<VV> Broken clutch cable problem

[Marc Sheridan]

Dick,

My '66 Monza with a 110/4 broke a clutch cable as I was leaving Nelson 
Ledges this summer. I drove it 150 miles home using the starter and the 
ignition is a Pertronix II. That was a stressful trip! Now I am prepared and 
have a cable repair kit in my in car tool box, which will guarantee no 
further problems with the clutch cable :o).

Marc Sheridan



From: "richard shank" <indyvair at yahoo.com>

> Several days ago my wife took our 110 4 speed '68 convertible (that we 
> bought new) to the mall to shop.  A few minutes later I get a call that 
> when she went to shift gears in the mall parking lot, the clutch went 
> bang, to the floor.  Oh-oh, that sounds like a clutch cable to me so I 
> drove to the mall in our '66 thinking I would start the '68 in gear and 
> drive the short distance home for repairs.  Good idea but it didn't work. 
> It would act like it was going to start on the first couple of revolutions 
> but then it wouldn't fire further.  It would start easily when the 
> transmission was in neutral but not in gear.  Rather than run the battery 
> down, we towed it home to put in a new cable.  Now the question, it has 
> Pertronics ignition, is it possible that trying to start the motor while 
> in gear caused the voltage to drop enough to prevent it starting?  I have 
> read many messages on VV about making sure to get the proper voltage to 
> the distributor.  If this is the case, anyone
> running a stick shift with Pertronics ignition should be forewarned, I 
> guess, that starting your car in gear may be difficult to do.
> Incidentally, it was the original clutch cable so 38 years on a cable 
> isn't too bad!!  It didn't break at the ball however, but at the pulley 
> down under.  Now I have a nice piece of cable with a good ball on the end 
> to put in my toolbox for the next roadside repair, if--- it breaks at the 
> ball!!! - - - -Dick Shank