Window regulator cable repair

[Louis-Alain_Richard at computerhorizons.com]

Hi there,

Good news. I _think_  I will be able to repair my urQ window reg. 

The cable snapped at the most obvious spot (where else!), exactly where 
the unprotected cable enters the sheath at the bottom of the track when 
the window is up. 22 years of water runs, humidity and salt is too long a 
period for a mild-steel cable. 

So last night I removed the regulator, an easy job. It's a nice piece of 
engineering; lightweight, small, efficient, easy ot install/remove. 
Now, if the cable was a little better protected... 

Guess how I stopped the window from going down? 
Yes, a nylon strap attached at the bottom of the window, going up over the 
window sill and attached to a hole in the door sheetmetal. 
This way I can even open it by slacking the strap, just like the 60's 
works rally Minis!

Seriously, the regulator looks repairable, if I can find a 1.5 mm (1/16") 
cable (will look at bike shops) and a way to crimp the 3 metallic crimps. 

For the archives, the complete cable lenght is 2.10m, with the center 
crimp at 90cm from the end crimp of the "gray" sheath. To be sure I will 
not mix the sheaths/lenghts/parts when rebuilding, I attached the cable 
"in position" and its sheaths to a plywood planck and I even made a 
drawing of the attachements at the motor drum. 
Hey!, one can learn from it's previous mistakes... 

The sheats are 2 different lenghts, one is gray and short (bottom one, to 
make the window go down) and one is black and long (upper one, makes the 
window go up). 

The sequence of the elements on the cable is:
SMALL_END_CRIMP---plastic_guide---spring---plastic_tube---black_sheath---metal_bracket---BIG_MIDDLE_CRIMP---metal_bracket---gray_sheath---plastic_tube---spring---plastic_guide---SMALL_END_CRIMP

Obviously, the whole cable must be constructed like this BEFORE actually 
doing any crimp!

Will try to take pictures of the whole thing.
Brady? Are you busy tonight? 


Now, my question:
A friend suggest me (for the crimps) to crush a 6mm nut over the cable 
with a BFH. 
I would like a more "elegant" solution, if one is available easily. 
I think Dan Cordon asked this very same question not too long ago; what 
did you find, Dan?


More to follow!

Louis-Alain
1983 Quattro