After market cruise control???

[heavycenturion]

Guys, my 73 Centurion didn't come with cruise. I would love to add an after market system, but only if I can find one that is of good quality and works well.
Anyone have any experience with this? I'm wide open for input and advice.

Thanks
Dennis

[Gum,beest]

Hi Dennis
Why don't you follow your own advice


Buy new!

Peter,

I've tried to cobble together an original used cruise control system for my 73, but finally gave up. After talking with many "hot rod" guys and street car builders, I find most recommend this company:

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.c...d=48/prd48.htm (http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=48/prd48.htm)

While it won't be original GM parts, it does work well and reliably. Just a thought. When I get ready to install Cruise Control, I'm going with Dakota Digital!

Good Luck
Dennis




I do not have any experience with them but i heard some good comments about them on the Dutch forums
http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/Category_ID=399/home_id=-1/mode=cat/cat399.htm

[73 Centurion]

I love cruise control and I've added aftermarket cruise to most of the cars I've owned. They've all been completely reliable. They are a very simple device and the key to reliability is careful installation.

The only tricky part is arranging the sending unit. Many are a pair of magnets that attach to the driveshaft that swing by a sensor to generate pulses. Others attach to the speedometer cable.

Either way make sure the wires are carefully routed and tucked safely. The rest of the installation is making a series of electrical connections. If you have a car with airbags you need to be careful (an electrical probe on the wrong wire can sometimes cause the bag to fire). If you don't have airbags you can test the wires to find a 12 volt keyed source and find the right wire on the brake switch. It can seem like a lot of wires at first but if you work your way through it methodically it's not difficult.

My method for tapping into a wire is to exposee the copper wire with a wire stripper. I then poke a hole in the strands with the point of my test light. I feed the stripped end of the new wire through that hole and wrap the end around the target wire. This kind of junction gets tighter is the wire is tugged. I cover the connection with paint on wire insulation although you can do the same with electrical tape. The ultimate connection would be soldered. I tend to add and alter electrical gizmos on a regular basis. This method makes it easy to undo a connection. Since the original wire is not cut the wire harness remains solid and reliable. I hate the scotch-lock style connectors. They frequently cut some of the strands of the wire reducing it's useful gauge. They seem to be prone to corrosion and they can loosen over time.

If your car has a manual transmission you'll need a switch to tell the cruise when the clutch is depressed.

All cruise controls will let you coast/reset to reduce your speed. One feature I look for is a way to increase the speed and reset the cruise. This is sometimes called "tap up". This makes it easier to match the speed of the traffic around you. In New England the roads cause traffic flow to vary from 55 to 75 depending on the stretch you're in. This feature may not be as useful elsewhere.

Good luck,
John