throttle cable slipping off on 1977 124 1800

[timspider]

I'm new to this car in the last month and mostly loving it, with one annoying but potentially dangerous thing I need to fix. My throttle cable has a ball on the end that just sits in a cupped seat that connects it to the carb. It works fine 98% of the time. But sometimes it just pops or slips off causing the accelerator to drop to the floor and the engine to idle.
I just pull over, get out and slip it back on and it's fine. Until the next time it happens. So far it hasn't happened at a bad time, but I need to get it right before it does.
Does the cable just need to be tightened a touch?
I saw somewhere where this part was changed half way through 77. Mine rolled out of the factory in March, so maybe there is a replacement for this that works better?
Or perhaps just a way to keep this attached so it won't wander?
thanks

[carl]

Sounds like you just need to tighten the cable a bit. However, I have seen some of the cable actuating wheels on these Webers where parts of the cable guide has broken off meaning a shorter track for the cable to lay in. My advice is to get the cable, cam box mounted linkage and actuating arm from an earlier or later model spider.

carl

[kilrwail]

You may be missing the slotted sleeve that retains the ball in the cupped seat. There is another at the end of the throttle rod on the other end of the bell crank, so you can see what I mean. Find someone with a box of old Weber parts - they're bound to have one.

[timspider]

I tightened it 1 turn and so far, it's working.
thank you!

[timspider]

so there is a slotted sleeve?
that makes sense, although I'm not sure where mine went. I will check the other end for that as suggested.
thanks so much!

[timspider]

update: this was caused by the hood latch mounting piece, the metal that you screw the latch to. That metal had, ever so slighlty, over the years, pulled up a touch and forward a touch.
So when the hood was closed with a slotted sleeve on the throttle cable, the little spring on the latch mechanism would catch the edge of the slotted sleeve as it traveled by and strip it off.
At that point the ball is just sitting in the cup, with nothing holding it on. Sometimes that would be good for weeks. Sometimes, like when maybe when sitting on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, it slips off for no apparent reason. Your gas pedal drops to the floor and your engine falls to idle.
Almost never fun.
When I finally figured out that this was happening, I took the latch off and kind of gently used a chuck of wood and a mini sledge to coax the mounting metal back into place. Re mounted and adjusted the latch mechanism and the problem is finally solved.