Its time to give back to the HAMB and share a simple technical idea I came up with for kustom turn signals on my 51' Merc project. Following are the steps with instructions on how I did my front turn signals. I like the 51' Ford front turn signals for many reasons, they look 50's, they are readily available in the aftermarket with good quality, and they have nice chrome bezels. After looking at them and thinking about mounting them flush to the body under the headlights, I thought that maybe they would look better "raised" on a mount much like the 49' original turn signals. I thought that I could give them some depth and this is what I came up with. I started with purchasing a pair of 4" half steel hollow balls from a local metal supplier because they are already cut in half versus using the fully welded versions and they have a bonus center hole in them, perfect for using my hole saw! You can see the half ball, lower in pic, the "slug" I cut out using a 3" hole saw, the turn signal bezel (which happens to be 3" in diameter) and the mount with a piece of sheet metal (cut also 3" in diameter) to weld to the now cut half ball Next................ I welded the new mounts to my bench to hold them in place and welded the flat 3" sheet metal to the mount. I then used a 1 1/2" hole saw to cut the holes seen in these pics, completed the welds finished them with a sanding flap wheel and layed out the turn signal bucket mount holes/slots and the holes for the bezel to mount to. Next...................... Make sure the lenses are correctly "clocked" before welding to the body. I layed out the new mount to the body evenly on both sides, drilled another 1 1/2" hole in the body for the bucket and wiring to clear, painted the body and the inside of the mounts and welded them to the body. Last.................... Last..................... Here is how they look "mocked" up with the Olds Headlight Ring in place. They measure 4" in diameter at the body, taper to 3" at the front and protrude about 1" off the body. After the welds were cleaned up, I like the finished result and hopefully this will help others here. P.S. Sorry for the "sideways view", can't quite edit pics well yet!
Thanks for the tech article Michael! If you can do the tech for us, I can happily rotate your pictures for you!
It always looks so much nicer when the lights look blended vs just slapped on. Lots more effort, 99% of people will never notice, but it's the right way to customize a car.
Thank you and I agree. After studying many cars in books and on the net, it is amazing what all of the "little details" do when building a car
Thanks man, I just saw your build thread and commented there too about your glass-looking forward to seeing what you got planned!
Thank you Ratatouille! You are a serious inspiration to many here on the HAMB with your work ethic and skill sets, especially with the minimal amount of tools you have available. Glad you like this idea, maybe it will help in one of your builds!
What is the original intended use of the hollow half balls? I need something to ask for, besides hey you got any hollow half balls..
Hi Texasred, They are used in ornamental iron gate or fence fabrication. They are sold as full round hollow steel balls or the half round (basically cut in half for you) versions. I purchased these at a company called Pattons Steel with locations around So Cal but these should be available by order from your local steel supplier if they sell iron gate ornaments like spears etc. Hope this helps
Michaelvz51: those turn signals look great - very creative! Now I want to see the rest of your ride! cheers, Ray
Here you go-its still rough but a work in progress See "My 51' Merc Kustom Project" thread http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/51-merc-kustom-project.728212/
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