The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Horn Recommendations?

I don't have a horn on the 58 right now and am debating what kind to put on it.

I explicitly do not want a set of insanely loud or train horns.

Several people have told me I need an old ooga horn, but I personally associate that sound with older AD/Model T rigs.

I like the sound of the two-tone early 2000s electric GM horns, but that also doesn't sound "right" for a 50s truck to me.

I don't specifically want an original one, but I am not opposed either. Does anyone have a recording of what a 50s horn actually sounds like? Youtube has a bunch of them that are wildly different and I don't know what is correct.

I maybe wrong but there should be 2 tones..high and low?
I have an original horn and a smaller new horn thats offered for sale.

All of my TF trucks have factory seashell "dual" horns with the correct bracket to point the noise out the core support louvers. I like the sound!

Mike B

I have these LMC horns on my ‘57 that sound original to me.

The Ford F-150 horns from the 90s sound like real American car/truck horns from the old days. You can get a set of 2 (hi and lo) at a junkyard for $5 or $10. They're loud enough to hear but don't split your eardrums. I think they're the old fashioned "f" note.

1992-1996.

I've been searching quite awhile to get the correct (at least the correct mounting bracket) for my '54.

My original 50 horn would not cooperate when I tried adjusting it to a good tone. I'd get it sounding good, and the next day it wouldn't make any sound. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I got a pair of old GM seashell horns at a swap meet last year for $12 and cleaned them up and adjusted them. Got one sounding good, but the other would not cooperate either. It would sound, but the tone was rough. I ended up donating the good one to my buddy's little hot rod project in order to get it on the road within the crunch-time timeframe we were working with.

So I bought a pair of horns for a 93 S10 from Rock Auto. I don't know why I chose that make/model, other than I used to have a 93 S10, and figured a small truck would have small horns. They sound like the typical American car dual note. I don't recall what note they are. If the front sheetmetal ever comes apart for more extensive work, I'll probably hide the horns somewhere behind the grille, but they're on the firewall where the voltage regulator used to be for now. They were cheap enough and didn't require any rehab to make them functional, and are fairly inconspicuous where I installed them.

Just happened to be cleaning out a file. (Old images for forum use.) How's this for a horn?

That is quite a thing Peggy.

I might just take my jump pack to the junkyard and try some until I find something I like.

Or just order the original ones from LMC. I have just had such bad luck with new things being acceptable quality (esp from LMC) lately that I am hesitant to buy new parts.

I bought a pair of "original new reproduction horns" a few years back. Maybe they are Delco. I don't remember what I paid for them but I remember they were pricey. Maybe $175. I can pull them down and take pictures of them if you want. Can I put a sound recording on here?

I don't think you can post audio, but my email is in my profile. If you want to send it to me, I can load it to youtube and share the link.

I'll dig them out.

Here are my horns. The cases say Delco Remy Made in USA but the box says Taiwan. They are metal. I don't know if the sound will work on here. If not I will E-mail it to you. They sound real nice in real life and pretty loud in my shop. You can clearly her the 2 notes. They brought the hounds in from out back.

That is a good sound. I like those.

Interesting that they are marked 53-82. Now that I think about it, those sound like the ones that were on my 78 Corvette.

I wonder if GM used the same horns on everything. If so, that really opens up the possibilities.

Thank you for digging them out and posting it.

I'm glad I could help.

Not sure how well they will work on 1953-55.1 as they are 6 volt...

Mike B

Next time you’re at a swap meet look for a set of Auto-Lite snail horns marked HAB-60 and HAB-61 (Hi & Lo respectively). Try to find a pair that have the original brackets attached. I think they have the best vintage sound ever. FleaBay has lots to choose from at reasonable prices. They are made of steel and are easy to paint and refurbish. I currently have a collection of 4 pair.

I remembered last night that I had this on my wife's lawn truck (55 C1B). I am going to clean it up and see if it works. If so, I am going to use it.

Well, it didn't work, but we like it anyway. So we ended up tearing it down and rebuilding it.

Once we got it tuned, it sounds perfect.

Edit: pics here