Holley Throttle Cable Linkage

[Stephen Tonks]

Hi

Does anyone have any photos, links or general information on developing throttle linkages for a holley on a ford 347 ci. engine ? I have a cable which goes from the pedal right to carb., which is OK, but I think if could be improved upon as I think it tends to stick a bit. I have had a look on a few sites, eg. Summit racing, but am unsure as which way to go.

Stephen

 

[Mark Clapp]

Hi Stephen, some people have reverse pull linkage but I just attached the cable to the bottom of the accelerator bracket and it works smoothly. Here is a link to the cable end I used to attach to the carb: Lokar: Component Parts

Mark Clapp

 

[Stephen Tonks]

Hi Mark

Thank you. I am investigating and its looks promising.

Regards

Stephen

 

[Mike Pass]

You may not have the right cable. A good quality teflon lined cable is a good idea as the the cable is pretty long. Make sure that you have nice smooth bends to keep the friction down. Beware of getting the cable near the exhausts as the heat will melt the lining, cause "stiction" and jam the throttle solid when it cools down. Careful routing is essential and a heat sleeve and a heat shield is vital especially in traffic or on the rolling road when the flow of cooling air is reduced.
Also a good idea to carry a spare inner and a couple of solderless nipples in case of breakages - the breakdown man won't have a spare!
I get mine from Venhill cables (Motorcycle Braided Brake Hoses, Lines and Clutch Cables | Venhill) but there are many other suppliers.
Cheers
Mike

 

[Bill Cooke]

I used a Lokar cable with the Holley 650 DP turned around for a more direct pull than running the cable all the way around the carb. No problem with stiffness of pull or sticking, very smooth.
Bill

 

[Howard Jones]

Here's mine on Betty. It's got about 20,000 miles on it, of which 3-4K is on the track. Never a problem. If you do something like this use the highest quality push pull cable you can fine.

 

[Phil]

Steven:
The lokar cables are good, and the one Howard is using is also very good. The top brands all have very good cables.
Generally the guys covered all the stuff you need to know about quality, heat protection etc.
Buy a good stainless cable with a Teflon liner and you will have a reliable linkage.
Here is a link to Cablecraft, they make an excellent assembly.

Push-Pull Controls, Aircraft Cables, Control Cable Assemblies from Cablecraft Motion Controls

Cheers
Phil

 

[Ian Anderson]

I have thought about this for a while.

Could a bell crank system be mounted on the rear bulkhead so that the cable is routed to the Sudetenland and away from the heat onto a bell crank and shaft across the bulkhead under the window.
From there a second bell crank on the shaft will transfer the movement to the carb via a turnbuckle type arrangement?

Ian

 

[Stephen Tonks]

Hi

A big thank you for everyone's advice on this subject. I am currently in the process of going the Lokar route. The bits have arrived from USA, and am currently waiting for a new cable from the UK. This route seems straightforward and hopefully well within my capabilities. The quality of the parts looks good.

Attached photos show the current setup and the new bits. I know its pretty awful, but its been in place since I got the car on the road in 1994, with very little problems.

I will tackle the job after the Le Mans Classic, as I don't want to tempt fate beforehand.

Stephen

 

[Rich Roy]

My cable continued to snap with-in the shief, usually at the worse imaginable times. I reworked the angle at the foot pedal fulcrum and the new cable snapped at about 2 hours of duty! Once again, re-engineered the pivot angle, but this time I replaced the inner cable with "air craft grade 1/16 7x7 cable with 450 lbs test in stainless steel. I also lubed the cable with the same grease used on the old school speedo cables. I ordered it from Web Rigging Supply part # 01AC0477S. A 25 foot roll was $20.53 including shipping. Problem solved!