I thought I would post some pictures of the parts I have been describing.
The first picture shows the broken control housing:
This morning I shipped this part to International Chromium Plating in Providence, RI. They were recommended to me by a Harley restorer here in town. They think they might be able to repair the part.
This next picture shows the cracked dial.
I was able to pry out the green plastic number disk. I think I can glue this back together using JB Weld. I will then sand down the flat side and paint it gloss black. I don't plan on painting the knurled side since that's the part you turn with your finger and I think I will be better off leaving it alone.
This picture shows the cable.
I originally said that I thought this had been cut. Looking at it more closely, I am not so sure. Is this all the hook that they put in this thing?
This last picture shows the control head itself, or what's left of it.
Unfortunately it's a little blurry, but you can see that the white part into which the cable hooks is broken, and that the extension of the black that clamps on to the cable housing is also broken off. I think I can JB Weld the black part back together, but the white part is going to be tough. I would love to locate the guy who reproduced these.
In doing further research I learned that these units were made by Perfect Circle, the same company that made piston rings. The inventor, Ralph Teetor, was the vice president of Perfect Circle. Ralph was blind from the age of five and was riding with his attorney, who would speed up and slow down while he was driving. From what I can tell, these units were used in many different makes of cars, including Chrysler products. I have been told that the control head I have was also used in '62 Oldsmobiles. Can anyone confirm this, or any other makes/models in which it was used? It might help if I can widen my search.