Hi all, I am new to this forum and corvettes. I have a 1968 corvette and the speedometer is not working. I have replaced the Speedo cable and still no dice. When I removed the original cable it had a red plastic piece on the end that crumbled when I removed the cable. The new cable did not have this plastic end. Could this have an affect on the speedometer? Is there a place to order that plastic end piece or a cable with on? Any help or insight is much appreciated.

thanks
ben

 

was the red plastic piece on the end that attaches to the speedo? if so that may have been your problem. if there is no square end on the cable then you will need to replace it. not sure if they make a repair kit for it. i know many years ago when i had to replace my tach cable it was a universal kit that you cut the cable to length the heated the end up with a match then pressed the hot end into a plastic end piece that had heat glue in it. then you just feed the cable through the original casing. either way there are some tests you can do. first reach your hand up behind the dash - a big pain but doable - and spin the speedo by hand to make sure the needle moves. if it does reinstall the cable - if it is still good and carefully get under the car and disconnect the cable from the tranny and spin the cable by hand or with a drill. if the speedo works then the problem is the gear in the tranny or maybe the cable just popped out. sounds to me like the end of your cable is damaged. check the corvette venders for a replacement - zip, ecklers etc. - they would have them. i have seen the complete assembly - casing & cable but not just the cable. they are not super expensive but i would try to find just the cable if possible. also you will need to know if you have a 1pc or 2pc cable. welcome to the forum

Pat

 

thanks I will test that stuff this evening. This now the second 1 piece cable I have used to. Thinking I had a damaged one to begin with.

End piece on original cable


The new cable was just squared off I can get a picture later.

 

Did you check the bullet and gear in the transmission? If you have a Muncie 4 speed you probably have something similar to this in the transmission.

The different color gears are for different rear end ratios.

 

I have not checked that. Is it in the same spot the cable attaches to the transmission? I do have a 4 speed.

 

the picture you sent shows your problem. you need a new cable or a repair kit if one is made.

Pat

 

i have found replacement cables but so far none with this style end. I will see if a repair kit is available

 

Yes, the cable will attached to the bullet and gear. Is the red part you posted from the speedometer side? If so, you may want to pull the tach and see what is going on. The cable is square shaped and should align into the speedometer and transmission without issue.

 

the end pictured was pulled from the speedometer side. I can pull the tach cable although alittle scared since it actually works.

 

YOu need to pull the speedo. My 68 doesnt have that mess on the end. It should just be a square drive on each end. I know a lot if the Chinese **** is going to plastic ends that dont last long...not sure how old your cable is. If that pulled out of the back of the speedo you may have some rebuilding to do. THe tach and the speedo are both square drives with threaded retainers on each end