Remote trunk battery disconnect switch lever '71 Duster pics please

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rmchrgr

rmchrgr

Skate And Destroy
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I have been agonizing over where to put a trunk-mounted battery disconnect switch that gets actuated by a remote lever. Previously, the switch was under the rear bumper on a piece of angle bolted to the rear frame but I switched exhaust and it can't live there anymore.

I'd like for it to be inside the trunk now but that obviously requires a remote lever to actuate the switch from outside the car. Theoretically, the disconnect switch is supposed to be close to the battery. In my Duster the best place seems to be to the right of the spare tire well which is also about 18" forward from the rear panel.

Basically what this comes down to is whether I want to drill a 3/8" hole under the tail lamp in the lovely, virgin rear panel of my Duster for the lever to go through and attach to the switch or not. This is not a dedicated race car so I'd have to live with the hole there when the switch was not in use.

Alternately, there is a small opening in the bumper above the top right corner of the license plate that could be used to poke the lever though. Problem with that is it's towards the center of the car and I'd have to figure out how to get the lever solidly over to the switch on the right side. I suppose I can make something or bend some tubing but that seems less than ideal.

I know there are levers that can be actuated from the driver's seat but AFAIK, the track safety crew needs to be able to shut the car off easily from outside and if the driver is not able to in the event of a crash then that's bad.

There's also super expensive electronic push button types in use now but at least in my mind that type would still would require drilling a hole somewhere to mount the switch and get the wires through.

Anybody have pics of how they installed a remote battery disconnect lever in a '70-'72 Duster?

Thanks,

Greg
 
@younggun2.0

image_zpsv4ccw0fx.jpg
 
i did it the same way (68 Valiant), but was able to guide the rod trough a bolt hole in the bumper.....no extra holes in the sheetmetal necessary.
 
roccodart440 said:
Same here, right through the center of the plate.
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if i remember the story correctly, the tech guys at the track were giving youngun a hard time about not having it "marked"
thats when he got the custom plate
 
diymirage said:
if i remember the story correctly, the tech guys at the track were giving youngun a hard time about not having it "marked"
thats when he got the custom plate
Click to expand...


Never ran into that issue. Mine is very noticeable. It comes right through the NYS emblem. A lot of tech guys are pricks though. You never know what they will decide to bust your balls about
 
Well, here's what I came up with. I ordered the Moroso remote lever kit which includes an aluminum rod that's threaded on both ends to accept a lever handle on one end and a rod end on the other, a switch lever arm and a weldable bracket to hold the switch. Additionally I bought an extra L-shaped switch bracket to give me more mounting options.

To make the z-shaped rod, I cut apart an old leaf spring U bolt at the points where it flattens out and welded a piece of steel rod the same diameter to the cut ends. Worked out OK and actually wound up exactly where I wanted it. The steel rod is much heavier than the aluminum piece that comes with the kit because it needed to be rigid and that’s what I had around. Maybe I’ll put some lightening holes in it.

This is obviously not the final version since as you can see the two rods are just taped together for mock up. The entire thing will need to be adjusted to the correct length and I may try to figure out a support bracket for the heavier rod close to the switch. I also need to figure out how to attach the ends of the steel rod to the straight aluminum rod that comes with the Moroso kit. The nice thing about the z-rod is that final height will be easier to compensate for since the end can be moved up or down without changing the forward actuation motion.
IMG_2996.jpg


This is where the lever comes through the rear panel. There was just enough room to get it in this spot without any interference while saving my tail light and rear panel form having a 3/8" hole drilled through one or the other. I almost went through the inner bumper bolt hole but this spot worked better because it keeps the point of entry above the spare tire well.

The rod won't stick out this far when it's finished, probably just a few inches beyond the bumper as it only needs about an inch and half of travel to actuate the switch. This will also allow easy removal of the actuator rod when not at the track.
IMG_2997.jpg
 
OK so this is not the final version but this is pretty much how my remote disconnect lever panned out. Have to say I'm happy with it. Spent a lot of time on this and it took several different processes to get it to where it is - lots of measurements, annealing and bending of aluminum bar stock, accurately drilling and tapping the ends of the bar stock and welding.

Needs some minor tweaks like trimming the length it sticks out past the bumper and getting some better grommets where it comes through the rear panel and ultimately paint. Works though!
IMG_3050.jpg


The first version with the cut/welded u-bolts was crude and heavy - I knew I could do better. Went to the hardware store and got 1/2" round aluminum bar stock. To make the bends without breaking it, the material had to be annealed with a torch. Once softened, it was put it in a make-shift bending jig consisting of two bolts sticking up in my vise and the bar was bent around them. Came out OK if I do say so myself.
IMG_3053.jpg


There was a lot of eyeballing on where and how to to mount the disconnect switch bracket. Once it was determined that the "geometry" was OK it was welded to the trunk floor pan. I chose to weld it because there is significant force being applied to the switch mechanism and the sheet metal is flimsy. Bolting or riveting it to the panel would likely have increased the probability of pulling it out at the wrong moment. When the lever is pushed the floor panel still flexes a bit but the switch itself is solid. Incidentally, I burned through two small spots even with lower voltage so have to clean those up. The switch and floor will eventually get painted to prevent rust.

