Bobby Rodd

Like many restorers, I’m looking to have my runningboards covered. Hunley Ackhoff is out of business and the company, Running Board Rubber out of McBride, BC Canada , is quoting me $3000. Too high a price for me. Steel rubber products has matting for $1000 with some splicing required. I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who has had experience with this product. I would also appreciate knowing if there are other companies that re-vulcanize, provide matting, et cetera. BRodd

I am sorry I did not get back to you sooner. I must have forgotten to select getting the responses. Thank you for your replies. It is the rear quarter armrest. BRodd

Does anyone have experience repairing or know who has replacement rear armrests? Thank you BRodd

'37 Special: How do I take off the back cushion (backrest) of the front seat w/o taking the entire frame out?

Thank you all for your information and leads. It is helpful and appreciated. BRodd

With the loss of LeBaron-Bonney/Hampton Coach as an upholstery source, does anyone have a good source I can go to get seat cover fabric and carpeting? I bought the panels and headliner kits from LeBaron a few months before they went out of business. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy the seat kit or carpet at that time. I found SMS out of Oregon, but their reviews were not very positive. Any recommendations? Thank you. Bobby Rodd

Thanks to all for your recent responses. I have ordered a new dimmer switch. My suspicion is that the light switch is the culprit, but will continue to double/triple check the wiring and connections. The running lights were converted to 1154s, as OldTech said, and are working well as running and signal lights. BRodd

After several months of trying to find the cause of my headlight/running light dilemma, I think Ive narrowed the problem… but still would appreciate your help. With all the lines disconnected at each of the two headlight terminal blocks, I checked the voltage coming off each wire. Light Switch at the 1st Pulled Position With the engine off and battery connected, the running light wires each registered 6.18v. All other lines show no voltage. Light Switch at the 2nd Pulled Position At the second pulled position, the right and left running lights and the right and left bright headlight lines individually registered 6.16v. All other lines, (I.e., the dim headlight lines) showed no voltage. However… When I depressed the floorboard dimmer switch, only the left dim headlight wire registered voltage (6.15v). The rest of the lines (that is, the 2 running lights, the right and left bright headlights and the right dim headlight, each registered only 0.12 volts. I would greatly appreciate any observations or thoughts on where I should look/go from here. Testing the Dimmer Switch With the battery wire connected to the “Batt” terminal on the dimmer switch, power goes through only one of the two remaining dimmer switch terminals. When the dimmer switch is depressed, the power is blocked from this first terminal and is transferred to the remaining second dimmer switch terminal. Is this how the dimmer switch is supposed to work? Or, when the light switch is in the second pulled position, should power always go to one terminal (dim) and then off/on to the second (bright) when the dimmer switch is depressed? BRodd

I’m going to give it a try.

As I re-read all of your responses, I realized that I forgot to mention that I replaced the headlight bulbs with 6 volt sealed beam headlights. I even switched out the sealed beams to insure that the problems weren't in the headlights themselves.

The 3rd position on the light switch has been disabled so the turning beam does not engage. The high/low beam floor switch works.

37_R_C, et al Sorry for the confusion. You are correct, with the light switch pushed in, there are no lights on. With the switch IN and the engine not running, I applied the brakes, and the brake lights work brilliantly (pun intended). I, then, test the signal lights; they work appropriately and brightly. Then the signal lights are tested while the brakes are applied — all work appropriately and well. Finally, I run the same tests with the engine running; all lights work brightly and as they should. Light Switch Pulled Out to the First Stop With the engine running and the light switch pulled out to the first stop, the running lights and taillights come on appropriately and with good brightness. I then follow the same test sequence I described above (I.e., brake lights, then signal lights, then brake lights and signal lights together, etc.). All work well. Light Switch Pulled Out to the 2nd Stop With the light switch pulled out to the second stop, the headlights, along with the running and taillights, are on. However, now all lights are greatly diminished including the headlights and the signal lights when tested. The car has all new wiring (courtesy of Harness Unlimited) so I then checked the connections (positive and negative), the bulbs, and the dedicated ground wires I added. I made sure the contacts were clean and had dielectric grease on them. I then checked the voltage output on the battery, voltage regulator, and generator and the voltage at the light terminals. All were over 6.13 volts except when the light switch was pulled out to the second stop - the headlight terminals were at 4.75 volts. I even disconnected the signal switch which I had put in, but the results were the same. i, too, was thinking that there might be corrosion on the light switch contacts. I had cleaned out the contacts in the light switch before I put in the new wiring harness a year-and-a-half ago, but I’ve been working the switch in and out a little, but have not seen any improvement. I’m now going to look more closely at the voltage regulator as Bloo suggests. Once again, thanks to you all for your willingness to help me work through this challenge. BRodd

