ZDriver.com - Two 260Zs and Two (different) Speedo Cables

Well folks, here we go again. I'm onto cleaning up a speedometer cable for use in the finished car. I have two, both from a 260Z, both with manual transmissions but one is from the early model car and the other is from the late model car. Both of them turn freely so that's very nice. While there is varying degrees of dirt and gunk on them I think they'll clean up nice.

Now, it's time for the closer inspection. Looking at the photo of the instrument ends you'll see that the collar and shaft lengths are significantly different. I'm not sure but I'm guessing it might be easier to attach the one with the longer collar and shaft to the speedometer but as I said, it's only a guess.

On the end that attaches to the transmission there's only a minor difference visible. One uses a soft rubber boot at the entrance to the metal flange while the other has a hard plastic piece.

The cable from the early model car has the short collar, short shaft and the hard plastic piece. Late model has the long collar, long shaft and rubber boot. I know, I know, there's a joke in there somewhere ...

I've got the dashboards from both cars, each with a full set of instrumentation (except for one clock). I haven't yet fully inspected these dashes and instruments nor have I compared them for differences.

If someone would please shed some light on these differences, if they are significant or not and if there's an advantage to using one over the other, I'd appreciate it.