Before I get deep into it, the cables for the rear deck lid on my 70 convertible snapped. Is there any trick to getting the decklid open without the cables?

 

Unless you have something non-original back there I doubt your rear deck lid cables snapped. They are actual thick rods not cables.
It's more likely that the little rod clamps lost their tension/hold on the rods/cables. You can always reach under and pull the rods toward the center of the vehicle to operate the latchs on either side of the lid.
If your hard top is still on it may be binding the latches. Try having someone push down on both sides of the deck lid and then attemp to unlatch the sides.

 

All of the latches can be hand operated. Look at a diagram of the latches in someones catalog or the aim to see how they work. The deck lid release cables are single strand, and could possibly break, but only if they are rusty. It is more likely that the stop clamps have loosened over time. Hand release the latches, and retighten the stop clamps.

 

I am talking about the decklid release, not the top release. My concern is access to the latches so I can manually operate them. With the soft top underneath and the hardtop on, trying to find the access is a PITA. As suggested, I am trying to get it open so I can gain access to the top bolts so as to get the hardtop off.

 

I am too. If your cables are broken at the release lever, use pliers to pull the remaining cable and release the latch. If the cable is broken at the latch, use a piece of coat hanger to make a hook, pull the cable out of the way and reach into the hole with your hook to release the latch. If you still can't get it to release then unbolt the latch - only three bolts.

 

I too am talking about the LID release. The top pin release rods are even thicker at about 1/8". The deck lid cables are just under a 1/16" thick and run in a coil sheath. I'm guessing from your other post on this topic that you have never operated the rear latches so perhaps it would be helpful to know that the handle closest to the passenger seat operates the deck lid release levers and the handle closest to the drivers seat operates the top pin release levers. You need only pull on the passenger side handle to release both the driver and passenger side latches.

If you have pulled off the rod stops from the release rods then you should still be able to grab each rod with some pliers and pull the rod to release the latches one at a time. As before, if they won't move it may help to have someone press down hard on each side of the deck lid while you pull the release rod as this will help to take any binding off of the latch.

If, on the other hand, you somehow managed to actually break the rods then I really don't know what to tell you short of removing the latches as described in the post above (which will be quite hard to do with the soft top in the way). I seriously doubt that you could break those cables using just the lever provided. It's more likely that the little rod stops gave way as they are only held on by a very small stop bolt.

 

Not yet. I just know when I tried to open the lid, the cables were not connected to the latches. I will try to get in there tomorrow.

 

If the rods are broken, the top release latches can be hand operated. Since we are talking about a bolted down hardtop, they are not of much importance in releasing the decklid. Like I said in my previous post, you can still get the deck lid open if the cables are broken. Have you determined where they are broken?