1946 Studebaker Pickup Truck Turn Signal Conversion Up Front

 I converted the front park lamps to double filament sockets and got one side fired up today, along with my new Trippe headlight. 

A couple images here with park lights on and with turn signal on.

1946 Pickup Truck Studebaker Restoration

 Well I finally got some 20 gauge sheet metal to patch the door skin bottoms, so I'll be working on that tomorrow.

I spent the day today leveling up the cab and mounting the front sheet metal. The body mount pads were in pretty bad condition so I made some new pads and got the cab sitting right on the frame.

Getting the body level is important to give the vehicle that "standing proud" look.

I also went back on eBay and purchased some left hand lug nuts and a left hand threading die to clean up the studs that are messed up. 

I'll make up some wire harnesses for the front park light/ turn signal lights tomorrow too. I converted the park lights below the headlights to double filament sockets. 

That cool US Pioneer self canceling turn switch will be sending current to the signal lights up front and dividing the brake lights in the rear, making one side and the other flash on demand and self cancel as well.

I can hardly wait to get the Trippe lights that I purchased on eBay, that will take the place of the standard headlights. I think the "cool factor" will be over the top with those! They're coming from Canada so it's probably gonna be a couple weeks before I receive them.

Rust Repair on the Door Bottoms of the 1946 Studebaker Pickup Truck

I don't know if there are any pre-formed patch panels out there. I find that those that are available, all need some finish forming to make them work. It's easier for me to just make the panels myself. Then they fit like they should. I've formed the lower parts of the door shells and have one tacked into place. It's very important to keep the door fitting to the opening during the rebuilding process.

Bolting the door on and taking it off again will happen numerous times during the process. If you skip that process, it won't fit in the end. Trying to bend it into shape at that point will result in some ugly distortion and a completely disastrous finish product.

After I am finished welding the shell together, I will check fit again, and then at point I will form the outer skin which I have already made pattern for. The skin will get tacked into place, joining it to the existing skin, and then the whole skin will be removed from the shell at the bottom of the window opening.

I'll be showing the rest of the process in the next posting. Stay tuned.

 

Restoration of Guide 6004 Turn Signal Switch

Restoring the Guide 6004 Self Canceling switch. I had this switch body painted from before when I did a batch of switches. I recently picked up a parts switch on eBay that had most of the components I needed to make a good switch assembly.

Good cores are getting expensive and even then you're taking a bit of a chance if you don't see inside the switch assembly.

Here is what you will need to do the project, after you have acquired a good core, disassembled , bead blasted, and refinished it. Not shown here also is a surfacing system to deal with the internal switch contacts, which are nearly always in need of attention. Even the NOS switches need to be resurfaced. There being the reason they never got used.

After resurfacing the contacts in 2000 grit, and lubricating with a little dielectric grease, you're read to reassemble the internal switch.

Solder all your wires on and you're ready to start assembling the components.

It's easy to snap the little retaining tabs off the bulb holder so I keep some push on retainers on hand because it is important to get good ground. 

Solder your 3 prong flasher connector on, and don't forget to lubricate all the moving parts in your assembly. Oh, and make sure you get the spring installed in the right position. It only goes on one way. Super glue around the edges of the lens on the inside of the body and hit it with accelerator to set it. 

Usually the little grounding clip is missing or broken. I find that using a little piece of sheet metal screw to cut into the paint on the switch body and steering column works well. If it is not grounded, your indicator light will not work.

So this 7 wire system is designed to split the brake lights internally allowing the use of rear brake lights as signal light too.

If you are proficient at these tasks, and set up with the proper equipment, and materials, you should be able to complete the restoration on about 4 to 5 hours.

 

1946 Studebaker Truck Right Mirror Arm

For those interested in making a mirror arm for the right side of the 46 Studebaker pickup, I'll show how I went about copying the left side arm.

