Came in a box of NOS 1941 Chevy parts. No idea, never have seen one. No box or ID numbers. Mounts to bottom of dash with (2) 1/4" studs and nuts from above. Cloth covered wire, so I'd guess mid 1950's at the newest. 1/2" wrench for size comparison
I would say it is an accessory item, control switch with an indicator lamp to show the driver that the the accessory item was powered on when the switch is turned to the on position. The accessory switch was possibly manufactured by a company named "Steering". The switch could of powered any number of items, from fog lights to police lights and siren. I just had to post, maybe, the most obvious, due to the fact being there has already been 73 views, without any one as of yet, solving the question "WHAT IS IT?". Come on fellow Hambers, there are times when the ultra rare parts are shown and it only takes 3 views in 2 minutes to have the question answered.
Here is an example of a cool push - pull switch that has both red and green indicator lamps, to let the vehicle operator know between the controlled electric item being either on or off.
Hopefully it was a device to fix the crappy steering the 41 Chevys had. Mine had 1/4 play in the steering. Kinda scary trying to find where the front wheels were. Lol. Sorry that I have no help for what it is. Maybe it was misplaced in the 41 box?.
Apparently made by Gerity (Gerity-Schultz) who made parts of Holley carbs until Holley moved the manufacturing to China and Gerity shut down. Here's one that was recently listed on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/3733589552...=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
It would be cool if it was some sort of electric steering lock hence the red warning light showing it was activated (anti theft). Not so cool if activated going down the road.
It's a teenage safety device. When you are out cruising, with your arm around your girlfriend, the girl would flick on the switch. The red light would remind you to put both hand on the steering wheel (10 and 2) and quit trying for a handful of boob
Way back in 58 when I bough my 56 T-Bird The Guy I bought it from was a Airline Pilot & he had all kinds of Things hooked on his Car, and one thing that I liked was a Do hicky that would Cut out The Power Steering at Certain Speeds which I thought Was Great, as at High Speed you Don't need it ( P.S.) Just my 3.5 Cents Live Learn & Die a Fool
Well, currently there is that one NEW electric hooty-dooty brand of car that starts with the letter " T ", that has automatic steering capabilities. Maybe, the switch was for steering, just flip the switch, red light comes on, automatic steering is engaged, then you can take a nap going down the road at highway speed. So, possibly it seems that autopilot for cars has been around since the 1940's.
The Jalopy Journal
