Adding old timey blinkers to my Ford

Roffeman

Roffeman

Member
With the Flathead Reliability Run is coming up next week so I need to give the ’37 Ford some more love.

1937-Ford-Cabriolet-blinker.jpg


My friend Mark gave me this vintage Auto Signal brand turn signal assembly. It was proudly made in Chicago about sixty? years ago. I cleaned it and painted it with Hammer finish but even thought I doused it with paint it still would not “hammer”. However, I like the brown finish so I will live with the end result.

1937-Ford-Cabriolet-blinker-tape.jpg

Once I figured out the wiring I wrapped the wires in Friction Tape from hardware store. Unlike electrical tape it has a matte finish so it looks very old timey. The black rubber wheel in the unit goes against the steering wheel and it cancels the blinker after the turn.

1937-Ford-Cabriolet-blinker-clamp.jpg


The blinker assembly is held to the column with a hose clamp. I covered the clamp with black shrink tubing so it would not stick out visually and it protects the column from scratches. I did have to run a separate ground lead because of this otherwise the indicator light would not work.

1937-Ford-Cabriolet-blinker-finished.jpg


After assembly it looks like new.


1937-Ford-Cabriolet-blinker-installed.jpg


Here we are. I think the color works well with the other colors in the car.

The cancelling function works great and should avoid me going down the road with left blinker permanently on like a 55 year old man...Wait, I AM a 55 year old man! :D
 
My 35 has one much like it, been on there since the 50s. The little rubber wheel finely wore a grove in the steering wheel which I fixed with epoxy filler in late 90s. The light still works and I have never had to change the click-click thing which is loud enough to remind these 81 year old ears.
 
It' s probably to activate emergency flashers. I wondered the same thing at first.
 
TJ said:
It' s probably to activate emergency flashers. I wondered the same thing at first.
Click to expand...

You got it, guys...

Here is how it works:

Push the button and then you flick the lever one way or the other and then...voilà:

Four way flasher!
 
In the department of corrections: It was actually Rustoleum brown that I used for this project. I have not had any problems with their hammer finishes before so my experience was probably a fluke.
 
If I could find one of those do you have a wiring diagram, and are you going to use the stop light circuit for the turn lamps or are you adding lights?
 
gkgeiger said:
If I could find one of those do you have a wiring diagram, and are you going to use the stop light circuit for the turn lamps or are you adding lights?
Click to expand...

Great question: That was the "lazy" part on this job because the car already had blinkers. They were operated by a toggle switch under the dash so I always forgot to use it and turn it off.

I noted that the previous owner added a bulb to the rear lights and it looks like they did the same in the front. In the front it uses a small clear bulb at the bottom of the lens but it is not the parking light bulb. It is pretty visible when the headlights are off but not so much when they are on.

I am considering adding fog lights and use them as blinkers as they would be more visible when the headlights were on.

I think with this kind of blinker assembly you would have to add a bulb. The later style and also the reproduction versions I have seen have more wires to it as they take in account the stop light function and they use the stop bulb much like a later model US car. (it activates the bulb when you are not breaking and deactivates it when brakes are applied)

I hope all that rambling made sense ;)
 
Thanks for that info. I really want turn signals on my '39. I just bought some lights for the front but hope to use the stop light circuit on the rear. I did it on my '36 with a switch I bought on Ebay. It was very cheaply made though. I really light the self cancelling feature on yours.
 
If you want to use the brake lamps for turn signals you will need a switch with 6 or more wires.
 
I have this project to complete. I recently found this after market, art-deco looking turn signal switch, which has the original paint, and it is a very good match to the original paint on my 1935 FORD dash-board.
It looks almost factory.
I, also, sold a small set of vintage fog lights, which would have been perfect for this set up. Sure wish that I had not sold them !
MIKE :)

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE - Twice
 

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FL&WVMIKE said:
Sure wish that I had not sold them !
Click to expand...

Ha, I say that about a lot of stuff. Swap meets or that auction site will get you back in business. I love the design of your blinker assembly.

FWIW: I did the following on my model A hot rod. It did not lend itself too well to fog lights and I refuse to put little motor-cycle blinkers on my cars.

So...I used the front head lights as blinkers. The low beam was blinking during the day (lights off) and the headlight was interrupted via a relay when they were on. One could do the same thing with the fog lights as you may want to use the fogs while driving.

Most of our cars did not even come with blinkers so I think any solution to alert soccer-mom in the three ton Suburban (on the cell phone) that you are turning in her path with your precious collector car is worth it. Phew, that was a long sentence...

Anyway, it takes four relays to do this, I may be able to draw up the wiring if anyone is interested. I don't know if these relays are available in 6V.
 
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