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**YellowRose** · February 24, 2017, 03:04 AM

Cruise control

Good Morning, Jon! I was about to call it a night here when I saw your post. Yes, the pix are showing, and they are sized correctly, so you got that right. As for the door, it could be a number of things. One might be lubrication, or adjustment. Hopefully, someone else will come along and be able to give you more information than that. John Pizzi ~ jopizz and Carl Heller ~ partsetal have called it a night, but should be back on in the morning. Both are good persons to get to know because they are two who knows so very much about Squarebirds. Either one of them should be able to tell you what to look for to fix that door. If it turns out you need parts, Carl has plenty of Squarebirds parts and ships all over the world. Should he not have what you might need, then look at the Advertisements Forum, if you have not already done so. There you will find all the major Tbird parts houses listed. If you don't have their free catalogs, email them and ask them to mail them to you. Your Squarebird looks really nice, but that is the weirdest set up I have ever seen attached to a valve cover! It certainly looks like it was some older type of cruise control system, but I have never seen one like that before! Hopefully, someone has! If you can find any manufacturing information on it, post it here. I can do some research for you tomorrow on it, if you can find a name and/or model number. G'Night!

**Joe Johnston** · February 24, 2017, 10:08 AM

Also unusual is the device is mounted on a passenger side rocker cover. Obviously can be swapped side to side, but just sayin'...... Interesting item and definitely would like to learn what it is and how it operates.

**jopizz** · February 24, 2017, 10:49 AM

Originally posted by mh434

I went to close the drivers door but it wont catch, it just springs back open. hopefully nothing broken in the mechanism it just needs a bit of lubrication. Anyone else had the same problem ?
Jon

Most likely the latch inside the door needs to be lubed. Try removing the top screw above the latch and shoot some penetrating oil in there. That usually does the trick.

John

**Yadkin** · February 24, 2017, 07:46 PM

I'm subscribing to this thread because I've always been amazed that my '64 was available with cruise, yet the first car I ever saw with cruise was about 20 years newer.

Here's the wiring diagram for mine. I'd like to know what the mysterious "brain unit" is.

My apologies to admin for the big size of the "picture". A smaller size was not readable.

Attached Files

scan0001.jpg (232.3 KB, 87 views)

**mh434** · February 25, 2017, 08:13 AM

John
Top tip regarding the door latch. It now works a treat thank you.
I have taken some more photos of the other bits which were left in the trunk (which I assume go with the cruise control) and I will post them on Monday. Must admit they do look like they have fallen off a washing machine!!

Jon

**mh434** · February 27, 2017, 02:12 AM

so as promised, some further photos of what I believe to be bits of the cruise control setup. The micro switch has a lead that plugs into the three pin socket on the bit on the valve cover. The bellows, I have no idea...could even be part of a musical instrument for all I know..!!

Attached Files

**YellowRose** · February 27, 2017, 02:56 AM

Cruise control

Jon, here is what I have been able to find out about Micro Switch Corp. I think they are still in business making many different micro switches. Micro Switch is a Manufacturing company, Tel is 815-235-5500, at 11 West Spring St, Freeport, Illinois. I will contact them tomorrow to see if they can give me any indication of what that unit might have been used on. I suspect not, but I will see.

Is that unit attached to the contraption that is attached to the valve cover? It looks like it might be attached to something. Have you been able to find ANY indication of who manufactured that contraption attached to the valve cover? If you have not done so, go over that thing with a fine tooth comb and see if you can find any model number or manufacturing name on it. Someone had to build that thing, and I hope it was not just something that some previous owner put together from a bunch of parts. I am headed to bed, and I will let you know if I make any headway on this later today. Thanks for the additional pix.

**mh434** · February 27, 2017, 03:46 AM

Thanks Ray
I will have a bit more time at the weekend so I will have a closer look for any markings, but at the moment I cant see any. Funny but I had the same thought as you, did the original owner go down to radioshack and buy a bunch of parts...

Jon

**YellowRose** · February 27, 2017, 08:41 AM

Cruise control

Jon, I just spoke with Micro Switch Corp, now known as Honeywell Corp! - 866-288-7272. The name changed many years ago. I talked with customer service. There is probably not much they can do to help us because that Micro Switch unit in the picture was just part of that contraption in the other pictures, or was not even related to whatever that is attached to that valve cover.. BUT, on the bottom of the picture is a Catalog Number. But, I cannot read that number. IF you can clean that unit up and read that Catalog Number, tell me what it is and that will help them trace back to see what that is and what it might have been used for. It would also help if you turn it around, look it over really good and see if you can find a Model Number...

**mh434** · February 27, 2017, 08:51 AM

will do, I will spend some time on it at the weekend.

Jon

**YellowRose** · February 27, 2017, 10:08 AM

Cruise control

You did not say if that Micro Switch was attached to that contraption on the valve cover. I gather that it is not, but if so, is it attached to anything else? I suspect we will never be able to find out what that thing is, or who made it, unless we can get a manufacturers name or model number off it. I suspect that Micro Switch might have been part of it to make it all work properly. It could just be a "Rube Goldberg" device that someone was trying to put together to get cruise control. Or something entirely different...

**mh434** · February 27, 2017, 10:30 AM

Ray
The microswitch has a lead on it that plugs into the 3 pin socket that is on the end of the contraption in the first picture above. Current thinking is
1. cruise control
2. musical instrument
3. left over from Manhattan Project...!!

**DKheld** · February 27, 2017, 10:49 AM

I was offered a job at micro-switch years (and years) ago. They only made switches which could be adapted for many uses. Also sold to other manufactures who used the micro-switches as part of their product rather than making their own switch.

Dude (or Dude-ette) must of been related to me as much as I like using cruise control - either that or they did a lot of interstate driving.

Wires usually go to the brake light circuit so that stepping on the brake produces voltage to the "contraption" and disengages the cruise.

Very cool - yep - probably a rocket scientist fooling around in the garage.

Eric

**YellowRose** · February 27, 2017, 11:10 AM

Cruise control

Hi Eric! I was surprised when I was told that Honeywell used to be Micro Switch. I think when I asked when did this switch occur they said many years ago. Then after doing some research, I found that Honeywell was started back in 1885, and formally founded in 1906. Along the way, it bought up Micro Switch from the reading I did. I have not found that date yet.

Jon, I think you might have hit the nail on the head with your thought that thing might have been left over from the Manhattan Project!

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