Anybody out there created a home made cruise control of any worth, or is there any low bucks items than can be easily adapted for hot rodding purposes??? It may not be all that traditional but I am getting a little older these days and got to thinking...
Most old pickups and some cars had a knob on the dash. It's not cruise control. Cruise control is one thing that you probably don't want to mess around with....get one that is properly designed, so you don't kill other people along with yourself when it sticks the throttle open.
It was probably there so you didnt bounce your foot on the throttle on a bumpy field or what have you. Or a pto. Theres always the cut down broom stick.
I've wanted to do this too, but want it totally discreet. The big problem in making it discreet to me is the linkage required to the throttle cable. I've wondered about making it work under the dash. Anyway, I found this article of a Brit that did this to his MG. You might find some useful info. in it. http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/docs/Installing a Cruise Control to a 1970 MGB V8 Roadster.pdf
There used to be a lot of aftermarket units available that you could probably hide the unit under the dash and just run the cable out to the throttle linkage on the carb. A quick Ebay search shows that there are a few brands of Universal kits available for between 250 and 300 bucks so a guy should be able to find one locally or Summit carries a universal one made by Dakota Digital. It would't be home made but you could probably pull the pieces out of an early/mid 70's GM car or pickup and rig it to work. There was the unit that went in the cable that usually was bolted to the inner fender well, the contol head with vacuum actuator and the switch on the turn signal switch.
someone got a good deal on this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270937622688
RE the Rosta units, I forgot to add that my experience with them has only been with cars with stalk mounted controls and wired thru the standard GM style column harnesses. Rosta also sell dash mounted control panels that could be easy to hide on a more traditional ride. Most of the aftermarket places that sell or mfg custom steering columns carry them and can help with ??? No, I'm not a Rosta salesman, but they build all kinds of OEM stuff for commercial use, it is very reliable, works just like your late model grocery getter and has a warranty, ta boot. Don't go on a long trip without one! Gary http://rostra.com/products/universal-aftermarket-cruise-control-by-rostra.html
The cruise control on my Miata pulls on the gas pedal linkage under the dash and so there isn't anything showing under the hood. I'm figuring on doing something like it when the '51 gets to the point of needing cruise control. There really isn't anything magic about it.
my 69 datsun roadster has a knob on the dash to.just push the gas down, and pull the knob till it stops. give it a twist, and it releses inself. i only use it on clear/open highway! in l.a., this rarely gats used.
Audiovox makes a unit that would work for this costs about a 100 bucks, we got one in the wifes 56 works pretty good, I used the **** out of it on the way to boneville. put the control under the dash so you use it by brail.
I admit in my old f100 pickup to using a light piece of wood to wedge between the bench seat and throttle pedal on long trips to ease the pain. Those bech seats were not made for long trips back then. I recall but never took much notice at the time, that my more recent f150 that I previously owned had some kind of small drive electric motor (windshield motor) hooked up to the EFI cable as part of a cruise mechanism. Looking back it could have been a start although being EFI there may have been a lot more electronics to it than I would care to consider.
I installed one of those aftermarket kits very similar to the one in the link, in an O/T 914 Porsche many years ago and it worked very well....I wrapped 4 magnets around the CV joint (they also could be wrapped around the drive shaft coupler at the diff - they we're only about 1/4" diameter) and bolted the pickup transducer to the gearbox rather than use the tach wire as indicated in the article. It was extremely accurate and really did the trick. You might have some issues getting the appropriate vacuum to operate the sytem if you have a blower or turbo, but if normally aspirated it works really well. The controls for mine were very similar to those shown in the article and allowed you to vary your speed by 1 mph up or down, simpler to use and very effective, and small enough to easily hide. I liked the idea of hiding them in the ashtray in the console - wish I'd thought of that! At any rate, for $100 and a couple hours of work it was a perfect unit. Since you can still buy them, that's what I'd use.
i have the audiovox unit and it works great for a hundred bucks on ebay and a day's work i'm happy. worked great for 4500 miles on this years hot rod power tour
My friend gave me a box of early (mid 70's) dodge cruise control units. He said he always used them on all his streetrods over the years. They are very clean looking and can adapt easily to many makes and models. Cable operated to the carb. The cable detaches and different lengths are available. It has really simple wiring. You do need to use the mopar cruise switch, the slide type mounted on the turn signal lever. If I remember correctly, there are only 4 wires to hook that up. Then there are only a couple other wires and a vacuum hose. Look on line and see if this might work for you. It picks up the speed signal from the speedometer so you will need a pulse sender on the speedo cable. Here is the wiring diagram. (Most of the wiring is in the switch on the turn signal)
JC whitney used to have a very affordable unit with a small servo you could hide under the dash or etc. it used magnets on the drive shaft to sense the speed and had a control unit that was a rectangular stick on pad about 2"x1-1/2"x1/2" which would be easy to hide. I had one on a DD for several years. it worked well!
What parts do I need for a homemade cruise control on the car in my avatar... Like out of a junkyard, not the expensive amkt catalog stuff. Carbed SBC. T400.. with air. Prefer NON column mounted style..not opposed to a control switch under the dash.. I drive it long distances and cruise would sure be nice on the ol' loud pedal foot on this 74 year old hoodlum. Thanks...
I made a mechanical cruise control several years ago. More like a hand throttle with 5 steps. It was pretty simple and straight forward - worked quite well for what it was. Basically a knob you can pull out - looked like the original light knob. It was hold in one of the 5 positions with a spring and a BB in the housing I made. On the business end at the carb was a simple cable with a stop at the end, worked a bit like a progressive carb linkage (slip). That's as old school as you can get Frank
Look at the Model A Ford, they had a mechanical system that operated in tandem with the foot throttle. Its the right steering column lever. The risk with any electrical system is if you get a run away event that holds the throttle open you lose brake boost as well.
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