Thanks, Bob. This weekend I remembered that I already had a 10 gauge wire coming through the firewall for my heated seats, so I simply spliced into that for the top motor. That one squeezes through a firewall grommet along with the headlight vacuum line at about the center of the dash). I also added a 30 amp breaker at the solenoid end just in case (though I doubt there will be too many times when I run both the seat heaters and the top motor at the same time. I ran a separate set of 14 gauge lines from my switch to a pair of 30 amp relays mounted near the pump. That way I’m not pulling high current through the switch. So now 3 of my 4 toggle switches are accounted for (from left to right: seat heaters; top up/down; driving lights; unused). Now I just need to figure out a way to make some new labels for the switches.
Not happy with the way my first attempt at a top boot turned out, I took another stab at it. This time rather than trying to modify a mustang item, I started from scratch with some cheap brown vinyl that I picked up on sale. I started by making a template out of paper bags and tape, then transferred that to the vinyl and had a local upholstery shop sew a hem around the perimeter (after I destroyed my daughter’s sewing machine trying to do it myself). It looks a bit puffy underneath right now because I stuffed a bunch of towels in there over the frame parts. The actual padding that will be glued in will be a bit thinner.
I’m not sure yet how I’m going to deal with securing the front edge along the top of the seats. I’m thinking of somehow utilizing the headrest mounts.
Maybe four hooks on bungee cords which are sleeved.
Back when I first got the car from WCCC, I added fluid to the pump and stuck a belt on and while everything worked fine, it only took a few minutes idling before a pool of fluid gathered under the car. Closer inspection revealed that the control valve was leaking something fierce, so I drained the system, took the belt off, and figured I’d fix it later. Well, that was over ten years ago, and this afternoon, I finally got started.
I’m relieved to report that I managed to wrestle the old unit off the car, but not without shedding a bit of blood and teaching my son some new swear words. Despite all of the advice on these and other forums about just hitting the pitman arm to drop the ball stud out, no amount of hammering would budge it. Folks in my neighborhood know that I am not afraid to whale away at things with big hammers, but even 7lb bessy proved ineffective against whatever supernatural force held those two parts together. I finally managed to free it by bracing a hammer underneath the pitman arm and using a lenght of 3/4 round stock bar as a giant punch to pound on the stud (with the nut attached) from the top. That surprisingly dropped it in short order.
I was feeling pretty smug at that point as I removed the clamp on the centerlink and prepared to unscrew the valve. Then I remembered the roll pin. It was sticking down about 1/2 inch out of the centerlink. No amount of pulling on it with pliars, vice grips, etc seemed to work so I figured, why not drive it out the top. (Folks in the know are undoubtedly laughing quietly to themselves at this point). Well, I know know that the hole doesn’t go all the way through the centerlink and all I managed to do with my hammering was smash the pin in to the point where I could no longer grab it with anything. By that point, I figured I had lost enough blood and my wife was questioning whether or not my “20 minute project” was going to turn into something else, so I grabbed the most destructive thing within reach: my 4" angle grinder, and with surprising dexterity, I managed to grind the remains of the pin down far enough to unscrew the control valve, with only minimal damage to the valve body and no visible damage to the threads on the centerlink.
Tomorrow I hope to reassemble everything using my rebuilt control valve and new hoses and, God willing, enjoy some easier turning.
I’m happy to report that the project was a success. I put everything back together, filled the pump with some Type F ATF, put on a belt and fired 'er up. Keep in mind that this system has been basically dry for at least 10 years! At first she started to drip at the control valve, but that turned out to be just a loose hose connection. I was certain that the PS cylinder was going to leak and/or that the pump would whine, but neither occurred. I’ve driven the car now about 50 miles with no drips anywhere, so I guess the car gods are pleased with me. I no longer have to pass up those good parking spots.
I finally found the source of an annoying squeak:
That was the passenger side strut bushing. As you can see, it was metal on metal. The new Moog bushings are a much better design.
After “chroming” my faux magnum 500s, I discovered another ghetto use for gutter tape:
The beauty of this stuff is the fact that it’s soft so it can be massaged onto complex curves and shapes, and since it’s metal, it holds that shape.
That looks pretty great! Did you do both the horizontal trim and the COUGAR emblem?
Just the trim. The emblem is a reproduction from WCCC.
I started wondering if that stuff would work on the Decor door panel trim. Probably would, I suppose.
Damn power steering lines! All these past months that I’ve been enjoying free and easy steering, the worm drive clamp that I used to hold the lines to the control valve was slowly and maliciously chewing its way through the pressure line. Ruined an otherwise beautiful Friday night early fall drive/date night with my wife. 
