I talked to the people at Hill’s. They have the clip, the person I spoke with went and got one off the shelf but could not get the cable to connect to it. He said the Clip had an odd shaped opening and the cable would not match up. He then took the cable and inserted it into a speedometer without the clip, it went right in. I assume the clip would plug into the housing clip end first but I don’t feel anything just the opening for the cable.

Thanks Phil



1955 312 T-Bird Warwick, NY

Hard to tell in that photo, but you may have had the wrong cable.  According to the NPD Thunderbird catalog, the 55 & 56 Thunderbird used a different speedo cable assembly as a 57.   The difference is in the clip I posted about before.  The 57 and up cables plugged directly into the gauge.  The 55-56 used a clip to make the connection.  Here is a photo of the clip below.  The NPD part number for the 55-56 cable is T-17260-1.  The part number for the clip is T-17306-1.  Hopefully, your gauge isn't messed up.  This kind of stuff is common with old cars.  By now, they are all a collection of mismatched parts.

My plan worked, here’s the extracted cable. It’s bent and the cable wrap is broken, a reflection of the force it took to remove it. Does this look like the correct speedometer cable end for a 55 T-Bird?

1955 312 T-Bird Warwick, NY

We used to use powdered graphite way back. Always worked great. Not sure if its still the best thing though. Any comments?



Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Unlike Cavman, I didn't find it easy to remove the seat from my 55 Bird. I did remove the hardtop/w help from a neighbor, and then we lifted the seat out and over the back of the car, not through an open door. Yes, removing the seat, steering column, and soft top makes it a lot easier to work inside the car, particularly under the dash. I did it because it's part of a body-on restoration. I don't think I would want to do it just to remove the speedometer cable, unless I had no other option. 

I used speedoservice in Fountain Colorado for my new cable during a transmission swap fora new cable. They are excellent with older vintage autos. My new cable came ready to install and in a plastic style covering. They have recently moved from their original building but are still the same folks. 

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

I had a wavy needle at 35-40 mph in the past, this year it was wavy to 50-55. A month ago it began to make noise in time with the needle bounce. I reached under the dash and found the retaining nut to be loose. I snugged it up (that’s probably why it’s stuck now) and the needle bounce completely went away and it was quiet but that was short lived, the needle began to oscillate but not bounce and again made noise in time with the oscillation. I pulled the cable sheath behind the speedometer away several inches revealing a dry cable. I’m not certain but I suspect new cables are delivered dry or not lubricated vey well. I intend to replace the cable and make certain it is well lubricated before doing so.

1955 312 T-Bird Warwick, NY

Do yourself a favor and remove the seat. Your back and patience will thank you. I think all 55 T-birds had power seats. They are not that hard to remove. 4 nuts to remove, block seat up a little to remove the pin that connects the bottom seat drive to the seat frame, same type pin for the rear motor. Unplug the wires to the motors. A strong, agile partner to take the seat out the passenger door. Oh yes remove the hard top or lay the soft top down on the deck before seat removal. Now room to lay on the floor to get under the dash or take a nap. As mentioned before by someone, I would take the cable loose from the angle drive at the transmission to allow more and easier movement away from the speedometer. Now a little squirt of ATF or Marvel Mystery oil at the area were the cable will not come loose and let it set for a while. Is the lubrication for a noise problem or to cure a wavy speedometer needle? I let a wavy needle go too long and ruined the inners of the odometer. The T-bird speedometer-odometer parts are different from the passenger car. They are very expensive to rebuild and parts for them are very limited when I inquired about them. Take your time and be easy on it. Good luck   1/8 Cav Man






























   

The cable isn't accessible from under the hood. It passes through a hole in the transmission tunnel and attaches to a 90-degree speedometer-gear drive. Accessing/removing the speedometer cable at the transmission, even with the exhaust system removed, is difficult, due to extremely limited space. Gil Baumgartner (CTCI Gil's Garage) recommends attaching the cable to the transmission before reinstalling a rebuilt engine/transmission for that reason. If it's not easier to access cable when I remove the shifter cover plate from the transmission tunnel, I will leave the cable attached to the transmission when removed. Hopefully, I won't have the same trouble as the OP when removing the cable from the speedometer. If so, I'll cut the cable. The original cable won't be used when installing a C4 transmission. However, the speedometer driven gear at the transmission for a C4 is the same as the 57 T-bird's. In other words, a 57 T-bird speedometer cable will work on the C4.   

Another thought-take hold of the cable where it passes through the firewall under the hood and pull on it.