Note the "Ford" starter solenoid mounted to the wheel well flange. This particular unit was/is made for AMC products that used a 727. Unlike the garden-variety Ford type it has a provision on the rear of it for a NSS. That's the little tan wire coming off the back.
IMG_3051.jpg


To keep the long lever stable/rigid, I welded a small support bracket to the floor right where it comes through the rear panel. As stated already, I need to get some better-fitting grommets for these pass thru-points but you get the idea.
IMG_3054.jpg


Here's the rear of the car. When actuated, the lever pushes inward ("Push Off") to where the outer edge of the blue tape is. It needs a little length beyond that point but there's plenty to remove and still have it be practical. One more cut and then drill/tap again.
IMG_3052.jpg


My goal of not having to drill through the virgin rear panel or my nice, original tail light lens was accomplished. Hope this gives someone else some ideas. Thanks for following along.
 
Sorry, I don't understand this one. You lost your whole trunk to add a long rod that sticks way out of the back of your car and still had to drill a hole in your bumper?

Why? When you could have just run a nice NHRA approved on off switch and kept your trunk?
 
Noooo....

No hole in the bumper, the lever goes underneath. See post #9.

The switch itself is "NHRA approved", Moroso part #74108. To actuate the switch, I used Moroso part #74106 remote disconnect lever kit. The only thing that was altered in the kit was the lever itself. Remote lever actuation is a common setup.

Again, the disconnect switch was previously located outside under the bumper. I have a different exhaust setup now which interferes with the previous location so it had to be moved. I never liked it there anyway.

And like I said, the lever will be trimmed, see the last paragraph of post #10. The lever has to stick out somewhat, you don't want to hide it and it needs about 1 1/2" of travel. Regardless, it can be removed for regular street driving anyway.

And losing the trunk? Not sure I get your point? Honestly, it's never had anything in it. No spare, no tools, no jack, no lawn chairs, no cooler. Nothing, zip, nada. What do you say to people who have a fuel cell and pump in the spare tire well? Plenty of "street" cars out there with that setup. Again, the lever can always be removed for street driving.

Besides, I can still fit the trunk board in there. When it's all wrapped up I'll put the vinyl tweed trunk mat down and it'll all look "factory".
IMG_3046.jpg
 
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Well if you were starting from scratch you could mount the switch back there and do away with the long offset lever....................

I hate drilling holes in virgin metal, but the fact is, it's a lot easier to patch a hole in the body steel than deal with a hole in the bumper (previous example)
 
rmchrgr said:
Noooo....

And losing the trunk? Not sure I get your point? Honestly, it's never had anything in it. No spare, no tools, no jack, no lawn chairs, no cooler. Nothing, zip, nada. What do you say to people who have a fuel cell and pump in the spare tire well? Plenty of "street" cars out there with that setup. Again, the lever can always be removed for street driving.

Besides, I can still fit the trunk board in there. When it's all wrapped up I'll put the vinyl tweed trunk mat down and it'll all look "factory".
Click to expand...

I have a fuel cell, trunk mount battery, fuel pump and still have full use of my trunk. I like to be able to put things in my trunk, but that's just me. The spare tire is null and void for nearly anyone with an aftermarket tire combo and a posi.
 
B3422w5 said:
Why do you even need to employ a lever for a battery cutoff.
I have never used one on my cars
Click to expand...

Never used the rod type, or never used a cutoff?

They like to see it at the drags and if fast enough it's required. Even for a street car its a handy thing to have. I.e. easy disconnect for the winter, or storage, or when doing electrical work. I shut mine off every time I park it in the garage.
 
roccodart440 said:
Never used the rod type, or never used a cutoff?

They like to see it at the drags and if fast enough it's required. Even for a street car its a handy thing to have. I.e. easy disconnect for the winter, or storage, or when doing electrical work. I shut mine off every time I park it in the garage.
Click to expand...

never used the rod type. Working cutoff switch is a requirement on a race car
 
OK, this is where my cut off switch used to be under the bumper. Never had any issues with it there but switching the exhaust necessitated moving it because this spot is exactly where the right side tailpipe is now.
IMG_2484.JPG


I looked at it 17 ways to Sunday trying to figure out how to keep the switch in the same vicinity but nothing was obvious or easily executed. I almost went with a bell crank linkage setup along the outside of the rear frame rail but it was proving difficult to engineer. Did some research and decided it was "better" (for me) to have the switch inside, the only caveat being that type of setup requires some sort of remote activation. And at the same time if I want to keep my nice sheet metal and tail lights hole-free, I had to think outside the box.

Like I mentioned in my first post, there are cable actuators that allow the driver to pull the switch to the off position from the driver's seat but in the event the driver is incapacitated, track safety crews need to be able to shut the car off from the outside so you still need some sort of exterior switch activation.

BTW, even with the lever as you see it, there still plenty of room in the trunk. Yeah, it would be bad if there were loose lawn chairs or a cooler sliding around back there with the lever like it is but there are ways to keep things secure should the need arise.
 
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