Help. I'm assembling the rear suspension and driveline on my 67 SB. I need information on the parking brake cable which runs between the left and right parking brake assemblies. The rubber boots are cracked. Can I still purchase this cable in its original cosmetic form? Is it possible to take mine apart and replace the rubber boots? If so, how should I refasten the metal ball on the end of the cable? Thank you
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Re: 67 Parking Brake Cable
Craig, I believe that the repro parking brake cables are close to originals with the exception of the large boots. Paragon sells the correct boots that can be stretched over the ball and spring. use some silicone grease to help slide the boot over the ball. -
Parking brake cable restoration
Craig,
It turns out I've just submitted an article to the Corvette Restorer on 65-82 rear brake cables, so I've looked into this issue in some detail. (Given the current backlog of stories in the Restorer pipeline, my article is unlikely to appear until 2005.) When you say the boots are cracked on your original cable, which boots do you mean? The larger ones on the outboard side of the armored section of cable? Or the smaller boots on the inboard side of the armor?
Paragon does sell a repro of the larger boot and they say that one can put it on by slipping it over the ball end fitting and over the spring, but frankly I think this will be tough to do. Paragon claims it's possible, but I wouldn't want to try it.
Regarding the smaller inboard boot, no one makes this item. I've experimented with molding my own small boots and I've come up with a good technique, but the only elegant way that I can get these smaller boots on the cable is by cutting off the ball end fitting at one end of the cable and then sliding off the old hardware and then sliding on my boots and hardware again. The problem is then how to reattach the ball end fitting and this is indeed a challenge. To do this I created two matched swaging blocks that can be used in conjunction with a hydraulic press, but when I test the pull-off strength of my re-swaged ball end fitting, I get about two-thirds of the strength of the original GM swaged ball end fitting. So, while my restored brake cable looks 100% like the original cable, it is not as strong because of the weak link of the re-swaged ball end fitting. Now one could probably weld or braze the ball end fitting to make it as strong as the GM construct, but then this would be non-original.
Regarding buying a new cable, as far as I know all of the Corvette catalog companies simply resell the current CG service replacement cable. Unfortunately, this cable is cosmetically incorrect in 4 ways: 1) the large outboard boots are a bellows style; 2) the small inboard boots are missing altogether; 3) the armored section is completely different; 4) the spring is the incorrect diameter and finish.
So, if you have your original cable and you are interested in maintaining the original cosmetics and if your small inner boots are still in good shape, then I would suggest you buy some repro outer boots from, say, Paragon, and try putting them as using whatever technique Paragon suggest.
If you're inner boots are shot as well, there isn't much you can do. I toyed with the idea of selling the small inner boots that I can make, but as I said the only way these can be put on is either by removing the ball end fitting and then somehow reattaching it after the boots have been put on, or perhaps by splitting the boots in half lengthwise and then gluing them back together after placing the cable inside the split halves. I haven't experimented with this cutting and gluing, so I don't know if it can really be done since I don't know the gluing characteristics of the material that I use to make the boots from. Plus I hate the idea of cutting my new boots in half, just to install them.
Sorry for the long story, but I've found out that the whole rear brake cable restoration issue is more complicated than it would seem at first thought.
GaryComment
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Re: 67 Parking Brake Cable
I found an nos parking brake cable on ebay, original in every way. If you get the part# from the assembly manual you'll be surprised what's on ebay under collector car, parts and accessories, then searching under parking brake cable(not necessarily corvette) I believe gmpartsdirect.com shows it available, but I'm not sure if the part# or the cable itself would be exactly like the original.Comment
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gmpartsdirect cable is not as original
Rob,
As I said in my previous posting the current GM service replacement and therefore the gmpartsdirect.com item is very different from the original in terms of cosmetics. Not even close. The GM service replacement part will work fine, but it will stick out like a sore thumb.
GaryComment
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