So I was wiring my '49 and realized it has the L and R written on the speedo and places for bulbs. Did all of them have it? I don't have anything else for turn signals and the car was pretty complete. Also what is with the goofy glow-in-the-dark speedo numbers?
Turn signals were a factory option in '49 & '50; they didn't become standard on Fords until '51. The light bulbs in the instrument cluster were inside domes that lit up like black light, and made the numbers glow. By now those domes have turned opaque, so the effect doesn't work any more. Does that answer your question?
that pretty much answers it. My instrument lights seem to work ok, they are a bit dim though, even with 12v bulbs. I didn't realize they were glow in the dark and thought I had really screwed up the wiring, cause it looked like they were still on.
[ QUOTE ] Turn signals were a factory option in '49 & '50; they didn't become standard on Fords until '51. [/ QUOTE ] Then why doesn't my '51 Custom have them? My car is a 56K original survivor. I actually think they became standard with the new bodied '52s. I might be wrong. Mike
My '51 did have them, and they weren't a dealer-installed thing -- the lever was built into the column. I thought they were standard in '51, but I may be wrong too.
My '51 came with "in the column" turn signals (I think this was the first year for the lever to be in the column). The switch that goes in the steering wheel is different for Auto and Manual Transmissions. The (4) dash lights are in gl*** (Blacklight) domes, this would cause the chemical in the speedo cluster to "Glow" over the years the chemical weakens. I took the Domes off of the Left and Right dash light and put a Green rubber cover (like the Moon Gauges use) over the bulbs, you can also get these from some pin ball machine parts suppliers.
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