I have another question regarding my tilt-frontend fellows.
those of you that have seen the great web site of john noilon.
does anyone know where to get one of those electric screw
actuators. I have one that I got at a swap meet. I know that
you can buy the new ones from auto-loc, but I already have
one that works great and I want a matching one. Plus those
those things are salty. If anyone knows,,,,help. John feel free
to help also. thanks.

by the way the front end is latched,and working great, the only problem is the other side is loose and floppy, any other suggestions would be great.

 

I would think you should be able to find a manufacturer's name and part # somewhere on the one you have to aid you in finding a matching one.

One thing; BE SURE to unlatch the latch before operating those electric actuators! Those things really develop the power!

Good luck and be safe.

BobJonesSpecial

 

you know always the obvious way seems to work.
low and behold there it was on the side and they even
had a web site believe it or not. thanks for the slap on the
forehead.

 

suggest you check with FORD, seem to me they used the same thing you taking about to seat the top on the old 1958 convertable hard top. God I'm gettin old.

 

hi,

would you be so kind as either post the web site or e-mail it to me. i have a full tilt front end (all steel) on my 56 which which currently requires me to go work out at the gym four times a week just to be able to swing it forward.

i've been looking at different kinds of cheap electric screws to do the job for me so any info would be appreciated.

thanks,
rick

 

Rick,

you made up a new oxymoron... "cheap" and "electric screws"

they don't make cheap ones.... bout the best you're gonna do is 125 bucks or so... more lift.... more torque... more $$$$

john

 

the name is motion system products and i contacted them and
they informed me that those motors are made just for companys and that they cannot copy without permission from that company so if you get it at a swap meet like i did your screwed but the will custom make one for about the same price as auto-loc
www.motionsystemproducts.com

 

but hey i like oxymorons. i am an oxymoron or maybe just a moron. e.g. i'm a government worker who at one time worked in a military intelligence division.

in any event i remember you use a motor off a printer or something like that. and now i'm wondering if electric seat motors would have enough power to lift a full steel dog house. i have a set of electric powered seats i've decided not to use in the cab and it would be nice to recope some of the cost by using the motors. any thoughts?

thanks,
rick

 

Rick,

what are the motors gonna drive ??? some type gear ? I did have/see a plan somewhere in the past where a guy used trailer jacks that were gear driven... kinda of elaborate but it worked... If seat motors will lift a 300# walmart shopper in her van ... they ought to tilt your wimpy little steel doghouse. After all you're not lifting the full weight...

I'm interested in your thoughts on the lift mechanism.

john

 

Peterbilt used to make extended-nose conventionals with tilt hoods that used an air cylinder to open the hood.

It used to realy p*** me off!. Air was down, so had to start the engine. Engine wouldn't start so needed to open the hood to fix the engine. Couldn't open the hood because there was no air. Needed to start the engine to get air.....you get the idea. ...Great design!

(Actually, two people couldn't open the hood without air, but usually three could!)

Good luck, and be safe.

BobJonesSpecial

 

As far as your question about using seat motors, it all depends on how fast you want the front end to open. Those seat motors move a lot of weight, as John mentioned, but they do it fairly slowly. On the other hand, you probably don't want the chrome badges flying off when you open the front end either. I think it's guestimate and/or trial and error time, unless somebody has actually put one in a front end. I've used them for some science fair stuff with my kids, but never on a tilt front end. They make great rock tumblers.

 

thanks for the responses:

> john wrote:
> what are the motors gonna drive ?? some type gear
> I did have/see a plan somewhere in the past where a
> guy used trailer jacks that were gear driven... kinda of
> elaborate but it worked... If seat motors will lift a 300#
> walmart shopper in her van ... they ought to tilt your
> wimpy little steel doghouse. After all you're not lifting
> the full weight...

well to be honest i haven't thought this through completely. i figured if the motor was strong enough to do the job it might be worth thinking about. but my initial thoughts on the subject was that the motor that pushes the seat back an forth basically moves along this 1/2 in threaded rod that is about 15 inches long. if the motor was mounted on the frame and the end of the rod mounted on the doghouse it should work similar to the way yours work. the problem as i see it would be the exposure to the elements and road grit because this unit is not sealed and of course: what happens to the end of the threaded rod when the hood is closed? just hang down like something broken or ready to get broken.

another thought i had was, as you mentioned in your article, using a bellcrank. however the previous method would be simpler.

as you can see i am a long way from doing anything.

> BobJonesSpecial wrote:
> It used to realy p*** me off!. Air was down, so had
> to start the engine. Engine wouldn't start so needed
> to open the hood to fix the engine. Couldn't open
> the hood because there was no air. Needed to
> start the engine to get air.....you get the idea.
> ...Great design!

i thougth about this for an electric setup. fortunately my battery is under the passenger floorboard and my hood can be opened by most people. but i figured the push rod would need some type of quick release at the hood for emergency situations.

> George wrote:
> I think it's guestimate and/or trial and error time,

hummm ..... when does this phase ever end?