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I'm heading over to the shop in a little while, and may take another look at the turnsignal thing. It wouldn't take much to put them on there, and I do have a couple of neat looking ones for the front that I got when I bought the one T bucket project.
You guys make a good point.
Don
Here's somethin' Jim Sibley did a while back, mounted on stalks to the rear frame section. '37 Ford or '39 Chev housings would be good for something like this.
Not a bad idea, Bob. I have a few of these old lights laying around. I kinda had my heart set on using just the single large one in the center, with my license plate under it, but I nothing is set in stone. I am going to install a flasher under the dash so that if I decide to do it I will have that taken care of.
Thanks for the tip,
Don
Don if you use some inconspiuious lights on the outside corners of the frame you could still use your big brake light. There is nothing saying the brake light has to be in the T/S circuit
That's what I am thinking. I can just put some small single bulb lights in there for the turnsignals, and they would not be real noticable.
Thanks,
Don
I haven't posted here before, but I have lurked for a while now, and I feel like I need to interject a little.
Here in Michigan, it is not required to have turn signals, at least on a motorcycle. I know this because I BUILT a motorcycle a few years back. I have had to argue with cops about it, but when they try to get in the book to find te citation code its not there. It also was not part of the assembled vehichle checklist they give you when you apply for title. Having said that, I do constanly have to hand signal at every turn. Did I mention I'm 25?
Anyway, I would leave the turn signals of if it were me. And I've used rain-x in the past in place of windsield wipers... works great.
Smashingchuck---Congratulations on building a motorcycle!!! Thats a big accomplishment for someone 25 (or any age). I have owned a number of hotrods over the years, a few of which were roadsters like Don is building. My previous hotrod before my current roadster pickup was a 27 roadster. My signal light flasher burned out, so I drove the car for 2 weeks using hand signals. Ten times in two weeks I slowed down and stuck my arm straight out, to indicate that I was about to turn left into my driveway. Five of those times, people behind me pulled out and passed me from behind just as I was about to turn left.---Signal lights may not be a fashion statement, but people just don't see an arm signal, or don't know what the heck it means!!!!
Brian
I live about 9 mi. from Smashingchuck and with all the police around here you don't want to attract to much attension. State , County, and city police all in same area.
We realy shouldn't pirate this thread Don may want to use it again some day:eek: :eek: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Hey, you guys are welcome to borrow it anytime you feel like it.:D :D :D
Don
Run signals. If your trying to find out to run them or not then I say run them. You don't need huge lights or nothing, get something about 3 inches in diameter in LED and put them in a nice place. No point in using hand signals and all that crap just because you dont want to use turn signals and think it will be cleaner or easier to not have to wire them. Get some, put them on and be done with it.
I quite agree with Shawn and Brian. What I've used in the past are truck riding lights, about one and a half inches long by about half an inch wide, they're unobtrusive (not in-your-face,) are surprisingly bright, and cheap as chips.
Great thread Itoldyouso, I'm really enjoying it, and am always looking forward to the next instalment. Thank-you.
johnboy
Don besides truck lights, you might want to pick up a bike catalog or wander down to the local Harley dealer and look around. There a lot of neat lights (especially aftermarket) that are small and would fit right in on something vintage looking. I've set aside a set of Harley V-Rod front turn signals for my 37.
Thanks John, and all the others who gave input into this turnsignal thing. You are all right, and yesterday I picked up a three-way switch and flasher and plan to build them into the dash today when I go to the shop. I thought it over, and we always preach safety, so why should I be above that mysellf? I have a couple of nice little bullet lights for the front, and will dig around in my stash to see what I can come up with for the rear. I have some time on the lights, as I won't be to that stage for a while yet.
Today I am going to try to wrap up the dash wiring so I can slip the body back on and do some other tasks, like the steering box and brake pedal.
Thanks again to everybody for all the great ideas and suggestions.
Don
Before we completly get off the subject, your comment about the 3 way switch got me thinking (ok so that can be scary**) ).
The 60 to 61 (?) Chryslers had a dash mounted turn signal switch (it was held with an elecromagnet until a small cam lower on the column broke the circuit).
My wifes 90 Le Baron convertable also had a dash mounted turnsignal switch (don't know how complicated that wiring is). I would think either either should be able to be adaptable to a a rod dash without too much work.
I'm just throwing that out there as food for thought in case someone can use it for their project.
