Servi-Car Tow Bar Cable

[clanky]

Hello.....I am restoring a '49 Servi-Car and trying to make is as accurate as I can, does anyone know about the cable on the tow bar, was it a bare stranded cable or was it a black coated cable? Also, do you know how long it was? If someone has an original cable on their Servi, can you shoot a photo of the connector on the end of the cable? Thanks much for your time.

[Chris Haynes]

I once had one that was bare cable.

[clanky]

Thank you, Chris. So the Servi you had, had the original cable, that was bare, as far as you know? The photo you sent, it looks like that cable has something on it, with a matte finish, like a hose. I saw a photo once of a Servi-Car at a gas station that looked like it had fuel hose around the cable, but it was hard to tell.
Thanks much for the reply and that great photo of the '49.

[Rubone]

This is from the 1948 Dealer Announcement news bulletin for the new models and it appears to be covered with something. There isn't a close up like this in the '49 announcement but the cable looks the same. 1948 Servi-Car tow bar.jpg

[clanky]

Great info. The cable is for sure covered in that graphic. I wouldn't think they would have had 'coated' cable back then, so must have had some sort of cover over the cable. I think my question is answered.
Thanks much, Robbie, for the post.

[joe fxs fxr]

Great info. The cable is for sure covered in that graphic. I wouldn't think they would have had 'coated' cable back then, so must have had some sort of cover over the cable. I think my question is answered.
Thanks much, Robbie, for the post.

You made me curious, so I looked it up:

In 1897 rubber-insulated cable was used for 11,000-volt circuits installed for the Niagara Falls power project which could be stated as first use of insulated cables for high-voltage circuit.

Significant stride in cable manufacturing came with Germans starting Poly-Vinyl Chloride’s (PVC) testing as insulation material for cables in 1930’s, but was commercially viable only by 1950’s

https://cablecommunity.com/history-of-electric-cables-major-milestones-in-development/

[clanky]

Bingo! A member got in touch with me, he has a NOS cable that I am buying from him, here's a photo, for sure covered, looks like the same stuff that covers the front brake/throttle/spark cables. The only question is, did they always cover the cables or is this a later change? I know they changed the tow bar for late '49, but I don't have a part number of this cable to see if it was part of the change, yet. Since Chris Haynes said he saw one that was bare, this may be a later addition.