I am looking for a cigarette lighter for our '32 Ford three window dash. Does anyone know who may have one for sale? (at a reasonable price) It is a nice dash and I don't want to weld up the hole... any ideas? Thanks.
You mean one of these ??? They generally run in the $300 to $400 range ... And NO ... I do not have any for sale. They do show up in Hemmings ... every so often.
Reproduction Knobs and wells are available at a fraction of the cost of originals, and its not as big a loss if someone "borrows" yours at the local car show.
TRUE ... so true And it is almost impossible to tell the difference in a NOS Henry one and a repro one ... with it in the dash. I JUST had to have a Henry one ... But the repros are very, very nice. .
I was looking for a link or magazine article that shows how to make the hole in the top center of the 32 dash panel to accommodate the lighter's socket. Also I have the lighter but no socket.
Posted above: "I was looking for a link or magazine article that shows how to make the hole in the top center of the 32 dash panel to accommodate the lighter's socket." I assume non-3w... I don't even know where my Service Bulletins are at the moment, I think in a stack of stuff recently moved out of my office at retirement. I believe that this is covered in the bulletins..(if you lack at least the '32 bulletins, STOP and go buy a reprint set. With any early Ford you are spinning your wheels in the dark without this basic stuff.) Anyhow, the 3 window lighter was sold over the counter as an accessory for other bodies. Process was just to remove the top center screw and hog out the hole for the threaded rear on the lighter base. This leaves the thing protruding a bit since other dashes lack the depression surrounding the lighter in the 3W. It might be possible to make a decent dent there by using a hole punch with center turned backwards: This sort, chosen by OD of the ram part. If it worked, one that looked just like the installation in the 3W would be cool and not just an unnecessary wart on the dash.
FYI, there were two versions. One had a green eye and one had a red eye. They also came in big and smaller eyes. Mac's advertisers the parts also.
Thanks everyone. Much work but found success. I purchase an undersized (1") dimple cutter from Eastwood and made the hole. A dimple cutter is necessary to start the gradual curl of metal inward evenly all around the hole. Then I fabricated a hollowed tapered bar to pull through the hole with a hollow buck in the rear. Using threaded rod and some heat, pulled the tapered bar through until the hole was the correct diameter (1-13/16"). Then I made a cup, filed to fit over the pulled in metal on the backside and brazed it in place. Wasn't a pro job but it looks neat enough for bench racing. Heat is highly recommended to avoid splitting of the metal. The lighter adds about 5 hp to the motor. I also found the after market lighters to be of a slightly different diameter than the original. So if you use an aftermarket lighter, you also need to use the after market lighter holder.
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