Needs some Learning on Throttle Cables

I have a 1987 Toyota MR2. The throttle cable is all sorts of mangled. The sleeve was torn in several places so I cut some fuel hose to reinforce the sleeve where it was torn and wrapped that in electrical tape. Then I removed the entire cable and soaked it in oil. This freed the cable up nicely but after my first rallycross it started getting stiff again. I think the residual oil inside is getting dirt in it and turning into paste.

I've decided I need to replace the cable but I can no longer find direct replacements. Is there a good source for throttle cabling so I can make my own? Because of the mid engine design the cable is much longer than most roughly 9-10'. I need to know where to get it. How to make sure what I get is strong enough. How to make sure the sleeve is robust enough to be run under the car and survive rallycross. How to get the proper ends for the throttle pedal and throttle body.

Pegasus Racing has some build your own cable hardware. both for throttle and heavier stuff. You may want to go with heavier stuff for better feel and better armoring. Also, you could search for Morse cable hardware.

How creative do you want to get.... You could use some aircraft control cable, McMaster carr. Not sure about the tubing, but if you look around the McMaster Carr web site you might find something. For cable ends you would have to get creative. But once you figure out how to make up something, the cable is cheap, so you could make more. The aircraft control cable has a plastic coating.

Not too creative its just a cable for pulling and spring on the pedal and throttle body for returning with a threaded section near the throttle body for fine tuning and an anchor to pull against. I just need it to be smooth, strong, reliable.

There are a bunch of companies that do custom throttle cables. The first thing you need to know is what the ends look like.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

The pedal end is a barrel that is parallel to the cable the throttle body is a barrel that is perpendicular to the cable. This is one of those things where the item is very simple in theory but I'm worried about my lack of experience biting me.

It is simple. Contact Motion Pro and give them the lengths and ends. Voila.

VW Beetle/Baja Bugs use throttle cables of that length with thread on ends that should be adaptable to your needs.

Check out places like CIP1.com, PacificCustoms.com, SummitRacing.com, etc.

I do a LOT of rear engine car throttle cables since we specialize in Fiat Abarths.

I have used VW bug and Bus cables. They have an extra ball on the cable about 10" down from the end that needs to be removed in most cases. They are pretty large diameter and quite stiff if there are many bends in routing

Corvair Choke cables are available though most napas and are also easily modified if you have a pretty straight shot and need a push pull. They are a solid wire instead of a twisted strand so they are unforgiving of convoluted routing schemes.

The Empi sandrail cable is a decent choice if it is the correct length for your application but it looks very out of place in our builds.

What I use exclusively is derailleur cables for tandem bicycles. I go to the local well stocked bicycle shop and get the cable and a roll of sheath. Modern bike cables are very flexible and coated with some magical teflon substance so that there is very little resistance even if you have the sheath coiled up 3 times. For ends the small balls can be removed and cable knarps like these

can be installed. I have also crimped and soldered or brazed on high temp stainless ring terminals if I need that type of connection

I chuck a bolt up in the lathe, turn it down to the throttle end size needed, drill a hole through it, stick it on a piece of cable (either the original, a used piece left over from some other cable, or sometimes some stainless cable from a boat supply store or even Lowe's), and hit it with the MIG. Did this recently to a MK2 MR2 and a RAV4.

On my LSx swapped pickup, I simply used a mountain bike brake cable and a BMX cable knarp on one end.

So I'm hearing its less complicated than I feared it might have been. I'm starting simple and bought a bit of wrapped cable from Home Depot and a pair of knarps for the other two ends. I'll report back once I get it in place. Hopefully the plastic wrapped cable w/out crimps will be fine if not I'll look for some fancy teflon coated cable.

Find a motorcycle shop. Look for a guy with long white hair and beard. Ask him to make you a throttle cable. That's what I did for the cable on my VW trike.

vwfreek wrote: Find a motorcycle shop. Look for a guy with long white hair and beard. Ask him to make you a throttle cable. That's what I did for the cable on my VW trike.

That guy always knows how to get E36 M3 done.

Keith Tanner wrote: It is simple. Contact Motion Pro and give them the lengths and ends. Voila.

And they are in Canada! Score!

The attaching of the various fittings on each end has always eluded me. Either esoteric crimping tools or exotic welding seems to be required. Anytime I have approached the fittings with a welder they tend to vaporize.

My go-to cable provider has been Lokar