Aftermarket Cruise Control?

I'm thinking that cruise control would be very nice to have on my tow pig, the 1971 Ford Country Sedan. The problem is, it didn't come with it. I'm wondering if any of the wonderful, brilliant folks in here have used an aftermarket system, which one, and did it work well?

Yes,I forget, and they work as well as the installation allows them to.

There are write up out there on how to retrofit the GM unit with the two speedometer cables from the 70s into pretty much anything with a cable driven speedometer.  Considering that those units are usually $10 or so from the junkyard, it's worth looking into. 

There's also a way to use the cable driven electronic speed pickup from an Astro van to run the GM Delphi unit from the late 80s and 90s, which is a better unit, if your speedometer has the right connector. 

Ive used rostra and audiovox in the past with great success. 

Spoolpigeon, white courtesy phone.

Over 30 years ago I put one on my Volvo 445 Duett. It was self contained, no speedo hookup, it used two magnets and a sensor on the trans output flange. It worked well for several years, then began randomly accelerating! I wish I remembered the brand, I bought it from JCWhitney...

I seem to remember the old Chrysler units seemed somewhat simple to add to another car.   But all I have is a random thought.  Squirrel!

TurnerX19 said:

Over 30 years ago I put one on my Volvo 445 Duett. It was self contained, no speedo hookup, it used two magnets and a sensor on the trans output flange. It worked well for several years, then began randomly accelerating! I wish I remembered the brand, I bought it from JCWhitney...

I used a couple from JC as well. They worked OK.  The last one I bought was for my '88 van. It worked find until a magnet came off the driveshaft.

I never got around to replacing it.  Sold the van.

oldopelguy said:

There are write up out there on how to retrofit the GM unit with the two speedometer cables from the 70s into pretty much anything with a cable driven speedometer.  Considering that those units are usually $10 or so from the junkyard, it's worth looking into. 

Wonder if I could do that in my b350 rv. The current cable driven unit is toasted. Unavailable, have not been able to source one at the jy, even emailed the mopar yards.  The last time I found the servo, it was NOS and they wanted $400. Its not a rare part, looks like it was used on all mopars from 6? To 78, and continued on in some well into the 80s. 

The search is on for a gm unit.   

Streetwiseguy said:

Yes,I forget, and they work as well as the installation allows them to.

Update:

Yes, Rostra, and they work as well as the installation allows them to.

I've fitted several units to motorcycles over the years. Rostra and Audiovox. I don't believe the Audiovox unit is available anymore. The stepper motor Rostra unit available from Summit for 200 bucks works very well. I think you need to buy the control separately. Read the manual carefully (I know, this goes against all that is right in the world) and you shouldn't have much trouble.

I used to keep a baseball bat in my old freightliner as it was the perfect length to wedge between the throttle and the bottom of the dash. Back then everyone had a hand throttle or a chunk of wood in the cab.