1963 Corvette front brake cable

[Doug Y.]

I am just putting the finishing touches to my 1963 SWC. I just purchased a new 1963 front brake cable and when I compared it to the one I just removed it is about 10 inches shorter. The prevous owner converted the car over to 1965 disc brakes. I removed the cable from the hand brake and it had a pin type connection secured to the handle with a little drift pin. The new '63 cable also has this type of connector. Could the cable I removed be from a '64 Corvette?. I know that '65 cables have a round ball on both ends of the cable. Any suggestions welcomed, thanks Doug

[Bob R.]

Re: 1963 Corvette front brake cable

The 63 cable is very different then the 64 or newer so I think the changes should be obvious. If you look at the AIM for 63 you should be able to see the cable and how it is installed. The pin you describe as a drift pin should actually have a knob on the end that makes contact with the brake warning light switch. The cable then goes through the fire wall and there should be a clip that attaches the cable to the frame near the steering box. The end of the cable has a ball that fits into the assembly under the car. Long Island Corvette Supply has a pretty good drawing of the assembly in their catalog you can see it on line at their web site.

[Doug Y.]

Re: 1963 Corvette front brake cable

Thanks for your info Bob. I guess I should explain the crisis a little better. The previous owner of this '63 converted it to disc brakes and changed the front brake cable as well. They installed a pulley and the cable is about 10 inches longer than the '63 cable. It routs down under the firewall and hooks up to a bracket on the #2 cross member and then hooks into another bracket which in turn connects to the rear brake cable. They have used a 65-66 rear cable to the rear calipers. The front cable which I removed has a front connector same as a 1963 cable but as mentioned it is 10 inches longer. I am wondering if this is actually a 1964 front cable as the 65-66 has steel balls at both ends of cable. Thanks for your input Doug

[Tracy C.]

Re: 1963 Corvette front brake cable

Doug,

I can't speak for the cable that was on your car, but the cable you bought was designed to work with a system that looks like this picture. The ball on the end of the cable fits into the swivel on the end of the lever bracket.

BTW, The chassis is upside down in this pic. The brackets are under the drivers seat.