'71 442
Haven't got down and under yet but seems like i read something about a TUBE down by the Starter Motor that the Bat Cable runs through. TRUE?? If TUBE - is it large enough in dia. to let u get the 90 deg Terminal through.

 

True. They look like this. Many vendors sell them, you most likely can put a Parts Wanted ad on this site, and one of the CO members might have one available to sell to you.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-72-Cut...4029020?_ul=IL

 

There's evidently a delta between mounting location between a M.T and A.T. - I own an A.T. I'll see if there's an image of the M.T. tube location.

 

Bottom left corner of image Fig.1 (M.T.)

 

Will the 90 Deg TERMINAL on the Bat Cable go through it?

 

I don't know the answer to your question. There are MANY various styles of battery cable ends - some 90° others straight-in. Factory OEM style? No idea what your cable ends look like. You might do some research and see if you can get measurements of the inside diameter of the tube and compare to your terminal ends.

 

I believe you will find the end at the starter will go through the tube, not the end at the battery, if original cable.

 

If it didn't then it would have been tough for Olds to have built these cars...
This isn't a small tube.

 

The "Spring Ring" end (ie - the connection to the + terminal on the battery) of the cable EASILY fits through the factory battery cable tube....just tried it here. As far as the starter terminal end fitting through the tube.....maybe, maybe not. I can get the starter end (with the 90 degree metal tab) easily in the tube about 1/3 of the way. At that point the combo of the heat shrink tubing around the 90 degree terminal connection and the stiffness of the cable itself coming off the crimped-on part of the cable starts interfering. It looks like it will likely go through but you have to really sort of grab the cable and start bending it upwards while pushing on the cable to get it to continue feeding through. Even then the edge of the metal 90 degree terminal will be scraping into the inside of the tube. You would need to be REAL CAREFUL trying it this way on an original tube as the pressure put on the inside of the tube where the metal 90 degree terminal is scraping/pushing against the inside might cause a chunk of the tube to snap off as the terminal gets to the other END/EDGE of the tube.

Again, the easy solution is to feed the battery terminal end of the cable through.

Avoid trying to straighten out or slightly bend the 90 degree metal terminal where the bend in it is....I had one of those break at the 90 degree bend. Maybe you could ever-so-slightly bend that end BELOW the factory-bent 90 degree bend....ONLY enough to make feeding it through a bit easier.

 

THANKS GUYS !!!!!!!!!
I can sleep tonight

 

SOOOOOOO Couple of more questions
- Stud size on Stater Motor
-Length of cable

I have a Post. Red Cable that came with the car that not 100% Olds442 so im reworking it.

 

FOR FUTURE REF
The 1974 parts book calls for 53".

2.342 8907374 cable, bat to starter, 53" - 71 3200, 3600 4200, 4800 350 eng, F85 all w/ 455 eng