Throttle lock or control cable modification?

[wizard124]

My last drive lasted about 2 hours, all freeway. I have to confess that by the time I climbed out of the seat I was cramped up, my right knee especially

Got me thinking of installing a control cable to lock the throttle. A poor man's cruise control. So that I could move my leg around, shift in the seat to reduce the cramping. Anyone go down this road before with a FI spider?

I am thinking a bracket would be easy to fabricate and mount to the lower rail behind the dash. Then run a control cable like this: http://www.jcwhitney.com/p3051634/sku-3402368.jcwx to the linkage somewhere and somehow

[phaetn]

Dunno about setting it up for an FI car, but I can tell you that my '74 has a throttle knob (on a carb with throttle linkages). I didn't use it for extended times, but on an 11 hr drive back from FFO it was handy to dial it in to 75mph on more than one occasion just to give my leg and foot a rest. It worked remarkably well: I could add throttle if I wanted to get up an incline without losing speed or to make a pass, and then it would rest again at the previous throttle position when I let off.

So simple yet bloody brilliant. The only tricky bit was going downhill.

Cheers,
phaetn

[DieselSpider]

The problem with throttle locks is the lack of a brake activated release mechanism like on a modern cruise control which can be a major safety concern and is why they no longer put them on roadway vehicles. On power equipment like lawn tractors the safety device will be an engine kill switch under the seat and on a JetSki a engine kill lanyard attached to the rider.

While they can be considered a convenience throttle locks that do no automatically release when you tap the gas or brake pedal really are not the safest thing to have installed on your vehicle. If your legs are cramping because you've been driving for too long at one stretch then its likely time to make a rest stop to take a break from driving and get your legs moving/blood circulating. With the diesel I get almost 600 miles to a tank on my Spider and with the 100 gallon tank in my SuperDuty I can go over 800 miles however I plan more frequent stops because this old horse isn't up to marathon driving any more.

Be safe!

[seabeelt]

I think one of the Jersey Boys has a cruise control installed in the ash tray. Looked pretty nifty to me.
R/

[donm]

Wizard, I feel your pain. At 6' 2" my leg get stiff and on 2 or 3 hour trips, I have to take my foot off the gas for a few minutes and stretch it out.

I keep a 32" long tomato stake beside the driver's seat and hold it against the the pedal while I stretch my leg. Effective, but I wish there were some way I could move the pedal forward a bit.

[bradartigue]

Terrible, terrible idea. If you get into a situation where you have to stop abruptly the throttle will continue to engage. James Seabolt installed at some point a cruise control that disengaged as it should, with the brakes.

I think he used the kit from JC Whitney.

[baltobernie]

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22757

This particular Audiovox product is no longer made, but the replacement types available now are all electric. Easier installation because vacuum source is not required.

[DieselSpider]

http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22757

This particular Audiovox product is no longer made, but the replacement types available now are all electric. Easier installation because vacuum source is not required.

The electric servo models do have limitations such as voiding the warranty if you mount the electric servo on the engine, where it will get hot or close to sharp objects however vacuum systems are still available for reasonable costs:

Vacuum:
http://www.amazon.com/MotoGroup-Univers ... se+control

Rostra/Audiovox Electric:
http://www.amazon.com/Rostra-Universal- ... se+control