Cigarette Lighter on Non-Deluxe Trucks

[pjmoreland]

If a truck had plain black non-deluxe knobs, and it came with a cigarette lighter, was the center button on it still silver, or was there an all black version?

[pjmoreland]

Edit: Incorrect info. See next post below.

Originally Posted by LockDoc

Yes, there was an all black version. I don't think it was paint. The metal knob was copper plated and a coating like a black zinc or phosphate was applied. At least on the older ones.

LockDoc

Interesting. Thanks! Now I'm off to the WTB section...

[LockDoc]

--
I told you wrong on the lighter. I had to go out to the shop and check. I was right about the copper plating and black oxide coating but they still have the stainless button in the center.... Sorry.

Leon

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

--
I told you wrong on the lighter. I had to go out to the shop and check. I was right about the copper plating and black oxide coating but they still have the stainless button in the center.... Sorry.

Leon

Thank you. I suppose most people are interested in the deluxe stuff anyway.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Possibly a lot of non-deluxe [or 'Standard,' as they used to say] trucks came without any cigarette lighter.
My stepside had been an obvious fleet truck, all manual everything, but the build sheet [long lost now] stated "Deluxe Ash Tray''.* The lighter however, was a generic aftermarket unit. Likely from JC Whitney or Western Auto. It had a reverse-conical chrome knob, unlike the dash knobs. I've replaced it with a GM style lighter, but it has the white metal center.
[*Other oddities included 7.00x17.5 6-lug rims and tires, SM465 4-Speed, and L25 292 L6. WC Jr mirrors, Heater, no radio.]

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

Possibly a lot of non-deluxe [or 'Standard,' as they used to say] trucks came without any cigarette lighter.
My stepside had been an obvious fleet truck, all manual everything, but the build sheet [long lost now] stated "Deluxe Ash Tray''.* The lighter however, was a generic aftermarket unit. Likely from JC Whitney or Western Auto. It had a reverse-conical chrome knob, unlike the dash knobs. I've replaced it with a GM style lighter, but it has the white metal center.
[*Other oddities included 7.00x17.5 6-lug rims and tires, SM465 4-Speed, and L25 292 L6. WC Jr mirrors, Heater, no radio.]

I suspect my truck was a fleet vehicle too based on the drilled out rivets on the door jamb, the CalTrans 516 orange, no radio and idiot lights. My drivetrain was a little more 'standard' though with a 307, although it did have a Powerglide. Is your cigarette lighter from a 67-72 truck, or is it from some other vehicle? I've never seen one with a white center.

[70 shorty]

My 70 I believe to be a pretty plain jane truck and it has a black center on the cigarette lighter, which still works btw!

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by 70 shorty

My 70 I believe to be a pretty plain jane truck and it has a black center on the cigarette lighter, which still works btw!

Very interesting. Was the cigarette lighter on the SPID? Any chance you'd be able to post a photo of it?

[1Rusty90]

Factory pic from another thread.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

I suspect my truck was a fleet vehicle too based on the drilled out rivets on the door jamb, the CalTrans 516 orange, no radio and idiot lights. My drivetrain was a little more 'standard' though with a 307, although it did have a Powerglide. Is your cigarette lighter from a 67-72 truck, or is it from some other vehicle? I've never seen one with a white center.

My cigarette lighter has the normal deluxe stainless steel center. ''In The White'' is a gunsmiths term for unblued metal. It's GM-style Counterparts 68/72 piece from Desert Auto Parts, a local Tucson brick-and-mortar shop who carried parts for '60s/'70s muscle cars and classic pickups. Sadly, they folded, driven out of business by on/line shopping.

I think my Stepside was also a CalTrans truck. Although anybody could select 516 Orange. The PO told me he was a sergeant when he bought it from the Catholic Chaplain at MCB Camp Pendleton, Calif. The Padre had orders for 'Nam, and advertized in the base newspaper for someone to take over payments. So he bought it. A few years later, with the Arab Oil Embargo, the price of Gas jumped. His then pregnant wife made him sell it to buy a Toyota. [He wasn't too happy about the deal.] I was a civilian --just graduated from junior college -- when I bought the truck from the former Sgt. For my own reasons, I wound up joining the Marines later that year.

I still have the plate under the VIN plate. It states something like: ''This vehicle has been furnished to the dealer equipped with the latest safety equipment as mandated by Federal regulations...''

Besides the idiot lights and no AM radio, my truck had once had a radio antenna or amber gumball machine in the center of the roof. Holes from long-gone cable clips trace a track across the upper rear window edge, below the floormat to under the dash. A rubber grommet in the hole still does not leak.

How the Padre came by it is an untold sea story. It was only 5 years old when I bought it in 1973, and the sergeant had it a couple years.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by 1Rusty90

Factory pic from another thread.

