Help please installing bonnet release cable

[Bayless]

I have a new cable for my '67 Sprite including the 2 clips the catalog shows. I have the cable installed and the clip on the inner wing but I can't seem to find anything to anchor the end of the housing near the latch. there is a small hole in the slam panel right at the wing that seems to be the right size for the second clip but it doesn't hold the cable tight enough to keep it from slipping. It seems like there should be a solid stop for that purpose. There is a small hole in the vertical bulkhead just below that which could stop the housing but the inner cable is not long enough to reach the latch from there. Can anyone tell me how this should go together? I'll try to get photos tomorrow if that would help.

 

[equiprx]

Sometimes wire rope cables have swagged lugs on the ends.
More often I have seen small blocks or tubes with set screws to hold the wire in place.
Any competent bike or boat shop should be able to fab up what you need, even a longer cable.

 

[JPSmit]

just took a couple of quick pics of mine. (1976)

The cable goes into the shroud on the (LHD) drivers side of the car. This is the pic if that makes sense. The hole shroud is what holds the cable in place

and then the cable itself is anchored to the bracket like this

let me know if that doesn't make sense. good luck!

 

[Bayless]

Thank you very much JP for the photos. They make perfect sense. That little hole was the only thing I could find and it does line up right. Unfortunately my new cable from Moss doesn't fit. Either the cable is too short or the cover is too long. I bought it last year and just now installing so likely too late to return. I wonder if I can just cut the cover a little shorter?

 

[JPSmit]

Thank you very much JP for the photos. They make perfect sense. That little hole was the only thing I could find and it does line up right. Unfortunately my new cable from Moss doesn't fit. Either the cable is too short or the cover is too long. I bought it last year and just now installing so likely too late to return. I wonder if I can just cut the cover a little shorter?

I imagine you can - though you might have fraying issues down the road. I find it odd that the cable doesn't fit. Perhaps if you cut it at the dash end? Did you get a whole new cable or just the insert?

 

[Bayless]

I bought a whole new cable except for the bracket at the handle. Fortunately I have the old cable and rescued it from there. I pulled the new one back out today and compared it to the old. The cover on the old one is 52 inches long. The new one is 58 inches. Both actual cables are the same length, well within an inch anyway. That 7 extra inches makes the cable a good 3 inches too short to reach the lever.

 

[equiprx]

I bought a whole new cable except for the bracket at the handle. Fortunately I have the old cable and rescued it from there. I pulled the new one back out today and compared it to the old. The cover on the old one is 52 inches long. The new one is 58 inches. Both actual cables are the same length, well within an inch anyway. That 7 extra inches makes the cable a good 3 inches too short to reach the lever.

If you can remove to new wire rope from the cable, you can cut off the excess cover.
The best way I find is to wrap with duct tape and use a dremmel or some form of cut off wheel.
Any form of saw blade only makes a mess of the metal inside the cable.

 

[SaxMan]

If you can pull the cable out of the housing, Park Tool makes a cable housing cutter that will cut the housing neatly. I'll have to look at my hood release cable, but a ferrule for a bicycle brake cable housing might fit over the exposed end to alleviate the potential fraying issues. It may be a bit much for a one-time repair, but if you ever have to replace cables and cable housing on a bicycle, it's a great tool to have.

You don't want to use the cable housing cutter with the cable still in the housing, it will cut the cable as well.

 

[Bayless]

Thanks for the cutting advice guys. I do have some Dremel fine cutoff disks. called Moss yesterday and they will call me back? They had the overall length of 63-1/2 but not the cover length. Pretty obvious though that the difference between 58 and 63 will not reach that 10 or so inches. My questions were 1) can I cut it, and 2) if I order another one will I get the same useless thing.