Yeah, I had an Austin Healy that had a toggle mounted right in the center of the dash, worked real well. This one is going to go in my steering column drop because I still want to keep the dash as devoid of things as possible for that competition bare bones look.
Since I am going to run turnsignal lights that are separate from the brake light, I will only need to run 12 volts to the flasher, then a wire to the center of the 3 way switch, and finally a wire from each of the outside terminals on the switch to either side of the car. When I flip the switch the pulsed signal will flow to the switch and then on to the appropriate side lights. I will put two small led lights on the column drop as indicator lights to tell me when the lights are flashing. (even though I'm getting older I don't want to be driving for mile after mile with my turnsignal light flashing away :D :D :D )
If I were going to incorporate these signals into a brake light circuit it would be a little more complicated, as I would have to wire it to interupt one brake light or the other. I have that setup on my '27, using '47 Chevy taillights. This one will be a piece of cake though.
Don
Don
Way back when. I used to ride a cycle every where and the biggest problem I had was not turning off the turn signals. I found a beeper (made for this problem) which would sound while the signal was on so I would turn them off. if you used somthing like that you wouldn't need indicator lights.
Charlie: Didn't the beeping get on your nerves when you were sitting at a light or somewhere for an extended period?
You know how we laugh at old people who ride in the left lane with the right turn signal for miles and miles? Well, I find myself doing that more and more. I am blaming it on my turnsignal switch not cancelling out as quickly, but am starting to wonder if that is really the reason. :( :( :( :(
Don
I hate admitting this but from time to time it happens we have some roads here that bend so you use the signal to Signal your intencion. But it dosen't cancel My wifes Jeep has an beeper that goes off on the dash with flashing light to tell you to turn off the T/S it takes it about a mile to kick in. I realy have to watch it when the wife is with me as she gets a thrill telling me "YOUR SIGNAL IS STILL ON".:eek: Some day I'll miss her.:HMMM:
That beeper wasn't that loud it just beeped instead of a light blinking. You you could use it dual purpose have it come on when backing up:eek: :eek: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Yeah, but it will help keep you awake!:LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Itoldyouso
:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
Don
You can wire a small radio shack timer into the circuit so that after 20 seconds it shuts off the signal light. There is no stupid feeling like the stupid feeling you get, when all the people waving and honking at you aren't waving and honking because you have such a super-neat hotrod-----Its because your damn signal light has been on for the last 8 miles!!!!
a lot of people use momentary switches, but you have to hold them to make them work, possibly kind of a pain.
I got a great idea... Say you DO want to use hand signals and not turn signal lights, then get a road flare and hold it out the window! People will sure see that. Just dont let it go or set it back down in your hot rod until it goes out. That would work wouldn't it?
The 3 position switch I bought has a red light in the tip, so when I turn it on it will blink. I figure since it will be mounted right in my steering column drop it will be right in front of my eyes flashing away and hard to miss. I'm working on the wiring today and just stopped at my work to pick up some more parts, and will post some pictures tonight. I should be wrapped up with the wiring today.
Don
Finally wrapped up all the underdash wiring today. I have tested all the circuits and they actually worked the first time. That was an unexpected surprise.
I incorporated the turn signals into the wiring, and am going to use the bullet lights I have on the rear, and will probably buy a matching set for the front. They actually are pretty cool looking, and the amber will be ok on the rear too, as most new cars are using it instead of red.
Here is a picture of the switch, one of the bullet lights, and my flasher. I epoxied the flasher to a little stainless bracket, and that lasted until I bumped it the first time, so I wiretied it to the bracket and put a small bolt through it. This works fine, and won't ever be seen.
When I got done with mounting all of the components, I finished all of the wiring, and also ran some extra wires for my tach and turnsignal switch. Got all the wires loomed and now I can pull out the harness and set it aside until I get the body on and painted. It should be a cinch to do the wiring this way since it will basically be plug and play.
I am so happy I decided to do the wiring with the body off. It would have been impossible to get under the dash with the body on. As it is, this dash has almost no room under it, and I am amazed I was able to get everything hidden under it.
Here are some shots of the final wiring.
Thanks for looking.
Don
PS: If you have never done wiring, or even if you have, I still recommend one of the wiring kits like Painless or Ron Francis, or some other. There is virtually no difference in cost, and they make it so easy to do. Like I said at the onset, the only reason I did it this way was because of the oddball setup I have gauge wise and all, plus, I like to do wiring. As another member said, it is a break from the welding, grinding, etc. But you do have to think continually while doing it to get it laid out right and working properly.
