Going to add back up lights to my 37 Chevy pickup and use a two speed rear end switch to operate them,since I neither drove a truck with a two speed rear or seen a switch up close I presume it has a power in and two wires going to the rear end for high or low and can either use side to operate the lights.
So that switch would be over kill,just trying to find a switch that would look appropriate in a old truck.
Have you converted the truck to auto trans yet? Here is backup light switch for GM auto trans: https://www.lokar.com/assets/instructions/INS0043-BackupLightNSSwitch.pdf
It would make more sense to have a regular backup light switch on the gearshift linkage, otherwise you will forget the lights are on to manually turn them off.
Can not put any switch on the linkage since its a T-5 and its internal,the trans does have a place for a switch but it had to be plugged due to the the pedal/master cylinder mount or by me putting the parking brake on the side of the trans. I can not remember what side the switch goes but it can not go there so another type of switch will be needed so I figured a 2 speed rear end switch on the shifter would be the best.
A switch would be easy to hide under a shifter boot on the floor. Just weld a tab on the side of the lever, so it catches a micro switch when engaged in reverse. Here's a grounding switch on a O/T remote shift I am making [this one is designed to break the ground on the reverse lockout solenoid when in 1st gear] Also note: the tab is bent [L shaped] so it cannot catch behind the "mushroom head" of the switch In 3rd Note all the bracketry is to dummy set up the shifter outside the car The other method is a latching button on the gear shift [push-on, push-off] but connect a piezoelectric buzzer to this so it beeps in reverse ,and you know to switch it off.
Here's another idea that will be easy to hide under the dashboard. Get a timing relay and tie the backup lights to a pushbutton switch. Set the relay for whatever time you like and just push the button to start the timer and bring the backup lights on. If you're not done backing up after maybe 10-15 seconds, just push the button again. This way you will have lights, but not forget to turn them off once you go forward. You can find these 12VDC relays all over Amazon, and other places for under $10, and a push button at any parts store or Amazon.
How creative [adventurous] do you want to be ????? Just drill the rear of the extension housing [shifter box] and tap a thread. so the offset lever can engage a reverse switch.
There was also a backup light switch (part of an aftermarket backup light kit) that was installed inline with the speedometer cable on early Volkswagens; it would engage when you started to back the car up, and disengage when you drove forward. There might be something similar that was offered for early American cars at one time.
You could change the handle of the shifter, I had friends that used Nitrous, small button on the DS of the handle they depressed. Those were momentary, but you could probably source a click on, click off button. Run two wires in parallel to the BU light, two to another light inside somewhere, turn the BU light on, inside light is on, vice-versa. Might be those switches I’m referring to are grounded to the shifter/etc. then just run the hot wire to your grounded BU lights, ground the inside bulb and tee the wire to the bulb. Just a thought. Also, if an appropriate switch is larger thread size, drill and retap it for the switch.
My "2 speed" back up light switch. I get lots of question asking if I have a 2 speed in my '39 p/u. I mainly switch on the back up light when I'm backing out of a parking space during the day. Seems like no one thinks you're actually backing up unless they see a back up light. And then they usually don't pay any attention to it cause you're just driving an old POS and they're in their fancy Lexus.
While at the junkyard saturday I did pick up a bracket to mount the switch to the shifter,the switches were not any good so I will grab a new one.
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