ShopTalk Forums | Aircooled VW Tech & Restoration Help

So. I believe, I need 2 new handbrake cables for the Speedster rep. The old ones are a bit un even . Could be stretching.
So to get a new short cable set for a shortened chassis.
What am I to do . I suspect I shorten the cables at the handbrake lever .
Thanks

There is an empi shortening kit but its a bit bulky and uses grub screws.

You should be able to buy wire rope threaded ends in the correct thread size and then you can silver solder those on.

If the cable is only a few threads short of adjustable range, you can stack 2 balance plates on the handbrake handle to move the nut.

OK thanks. I'll remove them and whey up what's needed. I know for sure the long springs on the rear have lost tension. That might be an issue

You can buy 'swage studs' from balustrade fitting places with the correct thread and the correct hole. I shortened the swage section to the same length as the VW one so it will go through the sweep in the handbrake tube. The balustrade people can press the ends on your cables or you can buy the dies of Ebay and press them on yourself.

Thanks Ian . I'll look into

So . I've found the threaded end pieces on line. Mild steel or stainless.
Going to buy the mild steel ones.
Found a 16 tonne pressure....hand held crimper too. Not expensive.
Only issue is the smallest size it crimps is 4 mm. So will need to modify it, so it crimp's the smaller diameter hand brake cables.

What are the chances that the 4mm reference is regarding the cable size and not the ferrule size. My electrical crimpers are all rated by wire size

Errrm. Thinking about it . Yeah . Would that mean the 4 mm crimping attachment will work. Or is it just gunna crush down a bigger size down to 4 mm , and no further. If that's the case . If won't work.

Well. I bought a QYK 70 crimper with assorted bits of various size.
What i did was , cut the rectangle eyelets off the cable at the drum end. Then cut the crimped part of eyelet off. Bought some 6mm o.d x 3 mm i.d cold rolled tube. Drilled the core out to 3.5 mm so the tube slips over the cable. Then tig welded the new tubes to the rectangle eyelets.
So.
With the cables fitted to the car. Fit the cone shape nuts to the threaded end of the cable , with the joining plate fitted to handbrake. Then go to back and pull both cables. Now. The cone shape nuts are just on so that the end of the cable is flush with the nut.
Go to back. Measure what excess cable that needs to be cut off , wrap some masking tape around the cable as a marker. Cut to the prescribed marker. Remove masking tape. Re fit the long spring. This might need shortening . Depending on how much longer the tube is over the original size of the cable eyelet.Slide the freshly made eyelet over the cable to the prescribed mark. Then double crimp it. Job done.

Another good solution