I need to put a dome light in this truck but with the fiberglass headliner board there is very little room between the headliner and roof of the cab at the rear of the headliner where I would really like it to put one in,I thought I had a original dome light for a p/u but turns out it is for a panel truck that mounts in the rear of the truck and is way too deep. There is a metal panel that goes around the rear window and towards the doors there is enough room to put a small light on each side but I am looking for a light that will look like it came with the truck so I need to see some old looking small dome lights if anyone has any and need to know what they came off of. Interior is apart and time to add a light if possible.
You can use Ford pickup license plate lights in the pan under the seat. I use the type that snaps into a hole. Used door jamb switches from '49-up GM car, & a click on, click off switch under the dash for when I want to leave the doors open.
I use these LED license plate lights. I like them because they use very little power so you don't have to worry about having a dead battery if you leave the doors open for an extended amount of time. Also, they are quite cheap. They are always coming on sale at Princess Auto (in Canada) for around $5. I have one above the rear window, another in the windshield header panel and two in the kickpanels.
I put this one in my 36, in the front section of the fiberglass headliner. I think it's from an old SAAB, I picked it up at an estate sale years back. Not very deep, fit good, crappy pics though. Mitch View attachment 4196196 View attachment 4196196
Should be thousands of options but first thing that comes to my mind when talking dome lights is how we use to paint the lens in em....Red etc. when I was younger, I guess it was mood lighting for our party machine on wheels
Do Google searches for "vintage clearance lights", "vintage marker lights", "vintage backup lights", etc. You will find a lot of options. Many are surface mount and don't protrude a lot. There will be old stuff, naturally, and some new ones that are styled to look old. It wouldn't hurt to search "vintage dome light", too. Look every 6 or 8 days, because the offerings change all the time.
I am going to look around the local old junkyard saturday to see what there is that I can use,I did have a AD Chevy truck dome light that I might be able to use but its been 20 years since I seen it and quicker to get another. There might be some glove box lights that could be used too.
Remember that if you use GM door switches, they have one wire and opening the door puts a ground on that wire. So you need to wire 12V to dome light permanently and wire door switches to the other dome light wire so that the ground from the door switch turns on the light. Seem counterintuitive because everything else uses switched 12V instead of switched ground to operate.
try one of these, about 2&5/8" diameter,2 strong magnets on back,hooks on back,plastic supports on back so no metal to metal contact, very brite, got mine at Menards, gettin more on Thursday, will let you know brand (no brand on the lite, don't have carton)...stick em to any metal surface, easily removeable for flashlite duty, etc.
I bought some single loose leds off of eBay to replace a light in a radio. They put out a lot of light depending on the size you get. They are small enough you could hide one or two in a upholstery button and never see them until they were lit up. You can get them in colors, too. I bought green ones to match my other dash lights. You just have to make sure the polarity is right when you hook them up. A drop of glue or clear silicone will stick one anywhere.
I wired my dome lights so the jamb switch grounds a relay, that way the dome light function on the headlight switch can also be incorporated. It also eliminates the need to have constant power to the dome lights. Courtesy lights are nice too, it always seems like my melon eclipses the dome light when I'm looking for something in the cab.
I am going to try to find a light that has a switch in it,not really wanting to put switches in the door jambs and also thinking about lights under the dash too.
I always liked to have lights under the dash that come on with the doors open. Then a separate dash switch to a dome light overhead. I think the one I used in my old '36 Chev p/u was a GM round light used in many cars in the '60's.The replacement plastic frosted lenses are available in the "Help" section of most auto parts store (or at least they WERE available when I did that!)
Found nothing at the local old junkyard worth bringing home,kind of thinking a AD Chevy truck dome light might be the way to go and I did have one so time to look in the garage, There were a few at the yard but exposed to the elements too long and went to Restoration World and no way am I going to pay 50 dollars for a new one.
I'm with you on the "mood" lighting, Jeff. I always thought something interesting could be done with a dome light. Easy to go "over the top" in the view of some, but I like colored glass, especially when it's lit up. I've looked at small, home-type, colored dome lamps and other things that could possibly be used. Glass bowls and stuff, even. Did anyone suggest using a tail-light? Backtracking... Noop...don't see that they did.
Did some digging and found the AD Chevy and 53 Olds dome lights,going to see if I can make the AD Chevy light work.
Check out the Cargo Lights in the rear of some SUV's ( Subaru , Honda etc ) very small and compact, quite often contains a switch. For very thin application have a look at the makeup light in the passenger side visor on GM trucks. Less than 1/2 inch thick
I gave up on the idea of a dome light,I do have a flash light that clips to the steering column and forgot that I had put batteries in it so that will be the interior light for now.
Back in the day, the dudes used to get a pair of those cheapie red marker lights from Western Auto (the ones with the bullet lenses and the cheesy metal brackets) and mount 'em under the dash, wired into the dome light circuit, shining down in the footwells., and then just kill the overhead dome. You'd get some cool mood lighting for pocket change. To this day I still have an aversion to being lit up when entering and exiting my vehicles. I feel like someone may be watching me or even worse, watching my lady.
im using these in my 38 pu.(https://www.carbuildersolutions.com/uk/black-interior-light )cut the correct size hole they snap in .about an inch deep.rock the lens to activate all movement internal.could mount under dash or over the door.or under the seat.or
Years ago I got a dome light off Ebay that was supposed to be for a 37 but I think its for a panel since they do have one in the rear near the doors.
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