1961 Tach Drive Cable

[Dennis C.]

In the boxes of parts I received with my '61, was what I believe to be the Tach cable and it is pictured below. I haven't cleaned it up yet, but judging by how the vinyl covering is over the edge of the crimped steel end, it appears to be an original cable.

There is no mention in the JM that gray vinyl covered cables may have been used for the '61 model year, but my car was built on June 20th according to The Corvette Birthday Book. This would have been approximately 4 1/2 weeks before the end of production.

Could this cable have been originally installed at the factory? Would you use it? What are the alternatives?

I would appreciate all suggestions and comments.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Dennis

[Michael K.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

Dennis this looks like a real nice original cable for late 61 or 62. Hard to find these days.
Mike

[Dennis C.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

Mike,

Thanks for responding.

Yes, I believe it is an original cable and I think it will clean up well.

I am hoping to hear from others who have seen the gray cable used on late '61's.

Regards,

Dennis

[Doug F.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

Just curious, was that a generator or a distributor drive cable? My car is a June 9th or 10th car. It has a generator tach with a black cable. Did all original tach cables have the vinyl over the fitting? I need to go out and check my cable.
Thank you,
Doug

[John G.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

Dennis, my July 21 '61 has the black cover on the gen/tach cable and grey on the speedo...I believe them to be original.

John G

[Dennis C.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

[quote=Doug Flaten (14444);516818]Just curious, was that a generator or a distributor drive cable?

Doug,

Should be a generator cable. It is too long to be a distributor cable.

Dennis

[Dennis C.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

Dennis, my July 21 '61 has the black cover on the gen/tach cable and grey on the speedo...I believe them to be original.

John G

John,

Interesting.

I never thought about it being anything other then a tach cable. When I received my car, which was in pieces, there was a black cable connected to the transmission and it ran up to the cockpit. There was no interior or gauge cluster installed, but the cable was hanging there.

When I found the gray cable in the parts boxes, I just thought it was the tach cable. I wonder if the tach and spedo cable are the same lengths?

Dennis

[William C.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

One of the major good things about it is the way the covering on the jacket comes up over the crimped area. Very nice.

[Mike E.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

Chevrolets of 62 and later, all models, used varying lengths of those gray cables. I have a multitude of different lengths, and most are passenger-car applications. Because I've owned 50+ solid-axles over the past 36 years, I know the temptation to think that something "is probably right" because it came on my car or in a box with my car. From a correctness standpoint (especially for judging) we can't "assume" those things are the pieces installed on our cars from the factory if they don't fit the norm. It may be the correct piece on your car, and put it on there if you believe it is, but we can't change the judging manual to reflect what "might be" on a single example.
Not to put down your question at all---just to contextualize it. The cable certainly is from the proper vintage.

[Dennis C.]

Re: 1961 Tach Drive Cable

Mike,

Thanks for your input. I understand what is in the JM and no, I don't think 1 car should change it. However, if there is a chance it is original, then I would want to reuse it.

The parts book I have indicates the tach cable to be part # 1583866 at 60" long. The speedo cable part # 1563435 as the factory cable. There is a footnote that states the service cable was # 1563561 at 61 1/8" long.

If I am measuring the gray cable correctly, it measures 60". I wonder if the speedo cable was changed and this cable (gray) was originally the speedo cable and relocated to the tach?

Dennis