37 Plymouth Speedo cable

[SteveR]

I am thinking I need to install a speedo cable in my 37 Plymouth. Currently I am judging my speed by the engine sound and at times a sat-nav. The one that came with the car was in a box  and is broken. Is it possible to replace just the broken cable?  I am not sure if this old one will fit my car as it was in a box with other parts that don't fit my car. What length should I be looking at and what size connections? Also, do I need to grease the cable before installing it?

[soth122003]

Hey Steve,

Is your car Left hand drive or RHD? Next, I would try to temp fit the cable from the box to your 37 Just the cable housing. The inner cable should pull out. Does it screw on at both ends? Does it kink or bind? Is it to short? If the fit is good, measure the length of the cable. There are speedo cable replacements that are just the inner cable. This link is just to give you an idea of what your looking for, not an exact match for your car. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/315921496791?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D777008%26algo%3DPERSONAL.TOPIC%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D278005%2C277954%2C277961%26meid%3Df849996987dd46f98e3fb095222d0baa%26pid%3D101949%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26itm%3D315921496791%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D4375194%26algv%3DRecentlyViewedItemsV2WithMLRPbooster_BP%26brand%3DDorman%2FHelp&_trksid=p4375194.c101949.m162918&_trkparms=parentrq%3Acb6307271930a47d696585c5fffff782|pageci%3Adfd72357-bb0a-11ef-aec0-725184b148cd|iid%3A1|vlpname%3Avlp_homepage

Sorry I don't know how to make the short link.

 

If the length is good you can order one of these and use it. As far as lube YES!! I use white lithium grease. Just spray some into the cable housing and spray the length of the inner cable. As you insert into the housing it will spread the lube.

My general understanding of speedo cables is that most period cable housings from that era as long as it is from the Chrysler Corp will fit your speedo and tranny connections. The only difference is the length of the cable. You can't go to short but a little long won't hurt. Hope this helps and gives you some ideas.

 

Joe Lee

[desoto1939]

Here is some info taken from my speedometer cable catalog. This was taken from my AC speedometer catalog. Hope it helps.

 

Rich Hartung

desoto1939@aol.com

 

 

[SteveR]

Yes this does help. My car is a P4 so 67 31/32 long  od: .130 cable 67" for the casing overall. Thanks. Now to get rid of this cold and start investigating.

[SteveR]

Sorry I am taking so long to reply. Life gets in the way sometimes. OK speedo cables. Where can I get one from. I have looked high and low and can not find my casing so I need everything. I am not going to be a purest here and do not want to spend $100 with $50 shipping on a speedo cable. So could someone point me in the right direction? I did see one on ebay that was a 'cc-12' will this fit?

[andyd]

Steve.......I dunno if this info will help but as SOTH mentions any outside cable from a Chrysler Corp car at least into the 1950's "should" fit.....as an example my 1940 Oz Dodge which is Plymouth based but uses the standard USA sourced instrument cluster & speedo has a complete speedo cable, inner & outer from an Oz 1962 Chrysler Royal........the car has a 1962 Chrysler Royal 318 V8 & cast iron Torqueflite auto ......the speedo cable as mentioned is from the 1962 Royal so screws onto the trans and the dash end screws onto the stock 1940 Dodge speedo.........accuracy is not its best suite but thats not the fault of the cable......lol.......car runs a late model Ford diff & 275/15 T/A radial tyres so the ratio is ???? but the trip meter works and the speedo needle moves albeit incorrectly...lol......so ideally a cable from the 30/40's should work...........andyd     

[Los_Control]

Possible this may help, or not.

On my 49 truck I was experimenting. I found speedway motors was having a yard sale and selling thousands of items dirt cheap just to get them out of the warehouse. 

As a example, I bought $300 powder coated headers for $40 .... So I continued shopping and bought several other items .... one of the items was a speedometer cable for  a early 50's Chevrolet truck ... It looked correct and because it was a clearance sale and $4 ... I tried it and it fits fine.

 

My E brake handle is under the dash, it uses a cable and is from a 70's Ford Mustang.

Just saying, you are not limited to exact fit parts .... lots of older vehicles share parts because it saves $$.