Wait til you get the harness if you can.Most come with dome light circuits I believe and follow their instructions.Dome light switches can be bought at any auto parts stores, see what will work. May have to reuse the bracket shown. I like the under dash lights that come on with the open doors, and wire a separate switch to light the dome separately
Well those are cool, I don’t want them hanging out. Wonder if I can set those back into the jam somehow.. ? I like the way you think. I’d better leave well enough alone until I get the new kit in. Until then it’s a good ol fashion toggle to get the dome light on.
My '55 F100's a Custom Cab, came with door switches both sides. (best switches to use are the Ford style, as was shown previously) I wired a shunt from my driver's door switch to a hidden toggle under the fender which goes to my horn relay...Toggle off and it's normal, inside cab light plus a courtesy light under dash; Switch the toggle on and my 'alarm' is set. Relay goes to my '72 Cad Eldo horns, with a '76 Olds 'tweeter'. Sounds like the Atchison-Topeka-and the Sante Fe when it goes off... Nice voice for an F100.
Also, leave the current wire in place, maybe it can be used to "fish" the new one through the pillar up to the light
The one with the screws on it is the switch. The other is the magnet. You could use a stronger magnet inside the door and mount the switch on the inside of the door frame with no holes at all, as long as you have a strong enough magnet. There are round switches but most of those are closed when the magnet is near them.
There are lots of options, so at least I’m not stuck without any. I appreciate all the ideas and I’ll post something when I decide what the best one for my situation will be. Thanks everyone.
No need to replace the stock one wire dome light if the wire is good. feed it with a relay closed by the door jamb switch via ground. Do it all the time on 40 fords with one wire dome lights. As someone mentioned it is nice to also have under dash lights. Illuminates the floor area nicely. The ones out of a late 70's early 8o's cutlass and Buicks work great. My wife likes the underdash light as it allows you to see in front of the seat on the floor in a 40 coupe.
Well squirrel, it’s a 55 Chevy, you’ve helped me on this project about a year ago when I’d just gotten it.
I know, it was a rhetorical question, for the guys suggesting you use the latest street rod parts in your old truck
One quick one squirrel, will a 57-59 turn signal assembly work on my 55 since I’ll be putting in a new American autowire kit in this winter? I just mean will it physically fit on the column behind the steering wheel. It still has the stock skinny column in it. I know that’s a pretty specific question, but something tells me you will know! Thanks sir.
It's a good question. The switch was modified slightly when they went to the deep wheel. The lever is angled forward, and the hole in the housing is larger to allow for it. The casting inside that the lever screws into is different.
the 53-54 car switch is the same as the 54-56 truck switch. The 57-59 truck switch is a bit different. They're all kind of hard to find in good used condition, but repops are available. I don't know how well they are made.
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