This is what I started with. This mirror arm came with a 5"round non glare mirror head that I bought on eBay for the truck. I have no idea what the arm was for, but it was a start. I first made a template off the drivers door for the outer skin and another for the front of the door shell, flipped those patterns and market the right door, cut the hole in the skin and then went to the next step.

After heating bending and hammering the arm into the right shape and welding the hinge mount part into shape and cutting the extra length off the end. I hammered and shaped a round for the mirror head to mount on. I cut two pieces of plate and welded those to the arm and together. Then I ground the weld to shape.

After fitting the arm through the hole that I copied from the left side door, I drilled through the front, holding the arm in place and made a mark in the mirror where a 1/4" countersunk oval head screw will go. I then removed the mirror arm and drilled that hole and threaded it 1/4-20. I bolted the mirror arm in with one hex head bolt and then drilled the other two holes into the arm slightly in order to achieve a precision fit for the finish bolts. I then removed the arm again and drilled and tapped the rest of the holes and then recessed those hole to allow for the countersunk screws. I then bolted the arm into place with some sacrificial screws and heated the hole in the door shell, and ran the screws in while it was red hot, in order to create the countersink. 

The process actually took me about 6 hours to complete, using a die grinder 3" cutoff wheel,  oxy-acetylene torch, hammer, anvil, vice, drill press with several size bits including one to recess the holes like the original, a 1/4" tap, and impact driver. I had some flat stock in my inventory for the mounting part. I used a mig welder to make it one piece and used a thicker cut off wheel for grinding the weld as well as a roloc disc and a rotary file in the die grinder. I hammered the areas that show that were "too smooth" in order to give it the natural cast look.

I since ordered and received some oval slot head finish screws for the final assembly. I'm pleased with how it turned out, and can now have a right side mirror. 

Here is the 1937 Chevrolet Pickup Right Mirror Arm that I made.

Ongoing Restoration of 1946 Studebaker Pickup Truck

I've been busy on the project and have some new images to share. Getting the dash back in and everything working was a real project. The headliner and all the trim panels are in place and all the garnish moldings as well. I was able to modify a switch knob that matches the original headlamp knob, for the heater switch that I mounted under the dash in the middle.

I'm waiting for defroster hose to arrive but everything else is together in the dash. I was surprised to see an ignition switch illuminator, but I am learning that these Studebakers were much more deluxe than the Fords and Chevys. 

I elected to refinish the heater in the original hammered finish and may do the turn signal switch the same as it came hammered finish too. I still have to go through the turn switch, I having a lot of experience with the early turn switches, and decided to use the one that is the most appealing to me cause I just got lucky a couple weeks ago and picked up this one on eBay. It is also the rarest of the nice self canceling add on switches.

I also elected to eliminate the original starter button that was pressed when you pushed the clutch in all the way. I picked up a nice push button switch that I mounted in the left side of the dash as you can see in the pictures.

So here is a before picture and a couple of what it looks like now.

1946 Studebaker Pickup Truck Restoration Project

This truck came up on CL in my immediate area. 

 

It didn't take long to get it loaded on my trailer for the short ride back to my shop.

It had a lot of cobbled up stuff going on as you can see by the interior and engine bay.

I was lucky to acquire the correct wiper motors on eBay as well as a NOS headlamp switch, and pieced together a couple very nice period correct Guide R13 glass tail lights. I also acquired some correct NOS Trico wiper arms and blades, and a very nice radio delete plate to replace the one on the truck , from the second owner back, that had 3 holes drilled in it. He actually had the truck stored  in his vintage cars and parts store for more than 20 years over in Port Townsend, WA. before he sold it to the last owner.

I can't stand driving a vehicle that doesn't have 3 mirrors, and I should mention that they need to be "No Glare" mirror as well. I'm still trying to locate that third mirror but today I completed a right side mount in the same fashion as the original left side bracket.

I still need to find some correct screws for mounting this cause the Phillips head screws are just not acceptable on this truck.

More later on this project.