C1 rear parking brake cable boots

[Al C.]

The Paragon rear parking cable boots are skinny with 10 ripples; my old ones look rather like spark plug boots.
1. Is there a judging preference?
2. Is there a technique for swelling the size of the boots to pass over the cable ends without tearing?
... Al '58 #378

[Ted L.]

Re: C1 rear parking brake cable boots

Al,

I'm not sure about judging, but I figure the ripples were a 'repro' giveaway so I pitched them and used the old ones. Just added a drop or two of yellow death and slipped them on, no problem. Want them to look new, clean 'em up with silicon tire cleaner (Son of a gun).

Ted #32350

[John M.]

Re: C1 rear parking brake cable boots

Al, I belive that several of the suppliers sell the correct boots without the cables. I think I got mine from Corvette Central. A little bit of silicone grease or spray silicone will allow the boots to be installed, but it is still a tough job. John

[Dean Siniff]

Re: C1 rear parking brake cable boots

Al,

I recently replaced the parking brake cable on my 66. I believe Paragon sells these cables with the correct boots installed or with boots like you described (at least for mid-years). I brought the cable w/o the correct boots and then later decided to install the correct boots, which was more expensive than buying the correct boots installed in the first place. I believe the C1 boots are similar to the C2 except they don't have ribs on the outside. The installation was very easy! I used a silicone lubricant on a center punch and ran the boot up until the boot-tail expanded to a diameter about that of the ball on the parking brake cable (maybe 3/8" or 7/16"). I then lubricated the ball on the parking brake cable and pulled the boot over it without any problems. Using the center punch may not be necessary, but it helped stretch the boot and lubricated its inside making the installation very easy.

[Dave Suesz]

Strange- that's not how it looks...

in the photo in the current Paragon catalog, they show a cable boot that's completely smooth for the C1. Hmmm...

[Al C.]

Re: Strange- that's not how it looks...

The picture shows the "correct rerpro" boots (large and smooth like my old ones) whereas I bought the slightly lower-cost ones (no picture) which are ripply. I misinterpreted the caption to say that the inexpensive ones would make the judges happy. Gotta read the fine print better!
... Al