1931 Pickup questions

jim1932

jim1932

Well-known member
I guess if hot rodding is turning to the dark side..... I am going towards the light.

I recently, and unexpectedly, inherited my neighbor's pickup. He and my late father were partners in a farm equipment dealership in the 60's and 70's. It is gorgeous, but I think at the time he restored it the reproduction parts were really bad. It was totally in pieces when he got it in the 70's. At present, I am trying to deal with the lighting. The headlights come on but there are no stops in the motion and I only get one setting and as I continue to turn the lights go out. I think it is not going far enough to get to high beams. The cowl lights work, but again, no feel of a stop.

When I press the brake pedal the brake lights come on, but as the pedal completes the motion down, they go back off. Before I get too far into buying parts, I thought I would check in.

Oh, and he clearly made the floor board but made a 2 foot piece of iron the screw to the bottom floor board that has the angle to support the bottom of the toe board. Did these normally have a smaller Metal support piece like a 32?
 

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There should be flat ******** the bottom floor board.
 

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You may want to get a brake light switch made by A&L, most of the dealers should have them. They cost a little more but are worth every penny.
Lack of detent positions for the lights will require an inspection of the light switch at the bottom of the steering column. I advise you to read up on the lighting system before you take things apart.
Enjoy! :)
 
Flathead said:
You may want to get a brake light switch made by A&L, most of the dealers should have them. They cost a little more but are worth every penny.
Lack of detent positions for the lights will require an inspection of the light switch at the bottom of the steering column. I advise you to read up on the lighting system before you take things apart.
Enjoy! :)
Click to expand...

Too late....LOL. I completely rewired my model B tudor a decade or two ago (Although I used the stock switch body). I know the system. The bumps in the switch are pretty flat and the wiring disc goes into the body pretty hard, also the bail is too long and doesn't really hold the end in. I read that the snyder's body is pretty accurate but needs some minor modifications? I also need to look in my neighbors barn as there is an old steering wheel and column in the rafters. It might have a switch body on it if I am lucky.

I figured out the floor boards. He had used stove bolts rather than rivets. The supports look original but I think he drilled them wider for the stove bolts so rivets may not work now. I will have a mat over it anyway.
 
First make sure all the lights have a good ground. Make sure battery is hooked up positive ground.
Find a old original switch, something nasty and crusty looking on the outside. If you find one complete use the original spider also.
You should hear the switch Click when you turn the light on.
Look at my video on YouTube. Hookemfair garage
 
Wick said:
First make sure all the lights have a good ground. Make sure battery is hooked up positive ground.
Find a old original switch, something nasty and crusty looking on the outside. If you find one complete use the original spider also.
You should hear the switch Click when you turn the light on.
Look at my video on YouTube. Hookemfair garage
Click to expand...

Thats funny. I did watch that video. I didn't realize it was you.
 
I don't usually use the headlight socket setup where the flex attaches to the bottom of the light. The wiring harnesses don't have the properly shaped "knobs" on the end and while you can buy turned knobs and solder/replace them, you still have the issue of the plastic piece they fit into - the fit is none too grand, or constant.

Instead I gut out the ferrule socket setup and pull the lighting harness "up" into the headlight shell. I remove the socket setup except for the outer shell - leave the part for the quarter turn end of the flex cover to attach to. Then doing the solder work in the shell, attach the lightbulb socket wires DIRECTLY to the wiring harness with solder and shrink tubing over it.

This gets away from any "contact" issues between the flex ferrule area and the actual light circuit.

You can't quarter turn and "undo" the flex ferrule from the light body socket with this - but how often do you need to do this?

This also gives room in the ferrule socket for installation of the all essential GROUND WIRE from the shell of the headlight socket back to somewhere on the car frame.

Joe K
 
Joe K said:
I don't usually use the headlight socket setup where the flex attaches to the bottom of the light. The wiring harnesses don't have the properly shaped "knobs" on the end and while you can buy turned knobs and solder/replace them, you still have the issue of the plastic piece they fit into - the fit is none too grand, or constant.

Instead I gut out the ferrule socket setup and pull the lighting harness "up" into the headlight shell. I remove the socket setup except for the outer shell - leave the part for the quarter turn end of the flex cover to attach to. Then doing the solder work in the shell, attach the lightbulb socket wires DIRECTLY to the wiring harness with solder and shrink tubing over it.

This gets away from any "contact" issues between the flex ferrule area and the actual light circuit.

You can't quarter turn and "undo" the flex ferrule from the light body socket with this - but how often do you need to do this?

This also gives room in the ferrule socket for installation of the all essential GROUND WIRE from the shell of the headlight socket back to somewhere on the car frame.

Joe K
Click to expand...

In my 32 I did this but went even further and switched to smaller sealed beam headlights like on a 1940. like you said the issue is getting the conduit to look right.

So far I am mainly having the no indents issue. I will look for an original switch this weekend.
 
Well finally after 10 or so tries, I got the led taillights working properly. I tracked my issues to replacing the stoplight switch, as the rubber washer had a flat spot in it that allowed the circuit to open at the end of the brake travel. I also had to sand through a ton of paint on the drivers side tail light bracket to get a ground. Drove me crazy as it worked before I took it off. The headlight issue is definitely that the old repop base has too much slop in it where the bumps are. Of course The new body I got is slightly different so I can't just replace the base. I need to pull the wiring harness out of the old body and thread it through the new one.
 
Umm.... I have a drivers side headlight that is on all the time. even when I disconnect the harness at the switch body at the end of the steering column?? isn't the circuit getting power at the generator then powering the light when there is a connection at the switch body? in thinking this through, the brake lights should have power all the time right, but there is now way i could have swapped the brake light wires and the left headlight. got to be a short somewhere right?

It was working but not getting a firm switch stop on head lights. I noticed splices and pulled the harness out to cover areas with heat shrink, then put it back in with a new switch body.
 
I think I have this figured out. I was working with the harness that was in the truck. The Previous owner had used other wires on a couple ends to either get a bullet connector, or replace bad ends. I think I have the horn wires connected to the head light. Fortunately my new harness from Brattons showed up so I am going to use that.
 
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