Speedo cable length
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 487
Likes: 48
From: Ocala Florida
Speedo cable length
I removed an aftermarket cruise on my '76 so I needed a new speedometer cable. Got one from Advance Auto and when I went to put it on it a mile too long. He said it was the one listed for '76 corvette automatic but there is no way I can hide this much excess cable. And when I check online the lengths are all over the place. Anyone know what the length is supposed to be for a '76 ?
Thanks
Thanks
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,193
Likes: 156
From: Navarre FL
I removed an aftermarket cruise on my '76 so I needed a new speedometer cable. Got one from Advance Auto and when I went to put it on it a mile too long. He said it was the one listed for '76 corvette automatic but there is no way I can hide this much excess cable. And when I check online the lengths are all over the place. Anyone know what the length is supposed to be for a '76 ?
Thanks
Thanks
What transmission do you have, and do you have cruise?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 487
Likes: 48
From: Ocala Florida
'76's didn't offer cruise so it was an aftermarket set up I removed. It had two cables and now I need one but the one I bought is way too long so I'm trying to find out what the proper length is for a '76 automatic
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,193
Likes: 156
From: Navarre FL
They are pretty long, I think for my 78 it was something like 49 inches. It has to go through the firewall and up, over to the other side of the transmission. Check the forum vendors they should have the correct part listed. Try willcox, they should list the correct length on the site too, you can compare that to what you got.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,193
Likes: 156
From: Navarre FL
ok, I stand corrected. Willcox shows a two piece cable for auto/no cruise 69-77. Looks like 40" for the upper, not sure on the lower. The one piece for your year looks like it was 72" and for manual trans. If you dont care about being NCRS correct, the longer cable may still work for you. Good luck, maybe someone else will coe along with a better answer.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,112
From: Crossville TN
The longer the cable, the more chance for cable 'whipping' and needle bouncing on the speedo. Install the shortest cables available that will still reach and not create a tight bend at the trans connection.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 487
Likes: 48
From: Ocala Florida
I will have to measure the cable I have but it is really long and there is no way I could hide the rest of it. I think some of the earlier C3's had two cables even without cruise. The upper cable ran into a block of some sort and I think the tach ran out of this block and then a lower cable to the trans. Not sure about all this but I have a different tach setup so I don't need the block or longer cable. I guess I am going to have to do some sort of measurement and just find one that is close even if it's for a different year.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,112
From: Crossville TN
The 2-cable (no cruise control) cars just had those two cables directly connected. This minimized having one long cable that caused the speedo needle to bounce. I have one of those cars and tried a single, long cable. Didn't work...
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Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 487
Likes: 48
From: Ocala Florida
OK Don't know if this will help anyone or not but I found that if you go to any auto parts place and ask for a speedo cable on a '76 Vette automatic the part that comes up is a cable that is 100" long!!! If you try to but the two piece setup the cost almost triples. There is no way to make all the slack work on the 100" piece. So after a lot of digging I found that Corvette Central has one that is 62" long and is actually listed for a '79 - '82. The part # is 213067. I will let you know how well it fits when it arrives
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,892
Likes: 3
From: Springfield Illinois
I think that cable may be too long to be honest. I am having the same dilemma. I swapped a TKO in place of a TH400. I think my cable may be 70" may be longer. I personally don't see a need for a cable longer than 4 feet. I may be wrong. I wish someone who knew could chime in.
edit: after thinking about it 62" may be right. it just seems way too long in my mind.
edit: after thinking about it 62" may be right. it just seems way too long in my mind.
Last edited by FRSTR90; Sep 30, 2013 at 10:21 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,193
Likes: 156
From: Navarre FL
OK Don't know if this will help anyone or not but I found that if you go to any auto parts place and ask for a speedo cable on a '76 Vette automatic the part that comes up is a cable that is 100" long!!! If you try to but the two piece setup the cost almost triples. There is no way to make all the slack work on the 100" piece. So after a lot of digging I found that Corvette Central has one that is 62" long and is actually listed for a '79 - '82. The part # is 213067. I will let you know how well it fits when it arrives
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 487
Likes: 48
From: Ocala Florida
The only one that I can find listed for the '76 - not sure what other years - is the two piece cable. By the time you buy the 40" lower cable, the connector, and then the upper cable the cost is in excess of $50. I guess it's just another of those odd things that sometimes happen with our C3's