Hey everyone i bought a 52 Chevy deluxe over the summer and have been working on it pretty heavy. It has not made the road yet i have lowered and and dropped in a sbc. My quesiton is i cant seem to find the turn signal lever/switch where is it. I see on other models it is on the steering column and mine has nothing and from the 1952 wiring diagram i dont even see it on there. Did mine have signals or not i know where to go get that box off of different year thanks everyone!!!
In 1952 turn signals were not yet required by vehicle equipment laws. Some cars had them, typically upper line......my '40 Buick Super has factory signals for instance, but for the most part they were either a dealer installed accessory or an aftermarket supplier item. The nicest addition for yours would be a period GM Delco Guide unit, which were often painted housings, but came with chrome housings in some applications. You can often find any one of several aftermarket units at swapmeets or at one of the disappearing old 'junk yards'. Best wishes. Ray
The one on my mom's 51 chevy had a rubber wheel that would come out and contact the hub on the steering wheel when you flipped the lever. Even though it was not part of the column, it would self cancel after you made the turn and the wheel would retract. I'm pretty sure it was a factory option. Not much changed for 52.
This is an interesting post, I am sure a lot of younger people don't realize this was not always a standard thing. I remember my Dad installing lots of turn signals, lots from Warshasky Wholesale, the J. C. Whitney wholesale division. Some cool chrome boxes with cool red blinkers on the box and great colored handles. A nice little memory lane for me. ~Sololobo~
You cn buy the aftermarket turn sgnal units at your local auto supply. I think most or all are 7 wire items. Some are usually offered on ebay, both new and vintage for various makes of cars. Many aftermarket ones are not self cancelling. The new ones will come with a wiring diagram. Many old ones don't. Seems to be no standardization to the color of wires used on those signal units. I had 3 different brands, and all used different schemes. Finally found someone who had the right diagram for the one I wanted to use.
There should be a lever on the inside of the door, it has a little round knob at the end. Push the knob so that the whole lever rotates, the window will move down as you do this. Once the window is down all the way, you can stick your arm out the window. Stick it straight out to signal a left turn, and bend your elbow so your hand sticks up to signal a right turn seriously, this is how turn signals worked on most cars in 1952!
A lot of cars didn't have them in '52. John Law figured that if you were driving you probably had a hand.
Of course, the problem today is most drivers don't know about those hand signals. They either think you're waving at them or giving them the bird. So, I added turn signals.
I don't think that hand signals are even covered in the manual in most states anymore. I Its kind of like type writters, I went back to college starting in the '90s and was amazed at how many people didn't know what a type writter was.
Electric typewritters are for sissies. I still have a couple of old manual typewritters around here. I always wanted an electric once I used one.
I have more than "a couple" manual typewriters around here....probably close to a dozen. The Selectric is the neatest machine ever made. thread jack successful
I havent looked under the dash yet but this car does have stop lights right? Sorry for the stupid question but it seems so much has changed since 52. I am trying to wire up a small block i just dropped in over the weekend and have been looking at the wiring diagram. i just noticed also last night that it has a start button. How crazy 50 years of cars have passes without these buttons and now the newer cars have them again.
This is the factory TS unit. A painted body (possibly Hammertone? IIRC) with a green indicator light. It might have been a dealer installed accessory but it wasn't a Pep Boys add on.
I think it was 1954 when turn signals became mandatory, at least in enough states to spur the manufacturers to install them in all their vehicles. Like wise, seat belts, while available in some cars earlier, where mandated in 1964 models. And yes, starter buttons are nothing new.........even "keyless" ignition switches. The difference is, on many early Ford products and a few decades of GM products, you could choose to turn the switch to 'lock' and remove the key, disabling it, or you could turn it to 'off', remove the key and switch it on at will without the key. Different times in some ways, but as "they" say........what goes around comes around" and "there's nothing new under the sun".........ahhh, the good old days Ray
Make it simple on yourself pick up a new turn signal unit at a good parts store maybe Napa. If, you know some who's a wiring wizard get a vintage one on ebay it'll look good. Good luck on your build. The first switch is $21.00 from www.kellyshotrodparts.com See the thread old school turn signal switch by Kellys Hot Rod Parts in the parts for sale section. CRUISER
As for hand signals, a buddy of mine was signaling a left turn from his T Bucket, a teenaged girl following him thought it met "pass". Needless to say the results were'nt good.
The Jalopy Journal
