If you've ever driven your hot rod for an extended period, that heavy-footed feeling you get from constantly mashing down the 'go' pedal can certainly be fatiguing. Combine that with some of the rather confining positions many of us are limited to due to space constraints in our hot rods and it becomes painfully obvious that something like a cruise control unit would be a god send. Well dream no more, because Dakota Digital has the answer to your gas pedal woes for both carbureted and injected cars alike.
Using an electric servo with solid state electronics, their system requires no vacuum and will work with radically cammed, blown motors and stock crate engines alike. A simple wiring harness and built-in self-diagnostic check features makes for an exceptionally easy installation simple enough for those with even the most archaic of electrical know-how.
The cruise control module can be bolted to the firewall and connects to the throttle using a number of universal adapters. Once installed, it's just a matter of running the wiring harness through the firewall bulkhead and replacing the stock turn signal lever with one equipped for use with cruise control.
While wiring up the cruise control module is fairly simple given that the harness comes with corresponding connectors for the module and the control handle, there are a few wires that need to be attached traditionally. Two wires attach to the brake switch, one on the "hot" or positive side and one on the "cold" or negative side; a ground wire; an accessory power wire from a fused "key on" location; a tach signal wire that functions as a safety feature that will disengage the cruise control unit if the vehicle is knocked into neutral to prevent engine over-rev; a vehicle speed sensor wire that tells the module how fast the vehicle is traveling; and a neutral safety switch wire that functions as a safety much like the tach signal wire. All wires are color coded and harnessed so as to make it as easy as possible for the end user to install.
We recently had our 2004 Road Tour '32 roadster down at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff for a tune-up and decided to have the guys install Dakota Digital's cruise control kit before the hot rod season really hit high gear. Check out the install and see for yourself how simple it really is!
Here's the cruise control...
Here's the cruise control kit as it comes from Dakota Digital. It consists of the electric servo, mounting hardware, and wiring harness.
The GM-style cruise control...
The GM-style cruise control handle will replace the existing turn signal lever and we'll be installing an ididit polished cover to clean things up a bit.
This spot on the firewall...
This spot on the firewall will work fine, but before it's mounted, Mark checks to ensure that the harness will reach into the passenger compartment and that the cruise cable will reach the throttle attaching point.
The first step is to find...
The first step is to find a location suitable to mount the control module. It's recommended to not mount the module under the fender, under the vehicle, directly to the engine, with the cable pointing down, near sharp, hot, or moving objects, within 10 inches of the ignition coil, or in the passenger compartment.
Everything looks good so the...
Everything looks good so the firewall is drilled to accept the mounting bracket.