Without the light switch pulled out, all lights are bright and work properly

A Quick Recap - Taillights, brake lights, running lights, and directionals (with a new flasher) are now working properly. - - However, when the light switch is pulled to the first stop, all four corner lights dim. - - When the light switch is pulled out to the second stop, all four corner lights dim significantly. Update 1) All bulbs & wiring are confirmed correct; 2) The ground wire to the headlights are working well; 3) An alternate power line directly from the battery to the flasher was tried (and not through the light switch); all four corner lights continued to dim when the light switch was pulled; 4) I tested the battery and it registered over 6 volts; 5) With the engine running, the generator, the voltage regulator, and running lights each registered more than 6 volts 6) With the light switch pulled and engine running, the headlight and running lights registered only 4.75 volts Next Steps I will check the continuity of the light switch Any other suggestions? Again, my thanks to everyone for your ideas; they are greatly appreciated.

I have a dedicated ground wire for each of the 4 corner bulbs that connects to the ground bolt on the starter. I think they’re grounding well, but will double check the connections. I’ll also reverse the wires to get the larger filament to blink on the front (fender lights). Can I infer from your comments that the turn signal in the taillight is also the larger filament (as in the front)? BRodd

Great idea. I’ll certainly will give that a try. The power line off the light switch to the flasher has a fuse on it. I don’t recall the size, and I don’t think it’s an issue, but thought I’d mention it. When I bypass the light switch to the flasher, I will put the same size fuse on it. BRodd

I bought a new 7-wire signal switch online several years ago and took its mechanism and placed it in the housing of an old KD. Of course, I can’t find any of the paperwork on the new signal switch. The wire colors are red and yellow (which go to the flasher), orange (to the stop switch), light blue and green (to the front lamps), and black and dark blue (to the rear lamps). I also have the hot wire from the light switch to the flasher and a ground wire.

Thanks for all your responses. Yes. They’re dual contact 1154s, Ba15d. I also checked the new, dedicated ground wire; all good. When I turned on a signal light, I noticed that the smaller filament blinks on and off (very brightly, I might add). As I pulled the light switch to the first stop (driving lights and taillights), then the second stop (headlights), the longer filament came on progressively dimmer. The blinking signal light filament also became weaker. Do I have the hot wires reversed as Matt suggests, or is there something else I need to consider?

With the Light Switch in the off position, the running lights (now wired as signal lights too), work perfectly and are bright. When I turn on the light switch, the running lights dim significantly and, when used as signal lights, can hardly be seen. has anyone else encountered this dilemma? Possible solutions/ideas would be greatly appreciated. BRodd

For my restoration, I have the bows, but (1) need the order that they go in. Does anyone know the lengths and order of these? (2) I do not know how the ends of the bows are attached. Can someone describe how they are attached or show in a short video? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Has anyone had the experience of moving the battery to the trunk?

Bobf49f2 - How did your running boards turn out? I’m in the same spot you were in 2014. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Bobby Rodd bobbyrodd@gmail.com

Many thanks to you both. I’ve got much learning too do. I’m grateful to have guys like you to turn to. One last question... When I look at the points in the solenoid, they look pretty worn. How difficult is it to have them replaced? BRodd

My thanks to MCHinson and Bloo. Can I test the solenoid and starter drive to determine where the problem is? BRodd

When power is applied to the starter of my ‘37 Special, the starter just makes a whirling sound. I believe the problem is the solenoid. Could anyone please shed light on this issue? Also, if the problem is the solenoid, does anyone know where I can get my solenoid rebuilt or where I can buy a rebuilt solenoid? The starter works well. Thank you Bobby Rodd