Gas Pedal spring/cable broke?

[mattklatt]

It got really cold suddenly where I live and one morning I went to just try and start the car. The gas pedal felt pretty much frozen in place and pushing on it didn't move it at all. I made the mistake of applying more pressure. Then the pedal made a clunking noise and fell to the floor. Now, if I pull the pedal back up, it just falls down to the floor.

Also, if I start the car now it is in the highest rpms possible right from the start.

Any idea what I did and how to fix this?

Thanks for any help

[aj81spider]

Sounds like your throttle linkage is stuck. Open the hood and look at the linkage where it comes through the firewall and trace it to the carburetor. Somewhere it is bound up.

[DieselSpider]

Either broke the cable or its frozen in a new location. Sometimes when it suddenly gets cold condensation freezes the cable near the carb. Do you have a heated garage to let it thaw in? Sometimes a little lock deicer can help.

[bobplyler]

Could it be this?
http://midwest-bayless.com/p-1004-41005 ... e-nos.aspx

[mattklatt]

I'm thinking that the cable must be frozen to the sleeve its held in. I can push the cable out through the firewall by hand if I get down under the dash. Then it gets stuck again unless I really stomp on the gas pedal. Then I have to push the cable back through.

Would you guys recommend I unscrew the cable from the pedal and try and pull it out of the sleeve its in?

I'm not sure if there ever was a spring. Is that a common thing for '78 spiders?