The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1946 Chevy 1/2Ton in Utah - "Here We Go"

John, I’m going to convert my park lights to blinkers on my 46. I like the idea to keep it clean looking. I bought the lights and sockets for dual filament bulbs from Jim Carter I believe. What gauge wire are you using for the tail lights. I assume I could use the same gauge for my park light/turn signals?

I'm using 14 gauge to the tail lights. I think my wiring harness has a mix of 14 and 16 gauge wires. My car hauler flat bed trailer uses 16 gauge wire, so I'm thinking 16 would work on the truck. I went with 14 to be on the safe side. FYI - I did see that the wire on my new tail lights were only 18 gauge.

Thanks. On my truck they had separate taillights and turn signals. I have the original taillights on now and need to remove the old turn signals. I’m going to run new wiring to the lights front and back as I purchased the 7 wire turn signal. I think my current turn signal is a 5 wire. The new one has 4 way flashers and lights on it to help remember to turn it off!! have turn signals screwed on the front fenders but they will go also.

Little by little. "15 minutes a day" - I'm trying to do one little thing each day. Got the brake light switch installed and wired. Most of the turn signal wiring is complete - just need to add the inline fuse and flasher.

Glad to see you continuing your progress John.

An observation and a suggestion if I may. Looking at your pic, I think you might want to disconnect, reroute and reconnect your speedo cable at the transmission. The semi-"S" twist to the cable where it currently runs both below and above the U-shaped brake line might cause binding between the cable housing and cable. Relocating the cable to run over both sides of the brake line coming out of the master cylinder would straighten that out and reduce the chance of binding IMO.

If you are worried about the cable contacting/vibrating on the master cylinder or brake line, cut a section of rubber fuel line hose, split it down the side and slide it over the cable housing where they may contact metal to metal. A couple small zip ties will hold it in place. Just food for thought.

That is a great observation Dan. I didn't realize I did that with the speedo cable. I will take a look at it in the morning.

I rearranged the speedo cable to go over the brake line and added a clear vinyl hose for a little protection. I noticed the cable had gear oil on it and drips a little. Should there be an O-ring or something on the connector?

I don't think there's an O ring or anything on the cable end. At least there wasn't on my truck. It just threads in. You can use thread sealer, though.

Yes. I have some thread sealer. Thanks Otto!

I was able to get my front fender braces installed today. Just need to tighten up all the bolts now.

Looks great John and your speedo cable will thanks you by lasting a whole lot longer.

I can't recall on the speedo driven gear if there is a replaceable O-ring or not. Perhaps another Bolter can chime in on that question?

I'm going to try a little thread sealer. I didn't see anything in my old cable.

There was none on my old cable and I'm pretty sure there wasn't one in my new cable. That's why I used thread sealer.

Starting to get dangerous! 😲 I'm checking off some items on the wiring list by getting them connected to the headlight switch.

I was able to get most connections terminated today. I need to get the oil pressure line connected and get the throttle and choke cables installed. I have one wire I'm not sure about. Says it's for the horn, but I have a horn relay and trying to think through this. Getting closer to tucking all the wires up behind the dash.

Installed the heater hoses today. Not sure if there's a preference of crossing the hoses on the front side or rear side of the fender support clips? Maybe I'll go look for some pictures online.

The heater doesn't care which hose is connected where at the heater. It'll work either way, so you could just switch the heater hoses at the heater and run the hoses without crossing them.

I have the same heater as you, John. I ran the supply hose from the TStat/head to the lower nipple on the heater core.

I ran the return hose from the upper nipple of the heater core to the water pump.

Most vehicle heater core use the lower nipple as the inlet and the upper nipple for the outlet.

Thanks guys!

Most automotive heaters use the bottom nipple as the supply because it helps prevent air pockets in the core by pushing the any air bubbles up and out.

Well, this is good to know.

I found an old picture when it was being taken apart. So I'll just keep it the same. Thanks for the addition information.

Today I was able to get the instrument cluster installed and connect the speedometer cable and oil pressure line. I still need to tuck all the wires up behind the dash, but I'll wait until I get the headlights wired. Then I can run a test of everything. I also installed the temp sensor and mounted the firewall grommet that holds the temp, oil, choke and throttle cables.

Not sure if my truck originally had any fuses, but I added three. One in line from the starter (battery) to ammeter (30A), one in the line from ammeter to head light switch (30A) and one before the turn signal flasher (as per instructions - 20A). Not sure if I need anymore.

I also found my side skirts that goes behind the cab and between the bed and running boards (not sure what they're called?). Looks like part of it fits between the bed mounting block and frame, so I'll have to remove the bolt to get it installed. I have the running board on the right side mounted and not sure if I can get the skirt install with the running board in place. I guess I'll find out.

What is U.6000?

I will go with what is gross vehicle weight under 6000 for 500

Ding-Ding-Ding. We have a Winner Kevinski!

In the "Old Days" Utah had these weight labels on trucks. They don't do this anymore.

I got the bed/fender/running board panel installed tonight. It took a little work, but I didn't have to loosen the running board or fender. I did have to jack the corner of the bed up a little and remove the mounting block and after that I had to jack the back corner of the cab and remove that one mounting bolt. Then I was able to slide the panel in and get the carriage bolts lined up. Took a little over an hour. I'm looking at the driver's side and maybe I'll get that panel hanging in place before installing the running board.

Installed the throttle and choke cables today. A little hard to get a wrench on the thin nuts, but I think they're tight enough for now. Also, I was thinking about the gas tank and grounding. Since I added Kilmat sound deadening and there's rubber between the tank and the straps, I thought maybe the grounding wasn't very good, so I added a small wire from the sending unit to the seat frame. Not sure if that will do anything to help - guess I'll find out when I get the battery installed and do testing.

Good idea. The sending unit needs a ground for it to work.

Should help. My '52 GMC came with one originally.

I wired the head lights today and installed the new 12V lights. The left bucket had the parking light socket broken/rusted off, so I'm waiting for a replacement socket. Should be here in a few days - I hope.

What headlamps did you purchase?

From The Filling Station: 12 volt sealed beam #6014. Did I mess up? It should high/low beam. I probably could have picked those up locally.

Not necessarily. No brand on it? Hopefully it's a good quality halogen bulb. I like that it's made in Taiwan and not China.

I've never owned a vehicle that doesn't use sealed beam headlights. I've found the Sylvania halogen to be the best. They shine as far and as bright as any modern headlight (sometimes better than modern ones such as the 2014 Silverado).

My second choice is Phillips halogen.

Ol' Roy has 6v Phillips halogen

Your lights look like they put out plenty - and white not yellow. I got these lights because I was switching from 6V to 12V - just needing something. When I get to drive at night, I'll find out if they are good enough or I'll probably change to something like halogens.

Yes, that's why I like the halogens. They're nice and white not yellow or that awful blue that was popular a while back.

I, too was impressed by how bright and white those lights are on a 6v system. 6v systems get a lot of bad press by people who probably have crappy wiring and bad grounds. The starter spins over as fast as a 12v system, too.

John - You probably paid an average cost from "The Filling Station". There are some lower priced #6014 bulbs offered from various vendors I found in a web search, but could be by the time you add there shipping costs, maybe about the same price?

If you decide to go "halogens", the #H6024 is what to search for. Here's a no-logo halogen replacement bulb, or if you don't care if it has the "WAGNER" logo on the glass, here's one from Rock Auto for even less $$$.

Sylvanias are normally in stock at Auto Zone, Advance, etc. They make two kinds with stupid names now instead of just "halogen". One of them is the normal kind and the other is that bluish kind.