Cutout modification
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 12,604
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From: East Central Florida
Cutout modification So my old McCord got stuck open, and I finally got around to
working on something I had wanted to get around to; a fast
acting cutout that can work off a WOT switch.
I had a spare MPP body I had bought for next to nothing with
a bad gearbox, and I had a 12V solenoid from somewhere, been
in the junk boxes for a decade or three. Fabbed a mounting
bracket plate from a piece of road sign aluminum.
Cobbled up a bellcrank by pounding some 1/4" steel rod in the
bench vise and drilling some cross-holes, and used the MPP's
coupler to mount it. A bit of aluminum welding rod for the linkage
bent to get the plate closed under tension.
Assembled, this thing opens instantly and is naturally closed if
power is not applied. Right now it's on the car sealing the cutout.
A bit rattly, I'm not sure how much more spring pressure I can
put before the solenoid has too much to overcome; I may just
do like I've seen and smear some high temp RTV on the body
seating surfaces to quiet it instead. Have to see what I can find
for springs in the junk collection.
It sure looks a lot more foolproof than the gearbox type cutouts.
Of course time in the road-spray will tell.
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working on something I had wanted to get around to; a fast
acting cutout that can work off a WOT switch.
I had a spare MPP body I had bought for next to nothing with
a bad gearbox, and I had a 12V solenoid from somewhere, been
in the junk boxes for a decade or three. Fabbed a mounting
bracket plate from a piece of road sign aluminum.
Cobbled up a bellcrank by pounding some 1/4" steel rod in the
bench vise and drilling some cross-holes, and used the MPP's
coupler to mount it. A bit of aluminum welding rod for the linkage
bent to get the plate closed under tension.
Assembled, this thing opens instantly and is naturally closed if
power is not applied. Right now it's on the car sealing the cutout.
A bit rattly, I'm not sure how much more spring pressure I can
put before the solenoid has too much to overcome; I may just
do like I've seen and smear some high temp RTV on the body
seating surfaces to quiet it instead. Have to see what I can find
for springs in the junk collection.
It sure looks a lot more foolproof than the gearbox type cutouts.
Of course time in the road-spray will tell.
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TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 609
Likes: 6
From: jacksonville,fl
You mentioned rattly. My homemade cable operated valve from a welded up cadillac northstar throttle body started getting rattly sounding, bearings are getting loose. Was going to remove & fit with bronze bushings, ended up putting a light return spring in the pull direction to apply tension & shortened the cable. Stopped the rattling sound.
If the solenoid doesn't work out, you may want to consider a simple pull cable,instant response & partial open capability is pretty cool.
If the solenoid doesn't work out, you may want to consider a simple pull cable,instant response & partial open capability is pretty cool.
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 24,241
Likes: 89
From: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
That genius. I may make one of these one day as well. As an alternative to beef it up quite nice would be an electric trunk release solenoid. Super cheap and have a nice hefty pull on them. Might have to double up springs and solenoids to make this thing work effeciently while keeping the face sealed during power off situations.