Nice neat looking job Don. Any bets on you having forgot a wire for somthing. I always run extra and make them #12. BUT it seems that just isn't enough.
Ha ha, I know EXACTLY what you mean. I sure hope not. I think I remembered every circuit that would be needed to run the engine and all systems, but you never know. Good idea about running an extra wire just in case.
Tomorrow I am going to draw up a schematic to keep so that I can trace any problems I might have in the future. That should also tell me if I have forgotten anything. ( I hope)
Thanks,
Don
Super clean Don!
Now crack yourself open a cold one or three!!!
Thanks Tom. But, I'm waaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of you.:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :D :D
Don
Looks good Don
Lookin good Don! The beer that is. :D My 302 in the garage is really looking lonely all by it's lonesome self. It needs a T bucket body around it. heh
Thanks guys.
Don
This is sort of a Sunday and Monday update, because I left my camera at the shop Sunday night.:D :D
Sunday I worked on derigging the wiring harness from the cowl roll bar and stored it away until the body is painted and it is needed. Before I did that I took the time to make some detailed drawings of the various circuits so that I know how to put this harness back in when that time comes. Even in one day I had forgotten where some wires went and had to retrace them, so I can imagine in a couple of months I won't remember where any of it goes.
Obviously, I am not a Draftsman, because my schematics are crude, but they are accurate, and should keep me out of trouble when I need to refer to them. I also tagged some wires under the dash with masking tape and notes written on it so I know where those loose wires go.
Charlie (cffisher) asked if I was sure I hadn't forgotten anything, and darned if he wasn't right. When I started doing the schematics I found I had wired my gauge hot lead to my light switch rather than the ignition switch. The way I had it , my gauges only would have worked only when my lights were on, and the correct way is when the ignition is on. So, I made that little change and it is ok now. I also forgot to run 12 volt power to my proposed tach location, so I did that while I was at it.
Here are some pictures of the crude (very) schematics I did. These will go in my build book for future reference and repairs.
Oh, on the fuse circuit schematic you will see the letters AH and KEY. What this means is that cars have two circuits. One is Always Hot (AH) and the other is only hot when the KEY is on. Things like headlights, taillights, and brake lights are always hot, and almost everything else goes off with the KEY. Just wanted to clear that up.
Tonight after work I spent more time working out the details of the master cylinder/ brake pedal mounting. You need a very strong mount for both of these items, especially the pedal, because your foot can really put some force on the pedal. In a panic stop situation you almost want to put your foot through the floorboard, so the mount has to be very strong.
I played with a few designs, and finally decided to not reinvent the wheel. Total Performance has a combination pedal and steering box mount that they sell, and I had one in the shop for the other T to look at. I didn't want to cut it up to fit this application, so I duplicated the way they do the pedal portion of that mount. They use a large piece of angle iron, and slice off a section and weld a tube into it to pass the pedal pivot bolt through. So I cut up a piece of angle and welded a tube into it and this is what I came up with.
That piece will be welded to the frame, and the bolt that passes through it will also go through the pedal so it pivots on that bolt. I will weld a 3/8 inch thick piece of plate to the frame and tap it for 5/8 inch threads so the pivot bolt will thread into that plate.
The mocked up pedal assembly looks like this.
Once that is welded to the frame I can position the master cylinder mount behind it, and weld it on also. It will look like this when in place. I am also going to make up a tapered skid plate that runs from the master cylinder mount forward and upward to the frame bottom side. The idea of this is that the master cylinder is below the frame by about an inch, so in case I ever hit something on the road I want this area protected and sort of a ramp for the object to slide on . That skid plate will come later on.
I may also tie the angle iron piece to the master cylinder mount with a piece of strap iron, even though Total Performance doesn't do that. I won't know until it is all welded up if I feel more support is needed.
Tomorrow night I will try to wrap up this part of the build so I can move on to mounting the steering box.
Thanks for looking,
Don
Thanks Denny. I'm gonna have to get you to do some artwork for the T. The one you came up with for Brian is awesome.
Don
Don the diagrams just right, there USEABLE which is the reason you generated them in the first place. Down the road if you ever have to refer to them they are a invaluable.
I like Denny, I really am enjoying following along with your build.