taillight trouble

[itstheshu]

I an having trouble with my taillights on my 54. The p.o. put taillights off of a jeep on it. He painted the backuplight lens red and wired them as the turn signals. Did the original lights have a separate bulb for the turnsignals?

[dwcsr]

The original light was one stop light with a tail light and marker all in one, no signal

[Tommy454]

They are available repro for around $50.00 for the pair.

[dwcsr]

Maybe i should have been a liitle more specific. You can buy aftermarket lights for brake, tail and signal but they didn't come stock with anything but one stop, tail and marker light usually on the left side.

[itstheshu]

I thought that 54 was the first year that came with turnsignals?

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by itstheshu

I thought that 54 was the first year that came with turnsignals?

The only Regular Production Option (RPO) in 54 concerning tail lights was a dual tail/stop/Marker light option. Signals were considered accessories and you could have a dealer install signals but they were not RPO or standard equipment until to 1960. My 58 step had one tail/stop and 2 front parking lights thats it.

The dealer installed signals would have been a lever unit bolted to the column and those big 4 inch lights mounted on the fenders and two normal looking lights in the back. It gave flashers, signals, brake and tail with a marker light.

[mr48chev]

Ok let's see.
What steering column does the truck have now?

What does it have for a turn signal switch?

What do you want to run for rear lights? Obviously the jeep lights aren''t your favorite so would you like to run?

I run two 1147 tail light bulbs in the lights on the rear of my 48 both light up for tail but the inside bulbs are wired to the brake light switch and the outside bulbs are wired to the turn signals. The turn signals are wired though pair of toggle switches. One for left and one for right and both for hazard.

What I am suggesting is mounting another socket for a turn signal bulb inside the housing for what ever lights you would like to run. There isn't much room in most of them but a single element socket and turn signal bulb to match could probably be mounted inside most housings if you work it right. Then you would have stop, turn and tail lamps in the same housing. If you run a later model style column with the built in switch you shouldn't need the separate bulb unless it is one new enough so that it has separate stop and turn bulbs on the rear of the car.

[itstheshu]

The truck has the original steering column. The turn signal switch appears to be original. It look just like the one from Bob's.
http://www.bobschevytrucks.com/1954-...tch-sm182.html
I plan on running oval lights.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by itstheshu

The truck has the original steering column. The turn signal switch appears to be original. It look just like the one from Bob's.
http://www.bobschevytrucks.com/1954-...tch-sm182.html
I plan on running oval lights.

If you have one like that it was installed at the dealer or later. Not from the factory. It was not avaiable as an option. Only an dealer installed accessory or aftermarket. Most are a clamp on switch. What lights are on the fenders in front?

[mr48chev]

Dave's right, On 95% of these trucks the only option that the truck came with from the factory before being delivered to the dealer was the color and which heater it had if it had one. Everything else was dealer installed either before or after the sale.

A few minutes of serious searching turned up this item. http://www.vintage-planet.com/switch-5007r-upi.html Looking at the wiring diagram even though it is pretty small shows that the brake lights are run through the switch so that you only need the one bulb on each side on the back of the truck.

[raycow]

Originally Posted by itstheshu

The truck has the original steering column. The turn signal switch appears to be original. It look just like the one from Bob's.
http://www.bobschevytrucks.com/1954-...tch-sm182.html

Looking at that pic, it appears to be a 6 wire switch. This means it should be able to share the same bulb filament for turn and brake. The ones that can't have only 3 or 4 wires.

Ray

[itstheshu]

thank you for all of the info