HoonTruck: A fresh throttle cable equals a brand new machine

lokar-throttle-cable
Sometimes the simple fixes yield big results. The throttle cable in my 1965 Ford F100 was in sorry shape. The unsheathed, stainless cable was fraying near where it connected to the carburetor with no ferrule in sight. In the cabin, my throttle pedal was fairly lifeless. I had about an inch and a half or so of pedal travel that actually did any work with the throttle cable. Also, the pedal itself moved like a grumpy fossil that had long since filed for retirement and was unsure what it was doing being put back to work.
A new cable was in order, and that mean’t a trip to the Summit Racing website. I found the Lokar cable, which has great reviews and I ordered it alongside the new bracket it requires. A call into Rick Radcliffe, our friendly neighborhood shop teacher, saw him freeing up some space and bringing his pal Mark along to help with the install work.
The result? As you can see in the photo above, it looks pretty sweet. What you can’t see, however, is just how much it’s transformed this truck for me. I was essentially driving the fuel economy miser version of my own truck, never dipping into those other two barrels of the carb. Now? Oh my does she like to roar through the glasspacks.
Sure, it’s made more clear that I need to redo the valve seals and my fuel economy is going to fall… but the already fun truck is now so much more fun. Sometimes, what seems like a simple fix can yield massive results.

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  1. Scoutdude Avatar
    Scoutdude

    On the era of IH’s I have the throttle cable attachement to the bracket is adjustable so that it was one size fits all whether the engine had the 2bbl or 4bbl. When I got my Travelall it was way out of adjustment and only gave about 1/2 throttle. Huge difference in power once you could open the primaries all the way.

    1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      The difference is amazing

  2. Spridget Avatar
    Spridget

    Jeff- What’s the deal with the Wombat? It’s going on three years since the project started, and one since you last updated. Has Scared Shiftless stolen the car?

    1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
      Jeff Glucker

      Scared Shiftless has just been slammed with work. Since I’m not really paying them, they work on the car when they have time. I’ve been told they’re planning on getting some major work done on it in the next few weeks though
      Stay tuned.

  3. CruisinTime Avatar
    CruisinTime

    Ford trucks forever !