Interesting. It looks like it has a deluxe headlight switch hiding behind the steering wheel.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

My cigarette lighter has the normal deluxe stainless steel center. ''In The White'' is a gunsmiths term for unblued metal. It's GM-style Counterparts 68/72 piece from Desert Auto Parts, a local Tucson brick-and-mortar shop who carried parts for '60s/'70s muscle cars and classic pickups. Sadly, they folded, driven out of business by on/line shopping.

I think my Stepside was also a CalTrans truck. Although anybody could select 516 Orange. The PO told me he was a sergeant when he bought it from the Catholic Chaplain at MCB Camp Pendleton, Calif. The Padre had orders for 'Nam, and advertized in the base newspaper for someone to take over payments. I was a civilian --just graduated from junior college -- when I bought the truck from the former Sgt. For my own reasons, I wound up joining the Marines later that year.

I still have the plate under the VIN plate. It states something like: ''This vehicle has been furnished to the dealer equipped with the latest safety equipment as mandated by Federal regulations...''

Besides the idiot lights and no AM radio, my truck had once had a radio antenna or a gumball machine in the center of the roof. Holes from long-gone cable clips trace a track across the rear window edge, below the floormat to under the dash. A rubber grommet in the hole still does not leak.

How the Padre came by it is an untold sea story. It was only 5 years old when I bought it in 1973, and the sergeant had it a couple years.

That is very cool to know the history of your truck. I bought mine from a guy who bought it about a year ago from a long time owner of it. He said he received a pink pinkslip from him, which means the guy owned it since at least 1988. That's all I know.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by 1Rusty90

Factory pic from another thread.

Looks to me like that truck has a lighter delete plug in it. Unless my old eyes are deceiving me.

LockDoc

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

That is very cool to know the history of your truck. I bought mine from a guy who bought it about a year ago from a long time owner of it. He said he received a pink pinkslip from him, which means the guy owned it since at least 1988. That's all I know.

I had the California pinkslip, but had to turn it in to the AZ/MVD to get an Arizona title. Had to turn in my Black/Yellow Calif plates too, but I still remember the number:
10 566 A
Also Felix Chevrolet in Downtown LA was the original dealer.

The ex-sgt never scraped the Chaplain's base security sticker off the front bumper. He was a Navy Captain [0-6 = Marine/Army/USAF full-bird Colonel]. When I reported on base at Cherry Point NC, about 1-1/2 year later, as a PFC, I got a snappy salute from the gate guard MP Sgt, which I returned with my most military style. The second time he said: "My compliments to your father, the Colonel.'' The third time, he asked if I did have a father who was a Col? When I said no, it was just a used truck, he said he thought so, pull over there, and the royal blue Colonel's sticker was scraped off and a fresh red [enlisted] sticker slapped in its place.
And no more crisp salutes.

[pjmoreland]

Haha. Great story.

I'm surprised your truck had black & yellow plates from 1968. I would have figured CalTrans would have had Exempt plates on it that they would have removed before selling it. My truck has blue & yellow plates from around 1971. I found ads online for two other trucks like ours that said they were from CalTrans and they both had early 70s blue plates. Too bad you had to turn in the plates and pinkslip.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

Looks to me like that truck has a lighter delete plug in it. Unless my old eyes are deceiving me.

LockDoc

There's no trim plate around it either. It is strange that the radio has standard knobs.

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

Looks to me like that truck has a lighter delete plug in it. Unless my old eyes are deceiving me.

LockDoc

^^^
Agree 100%!

[cericd]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

^^^
Agree 100%!

Also agree 100%!

My truck came with and still has its lighter delete which looks just like the one in that photo.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Haha. Great story.

I'm surprised your truck had black & yellow plates from 1968. I would have figured CalTrans would have had Exempt plates on it that they would have removed before selling it. My truck has blue & yellow plates from around 1971. I found ads online for two other trucks like ours that said they were from CalTrans and they both had early 70s blue plates. Too bad you had to turn in the plates and pinkslip.

My truck is a '68. When did the Blue/Yellow plates come in? Another possibility is that the truck was in Southern Pacific's fleet. They would not have had Exempt plates. And SP was big on Orange. Or [wink, wink] somehow some fleet manager ordered too many orange stepsides and ''had'' to sell one off to the Priest for peanuts on the dollar, as a good deed. But then why would he still be making payments on it when O/S orders came in? We'll never know.

When I bought a '71 GMC Jimmy in 1995, from a recent immigrant from LA, it also had a Pink Slip and Blue plates. I only gave the MVD one of them, and kept one for a souvenir. I told them the front plate was lost. In AZ -- after '89 -- we went to a single Rear plate. I have a German oval-shaped white/black plate on the front now just for kicks. Checked with a cop buddy. Not illegal.

[pjmoreland]

I believe the blue plates came out in 69, but it took a year or two to use up the remaining black plates. From what I have found online, black plates ending on A or B are correct for 1968.