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My impression of autopilot
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   Forward Look NON-Technical Discussions -> 1955-1961 Forward Look MoPar General DiscussionMessage format
 
plymouth
Posted 2017-06-04 10:18 AM (#541502)
Subject: My impression of autopilot



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After two years of restoring my Imperial, I've finally gotten around to the restoration of the accessories such as air conditioning and auto-pilot. I began a few months back but quickly discovered that the original unit had a seized drive screw. I found another unit to use for parts. The parts unit had a locked motor and a bad electromagnet, but was in better mechanical shape than my other one. I used the parts unit as my rebuild candidate and used the electromagnet and motor from my original unit. I spent about 8 hours meticulously disassembling, cleaning, reassembling, and adjusting the auto pilot unit. It was tedious, but not a bad job. For adjustment, the factory calls for two specialty tools. I do not have these so I asked around and found that an 8mm socket works perfectly for the stop stud gauge. The other tool was supposed to hold out the weights on the governor. I found that folded cardboard did the job just fine. So about an hour ago, I wanted to try it out. Its rainy, but its hard to wait when you wanna see if the fruits of your labor pay off. I began driving and turned the dial to its lowest setting which is 30mph. Once I reached 30, the pedal became stiff. So I knew that the speed minder function was working. Now to test the cruise control portion. I pulled out the knob and let my foot off the gas.. and the car was still going 30mph! Its a great gadget and I may have to do more adjusting once I can use it on a dry day. I'm very impressed with this accessory and if you have thought about getting your factory installed unit working or adding this feature, I'd strongly recommend it.

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wizard
Posted 2017-06-04 11:05 AM (#541508 - in reply to #541502)
Subject: Re: My impression of autopilot



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Great going! Yes, the AutoPilot is my favourite option as well, really nice during long road trips.
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Powerflite
Posted 2017-06-04 12:40 PM (#541511 - in reply to #541502)
Subject: Re: My impression of autopilot



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I have one on my '58 New Yorker, but all I have is the column & switch and brake tee. I have no idea what else I need, how to mount it and where to get it...
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wizard
Posted 2017-06-04 2:27 PM (#541515 - in reply to #541502)
Subject: Re: My impression of autopilot



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This might help http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=25122&... Pilot&highlightmode=1#M394471
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GregCon
Posted 2017-06-04 6:08 PM (#541519 - in reply to #541502)
Subject: Re: My impression of autopilot



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My 58 Saratoga has it. It works well (after I rebuilt it) but I need to do more work on the column dial. I think I greased it too well...the vibrations from the car cause it to slowly 'unwind' and the car loses speed.
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wizard
Posted 2017-06-05 1:26 AM (#541542 - in reply to #541502)
Subject: Re: My impression of autopilot



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Greg, I have the same minor problem, but very small decrease of speed. Far as I remember, I cleaned the dial and applied a thin coat of lithium grease. Perhaps those dials should be totally without grease, or only the old white "Lubriplate"?

Since that the decrease happens perhaps after one hour of driving, I don't intend to fix it until it eventually gets worse.
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GregCon
Posted 2017-06-06 4:08 PM (#541634 - in reply to #541502)
Subject: Re: My impression of autopilot



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I really haven't looked into it since I put it together. I need to take it apart and see what to do. Mine decreases pretty quickly....like 1MPH per every 5 seconds.
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