheath.
swaging process.jpg
I stripped the PVC back, folded the cable back on itself and through the swage clamp for strength.
The coating must be removed for strength at the swaged end.
Swage one side, then pull the other end by levering with pliers.
Use wire strippers to strip the coating, then cut the cable with a grinder cutoff wheel to make a clean cut.
swaged ends.jpg
I swaged the cable ends with a vice and dull chisel. The first end is easy.
Then use the old cable to get the total length right, assemble the entire rig and cut the cable to length.
The cable on the second end can be pulled through enough to properly clamp and swage.
new cable end.jpg
Here's what the cable end looks like with the new cable in place.
new cable.jpg
This is the yoke assembled with the new cable.
The cables slide easily and the swaging process should match the OEM strength
I put a light coating of anti-seize on the cable as it threaded it into the sheath for good measure.
I took my time, but the whole process took about 30 minutes.
Most of the parts in those dusty boxes are new or have been reconditioned.
But not all....
I discovered that my parking brake cable is toast:
The price of a new cable is eye-watering. And I haven't been able to find any mention of someone changing only the cable, but lots of talk about sourcing from eBay and wreckers, so I began looking at alternatives. The OEM cable is slightly less than 4mm, so any replacement must match that to slide in the sheaths.
Most cable suppliers sell cable in large rolls and I really don't need 1000 feet, so I looked at marine suppliers (The Chandlery in Ottawa). I discovered that you can buy 7x7 3/32 - 5/32 PVC covered stainless cable by the foot - and the copper nickel swaging clamps to match. A perfect replacement. The original cable is steel - the stainless is an upgrade.
Total cost of 10 ft of cable and 5 clamps was $23 with delivery and taxes. Worth a try.
The new cable slides easily in the OEM cable sheath.
swaging process.jpg
I stripped the PVC back, folded the cable back on itself and through the swage clamp for strength.
The coating must be removed for strength at the swaged end.
Swage one side, then pull the other end by levering with pliers.
Use wire strippers to strip the coating, then cut the cable with a grinder cutoff wheel to make a clean cut.
swaged ends.jpg
I swaged the cable ends with a vice and dull chisel. The first end is easy.
Then use the old cable to get the total length right, assemble the entire rig and cut the cable to length.
The cable on the second end can be pulled through enough to properly clamp and swage.
new cable end.jpg
Here's what the cable end looks like with the new cable in place.
new cable.jpg
This is the yoke assembled with the new cable.
The cables slide easily and the swaging process should match the OEM strength
I put a light coating of anti-seize on the cable as it threaded it into the sheath for good measure.
I took my time, but the whole process took about 30 minutes.
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