# Speedometer cable routing



## SLSTEVE (Dec 8, 2020)

Where does the speedometer cable pass through the firewall on a 65? Is it the hole next to the fuse block? Found an old speedometer cable in the pile of junk I got with the car and ordered a new one the same length. If I route the new cable through the hole in the firewall next to the fuse block the cable is way too short and won’t reach the speedometer. Anyone know what the correct length the cable is supposed to be for a 65 with a Muncie 4 speed?


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

SLSTEVE said:


> Where does the speedometer cable pass through the firewall on a 65? Is it the hole next to the fuse block? Found an old speedometer cable in the pile of junk I got with the car and ordered a new one the same length. If I route the new cable through the hole in the firewall next to the fuse block the cable is way too short and won’t reach the speedometer. Anyone know what the correct length the cable is supposed to be for a 65 with a Muncie 4 speed?


On my 67 it comes from behind the plastic plate beneath the pedals. Well... Im just glad yours isnt coming out of the muffler or carburetor.


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## SLSTEVE (Dec 8, 2020)

armyadarkness said:


> On my 67 it comes from behind the plastic plate beneath the pedals. Well... Im just glad yours isnt coming out of the muffler or carburetor.


Hey Jimmy,
I’m trying to build a car here. I didn’t have the luxury of disassembling it because I bought an empty shell. There was NOTHING to take off the car prior to painting it. A few boxes of parts came with the car. I feel sorry for all you long time Pontiac die hards because you have very little printed information on your cars. No Assembly Manuals that I found. The Bible-The Pontiac Restoration Guide is sketchy, LOTS of pertinent information missing. The only way most of you guys learned about your cars was through your past experiences. So, for a guy like me that has never restored a Pontiac before, all I have to go on is the advice from guys on this forum. I can live without stupid comments about the speedometer cable coming out of the carburetor or the muffler.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Sorry bro. I thought you and I were mutually at the "it's so bad it's comical stage", and as you know, I was right there with you when we met. I didn't realize that it was taking this serious of a toll on you. When I read your post, I did a search and found a few threads about it. Youll have to wait for a better person than I to chime in. I've built several GTO's, but they were all 67 and 66


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

This plate belongs behind the pedals and the cable comes up from beneath and behind it, on that notch on the left


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## SLSTEVE (Dec 8, 2020)

armyadarkness said:


> This plate belongs behind the pedals and the cable comes up from beneath and behind it, on that notch on the left
> View attachment 142350


That would put the cable to the left of the steering column then. If I go through the hole to the left of the fuse panel it would be way to the left of this notch. I’m wondering if the PO did away with the speedometer cable penetration when he replaced that section of the floor pan. Or does the replacement panel have that hole already in it? Every other piece of my car is OE sheetmetal. Wouldn’t you know-the only part of my car that has been replaced and it messes me up somehow.


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

The first picture does show the speedo cable going through the fire wall.









You can see in the bottom right of this picture. The hole is pretty far down there and could have been cut out on a pan replacement










I feel for you, the more I look over mine the more I find undone. Like my house I keep finding areas that were fixed and the fix made more issues.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Steve, that's exactly what I was saying... I can't verify that 65 is the same, but I think it is.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

SLSTEVE said:


> That would put the cable to the left of the steering column then. If I go through the hole to the left of the fuse panel it would be way to the left of this notch. I’m wondering if the PO did away with the speedometer cable penetration when he replaced that section of the floor pan. Or does the replacement panel have that hole already in it? Every other piece of my car is OE sheetmetal. Wouldn’t you know-the only part of my car that has been replaced and it messes me up somehow.


I may be wrong, but the hole to the left of the fuse box is probably for the Emergency Brake cable, not the speedo cable.

It may be as you said, the replacement sheet metal just doesn't have the correct hole in place. I did a search myself and could not seem to find anything specific to the hole in the floor.

Does your Chassis Manual include a section on Cruise Control? In my '68 manual I have a drawing of the Firebird set-up showing the steering column/wiring and you can clearly see the speedo cable going through the floor, left of the column, about midway between the column and fuse panel, and about even with the column as it goes through the floor. This is just an example, but check your manual if it has a section on cruise control.


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

Here is a 1965 floor board you can see the steering column hole along with the two other holes mentioned.









Picture found at 


https://www.dannypascoemetalshaping.com/1965-pontiac-gto-major-body-rebuild.html


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

yep the hole by the panel is the ebrake


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

Hoping this will help. NAPA shows 2 different lengths for speedo cable. The longer one fits the Dearborn tranny. Input is on passenger side of tranny.


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## SLSTEVE (Dec 8, 2020)

PontiacJim said:


> I may be wrong, but the hole to the left of the fuse box is probably for the Emergency Brake cable, not the speedo cable.
> 
> It may be as you said, the replacement sheet metal just doesn't have the correct hole in place. I did a search myself and could not seem to find anything specific to the hole in the floor.
> 
> Does your Chassis Manual include a section on Cruise Control? In my '68 manual I have a drawing of the Firebird set-up showing the steering column/wiring and you can clearly see the speedo cable going through the floor, left of the column, about midway between the column and fuse panel, and about even with the column as it goes through the floor. This is just an example, but check your manual if it has a section on cruise control.


Guess they didn’t have cruise control in 65-couldn’t find a reference to it in the Chassis Manual. I routed my emergency brake cable through the floorboard right behind the emergency brake, in a hole that was almost parallel to the floor pans. It actually comes outside way below that hole next to the fuse block, so that hole can’t be for the e brake cable. I’m beginning to think the speedometer cable hole has been lost in the replacement panel operation. Just wonder what this other hole was used for?


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## SLSTEVE (Dec 8, 2020)

67ventwindow said:


> Here is a 1965 floor board you can see the steering column hole along with the two other holes mentioned.
> View attachment 142441
> 
> 
> ...


Guessing the hole I am looking for is the one under the steering column penetration? Don’t believe that hole is present in my car. I was thinking the speedometer cable came through the hole next to the rectangular hole. You can see the emergency brake cable hole on that little “shelf”just below those other holes. So it looks like the speedometer cable will enter the passenger compartment approximately right under the brake pedal?


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

It looks like the hole next to the fuse box is a pass through that should have a grommet.






Firewall hole? - PY Online Forums - Bringing the Pontiac Hobby Together


Firewall hole? 64-65 GTO Tempest & LeMans TECH



forums.maxperformanceinc.com


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## SLSTEVE (Dec 8, 2020)

67ventwindow said:


> It looks like the hole next to the fuse box is a pass through that should have a grommet.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks 67, how did you ever find that thread? That is exactly what I was looking for and confirms that my speedometer cable hole is long gone, but from one of your earlier replies, looks like I need to figure out how to run my backup light wiring and switch, none of which I think I have.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Take a look at and read Post #2 and you can see the plug that goes in that round hole in question.






65 convertible electrical help - PY Online Forums - Bringing the Pontiac Hobby Together


65 convertible electrical help 64-65 GTO Tempest & LeMans TECH



forums.maxperformanceinc.com


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## SLSTEVE (Dec 8, 2020)

PontiacJim said:


> Take a look at and read Post #2 and you can see the plug that goes in that round hole in question.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Jim. I have concluded that the original speedometer cable penetration was lost when that section of metal was replaced by a PO. Since my current Muncie transmission has the speedometer cable hookup on the passenger side of the car, I am going to reroute the cable and make a new hole on the passenger side of the firewall and run the cable inside there and over to the speedometer under the dash. Pete, a responder to that original post, was kind enough to send me a diagram from a Chevelle Assembly Manual, showing the routing for that.


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