I have come to the realization if I want to keep the vacuum canister setup stock for the toro I have to suck it up and pony up the cash for rebuilt ones. I was up late last night online looking at LINEAR ACTUATORS. These little electric devices mimick a hydraulic piston but are purely electric and need only 12v DC. Has anyone heard of this retrofit? As there are many sizes of these things does anyone know the length of travel the original canisters had? Mine are so shot I can't get an accurate measurement. I'm guessing around 4 inches or so.

 

I talked to a company rep today. She said Corvette owners have been doing this retrofit for years. When I get the time, I'll give it a try and let you know how they work.

 

We look forward to the info.

 

There is a place in Michigan that makes the correct cans for 66 and 67. They also make the vacuum control module for them. From time to time they also list their products on ebay. If memory serves me, I think the cans sell for around 150 a piece. As for the electric modification, I had a parts car once that had something like what you are talking about hacked into the system to make them work. Unfortunately, the system was not working when I got the car and the parts were scrapped. I see this post is older, but if you still are looking let me know and I will dig up the Michigan manufacturer...I have it around here somewhere.

 

I've just come upon this post and also would like to know the name of the michigan manufacturer thanks a lot

 

Its actually pretty easy to fab up your own linear actuator setup to replace the canisters.

For my 66 Toro, I went to Firgelli Automations' website, and bought 2 12v linear actuators. They have several different models, but the real nice thing is that the acutators have built in stops which kill the motor, and they've been fairly bulletproof.

They came with mounting hardware to secure the actuators to the sheet metal that the canisters previously passed through. To mimic the geometry of the canister, I drilled/tapped a hole in the top of the actuator to accept a threaded rod. This allowed me to adjust the position of the headlight lever on the rod.

I wired the two actuators to a flush mount rocker switch mounted in the panel that covers the underside of the dash.

If anyone needs details, just let me know.

Dave