I took the starter out this morning to survey the damage. Looks like the rubber is damaged, not the cable. The stud of the piman is the culprit. Looks like I may be able to lengthen the cable and re-route it. Don't really want to shim in that everything is now in place with all the clearances checked. If I shim now I may be startting a snowball effect. If I have to I'll put a stocker in.