New dude with some questions

Last week I bought my first van. It's a '67 A100 with the 318 and 727 tranny. I towed it back to Austin from Houston and started tearing into it. So far, i've replaced a rotted fuel line, bled and adjusted 3 of the brakes (one has a busted bleed nipple), changed the oil, added a thermocap, pulled all of the rubber mat and makeshift shelves out of it, remounted the original rear seat, bought a battery, replaced the brake light switch (which looked like a ping pong ball made of pure rust), and about 50 other things. But then something a little over my head happened. on friday, i loaded up 6 of my coworkers for a quick lunch adventure and everything was going great until we got to the restaurant. i almost crashed into the front of the building and the van was stuck in drive. the shifter cable had melted on the exhaust. Bummer. i had the van towed to a shop up the street and i proceeded to get hammered and have my wife pick me up. the mechanic is saying they can't find the shift cable anywhere for my van. they say it's a 15' shift cable, which doesn't sound right to me. can anyone clue me in with a length or part number?! i'll try to keep everyone posted on my progress. as much of a headache the van has been this past week, i'm already hooked. thanks dudes~!

my van drives up walls

here's the van almost crashed into the front of the restaurant. the mgmt was actually pretty cool about it. at least it was a cool looking old van and not a honda civic or something. they gave me a free beer

Welcome to the site. Sorry to hear about your mishap.

I believe Rockauto.com used to have our shifter cable, but they are no longer listed on there.

Imperial Services has them listed for $300, but I'm sure someone can make one up for you. You may also be able to find a used one here or on the Yahoo Group.

Brakes:
Do you think it happened because of fading or the bad bleeder or both?

glad to be here. i knew what i was getting into. the brake thing isn't too much of an issue for me. it doesn't seem to really pull to one side when stopping, and i'm completely redoing the rear drums and doing a front disc conversion in a few weeks anyway. there are a few performance parts shops around here that should be able to make or find the right cable in a pinch, i just need to know the correct length. i'm kinda in a hurry to get it out of the shop, since it's supposed to be my daily driver. that was the deal with my wife. i gave her my '10 Audi A3, and sold her '06 TT to buy this, and then have money to fix it up, as long as i could make it work and not be a pain in her ass. i've got a brand new carb and air cleaner sitting on my kitchen table, waiting to go in as well.

Ive got a used one out of a 66 here if the guys think it's the same? If you are interested shoot me a PM or feel free to call 989-944-0624
Make ya a good deal on it. Joe

Try a boat supply house. The motor control cables are pretty long. Should be able to find something that will work.

boat wholesale places are best to get any lenght u will need - id suggest a stainless one & are made under the morse & teleflex brands . i believe was a like 33 or 3300 type id cable

welcome to the site , also sorry about your mishap ~~ on a good note the things we vanners do for a free beer

Welcome to the site!
I may have a cable handy to get a measurement from, I just have to dig it out.
I agree that a rod shop or boat place will be able to make up a cable that is at least as good if not better than the stock one. Morse cable is a type that is pretty beefy.
You will have to remove it from the trans, feed the cable up through the radiator bulkhead and floor and slide it out with the shifter. They will need the know how outer sheath length, inner cable length and what both ends are.
It's pretty permanently attached to the shifter, IIRC.
Nice looking van BTW!

When I did my manifold conversion, I went from linkage to cable. The only thing I could find was here. http://www.gokartsupply.com/thcable.htm Scroll down for the "manco" cable. I forget what lenght I used. The loop end will have to be filed out a very small amount to fit over the pedal bracket.
You can surf around for maybe a cheaper price. Good Luck

Welcome!!!!

1ST I bought a aftermarket one . nothing but junk. then i used this company . 1st class great work... http://imperialservices.net/

welcome to the site...corrosive

BTW, love your wheels, could you tell me the size ?

thanks...corrosive

sure, once i get it back home. i'm gonna have it towed from the shop back to my house tomorrow and i'll find out the wheel sizes. getting a cable sent to me (thanks Digz), but i'll still probably get a backup for the next time i route something wrong. i just put in an order for gauges and a pedal from Mooneyes. hopefully i can get the shift cable in and strip the little bits of rust from the floor this weekend, and get the gauges in next weekend.

The part number is 3641309. They still pop up on ebay every so often because they were used on some rv's. Got mine for 30, the guy had the part number but did not know what it was for. I read also that some dealers still have them as nos, I also read it about the turn signal switch and found none but never know until you try.

Welcome!

i'm a bit late but anyway i'll post it anyway, i have another number that automatic guys should cary with them for the auto shift cable

B&M 80835

corrosive

got the van towed home this afternoon, but had to run across town to pick up the kid from school. got home with plans to hit the few little spots of rust on the front passenger floorboard with a wire wheel and maybe install the new carb. got caught up talking to an old timer who was walking around the neighborhood. an hour later, the sun is down and my conscience wont let me grind metal on metal and annoy the neighbors. i never thought i'd have people stop walking to talk to me, or hold up traffic lights to flag me down into a gas station to ask questions. it's awesome! these earlies will knock down a lot of walls and get people to come out of their antisocial routine lives to meet a stranger.

Yep, they are crowd pleasers for certain. I like sitting at a red light and everyone around is pointing and smiling, seems like it brightens peoples day a little to see one going down the road.

supernaut (black sabbath or 1000 homo djs?),

get'n hammered at opal divine’s. love it.

what shop did you use? the dude at D&B at s 1st & Live Oak works on a lot of old hot rods and are familiar with my a100.

i took it to hi-tech, since a couple of my friends swear by that place. if i had it to do over again, i probably would have called murpho's instead. i'll check out the shop you're talking about. i need to find someone reliable to help me out when something is above my head.


the name is from a defunct skateboard company that used to send me boards a long time ago, but i'm pretty sure they got it from the sabbath song (which is a great song).

and speaking of beers and vans, the folks at easy tiger beer garden have a pretty cool delivery vehicle. I’m hoping to make it there tonight, after or before a stop at the Midnight Cowboy

can anyone tell me how to remove my heater? it looks like the hose coming out of the drivers side has been cut. i don't need it in central texas, not even the defrost, on the coldest days. i'm going to put in a console for an in-dash dvd player and some other goodies, so i won't have to cut up the dash itself.

The whole heater assembly is contained in the under dash box on the passenger side.
1) remove the heater hose connections on the intake manifold and plug the holes with brass plugs. theres an access panel on the front of the heater under the dash, take the panel off and unhook the hosts there as well and remove them completely.

2) look under the dash and you'll see the defrost vent connections (flexible duct work) take them loose (leaving the defrost diffusers in place under the dash board).

3) the heater assembly is screwed to the floor and to the firewall on the passenger side, possibly a screw or two under the dash as well, remove all those screws and the whole unit (heater core, blower motor) should come out in one piece.

4) the heater control cables are on the left, just unscrew the control block from the dash and unplug the wire from the blower motor. I'd go ahead and label that wire and roll it up under the dash.

You should have a "fresh air vent" on the fire wall (drivers side) with a flip type cover, you may need to get another cover to cover the now open hole on the passenger side. If so check here or various junkyards for the part.

If you have the plugs the whole process should take but about an hour or so. Keep the parts, they are very hard to find.

All my heater parts were in a box in the back of my van when I got it, it took me a while to piece it all back together.