At least this time, the mess was in the restaurant parking lot and not all over my garage floor.
It’s been a while since I’ve really done anything with Copycatvert (aside from routine maintenance) but my recent 1300+ mile trip to Kansas and back convinced me that I NEED a cruise control. A few hours on the internets offered up several aftermarket options and I settled on the tried and true Audivovox kit. Apparently this kit is no longer available new, but there are still plentiful stocks out there. I got mine off ebay for cheap as the kit was missing some of the connectors and linkage pieces that I figured I could make do without. There are some really good digital/electronic systems available, but I’m ok with the old-school vacuum variety. For manual transmission cars, installation is simple because it operates off of the signal from the coil so there’s no need to install a speed sensor on the driveshaft.
The instructions that come with the kit are pretty straightforward. There’s also a ton of info and installation write-ups on the internet (it’s really popular with the motorcycle crowd). On Copycatvert, I mounted the servo using one of the washer bottle screws and ran the ground to a screw on the nearby voltage regulator. Inside the area where those wires enter the servo is a set of 7 tiny DIP switches that you have to set to various on or off positions depending on application, desired operating RPM range, sensitivity, etc. In my case, the sequence came out to ON ON OFF OFF ON OFF ON. There is a cover that I haven’t installed yet to seal up the wires and switches. I should note here also that the instructions say to disconnect the wire connector from the servo when changing the switch settings, but no mention of why. Well, after some difficulty getting the system to work, I realized that it stores those settings in a memory and doesn’t actually change anything unless the power is cycled off-on.
I had to fabricate a small bracket to mount the throttle cable to the back of the intake and I cut some bead chain from a basement light socket to connect it to my throttle linkage. Adjustment is simply a matter of leaving just enough slack in the chain to allow the throttle to return to the fully closed position.
For vacuum, I simply tapped into my tilt-away system with a T-splice connector, since that system already has a vacuum canister and check valve. I then ran the wires from the servo into the passenger compartment through an existing firewall grommet. Inside the car, there are two wires which must be spliced into the brake light wires using scotch connectors. These wires provide 1) a constant +12 vdc to power the servo, and 2) trigger the system to disengage when you hit the brakes. This was probably the most difficult part of the job only because it requires crawling around underneath the dash. The remaining wires connect to the control switch pad that comes with the kit. You’ll need a connection to a switched +12vdc source (I used the radio lead) and if you want the switches to be illuminated, you’ll need to tap another wire into your dash light system. Aside from that, there’s a ground lead from the switch pad that must be connected to the chassis and three wires that connect to the corresponding wires from the servo unit.
Mounting the switch pad requires a flat surface and drilling an oval-shaped hole, which I’m reluctant to do anywhere on my dash or console. Besides, it’s a pretty ugly unit so I’m going to wait and see if I can come up with some more factory-looking switch options. Otherwise, I might just stick it inside the ash tray so it’s out of sight but still within easy reach.
That’s basically it. As far as operation goes, it works and feels just like the cruise systems in modern cars. You can set your speed, coast and resume just like modern cars. Hitting the brakes disengages the system as does pressing the OFF button. The unit also automatically disengages when it senses a sudden jump in RPM’s, e.g., when you press the clutch-- so no need to install a clutch switch.
Now here’s something promising:
These look good and manly enough to warrant cutting into something to mount. They’re window switches from an old mercedes.
Jody,
You didn’t mention the driveshaft magnet and pickup, the system uses these I’m assuming?
Bob he mentioned it in the beginning of his post. The speed sensor is not needed on the driveshaft for manual cars.
Steven
Hmmm, too bad you can’t find a round switch unit/bezel to mount on top of your shifter!
DOH! Thanks Steven!
But (Jody), still confused. How would the system know the speed then? The transmission is an unknown (ratio) variable to the system then, no?
The coil signal would only tell the system engine RPM and this would relate to a different vehicle speed in each of the gears, not to mention that there are two “final drive” gears with a 5 speed! So please edjumacate me Jody!
Thinking on it, think maybe I get it. You could engage the CC in any gear but why would you. Just use it in 4th or 5th. Something tells me something like this would not fly with the NHTSA!
Bob- the computer doesn’t really care about speed (it assumes you know how fast you’re going when you set it). It merely memorizes and maintains whatever RPM you’re at when you press the SET button and assuming your clutch isn’t slipping (like a torque converter), the drive wheels have to follow suit. Make sense? And yes, you can use it in any gear, but as soon as you clutch to change gears, it disengages and you have to press SET again to set it to the new RPM to maintain.
Yes, makes sense Jody, thanks.