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some people may know about this and some may not but here is some useful info. well at least i think it is.
so ive done multiple swaps and have use these multiple times. i always see people asking on here and many other pages, groups etc... "which throttle cable should i use?"
I have learned that bicycle brake cables make great cheap very flexible throttle cables. one end fits pretty nicely into a LS throttle body and the other end is the side you cut off by the pedal.
heres the parts list:
bicycle brake cable (comes in multiple lengths, colors and sizes just have to look)
1 or 2 cable adjusters (depending on if your firewall has something that you can use or not)
cable crimps (either crimp type or screw type. i prefer crimp type)
instructions:
basically you cut the end that doesnt fit into the throttle body side. slide the entire inner cable out. route the cable however you want from the adjusters on the throttle cable bracket to whatever you have on your firewall can cut to length. hook the ball end up onto the throttle body and slide the cable through the casing and into the vehicles cabin, then through the hole in your pedal. if you have a usual style pedal that pulls from the top when you push down on the pedal then all your do is pull the bottom of the pedal outwards and crimp the cable as close to the pedal as you can. the screw type crimps work good to figure out if your getting full throttle or not. adjustments may be made to the pedal to have full throttle (usually just have to bend the linkage a little).
unfortunately due to stupid computers and photobucket i have lost most of my personal install pics. i will post them if i find any. might be doing this soon since my brother is about to 5.3l swap his 86 300zx.
here is some of the only close up pics i have of one of my old swaps. as you can see you can use a stock throttle cable bracket or make something up with angle iron or something very easily. (dont mind the pink, it was a way for me to get the intake free. lol)
Bicycle brake cables use a smaller wire with heavier gauge strands than real throttle cables - they're not super flexible and they bind up and drag quite a bit more and have a sticky feeling to them, makes small throttle modulation difficult. I'm even using a higher quality cable with a teflon liner - still feels this way. I notice it's really bad if the car sits for an extended period of time. Next time it's apart, I plan to use a real throttle cable from something.
Interesting conversation. I have a ton of left over bike cables. I would think you would need a good return spring since bike cables won't push at all like a thicker Lokar cable would. Bike brake cables are slightly thicker than shifter cables. Jagwire cables are made differently, super stiff, slicker than snot and come in colors. They don't like heat though.
They even come in pink to match barbie's manifold... Hah.
I'm curious to know more about this. I like the clean look of that cable, but don't want it to be stiff like the comments above are. Does anyone else have input?
I usually just ****** the throttle cable from a 88-98 Silverado (K1500). They fit most swaps (although they're pretty tight with a truck intake in some cars), are only a few bucks, and the pedals themselves work awesome in swaps since they are WAY shorter than the 99+ Silverado pedals, fit nearly every car (including my Nova and corvette), and use a simple 3 bolt mounting flange to bolt straight to a firewall.
09-05-2018, 09:25 PM
Cheap easy throttle cables (should be a sticky) 
