The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 38 chevy horn button

need your help.im rodding a 38 pu ,i wouldlike to keep the column and steering wheel.prob 1 no horn button,no horn wiring just the column and wheel what parts are missing,need info on wiring the horn ,pictures,diagram etc.prob 2 is the back of the truck cab meant to be straight across or should it have a slight curve.would appreciate pics of the back or a 38 cab close up especially from the side/back thanx herriot

You'll start with this. The horn wire is connected to the mast jacket bushing which is at the top of the steering column. It's connected inside the column (mast jacket), runs down the inside of the column and exits in the engine compartment through a hole on the bottom of the column. It then connects as shown in this diagram. It is the ground for the horn. Pushing the horn button completes the ground, closing the circuit, allowing the horn to honk. I can't help with the cab pics since my '38 is a car. Good luck.

thanx man that makes sense.the button and rubber is ok what way does the s wire fit.have never seen it together

sweetie is beautiful.any more pics of the build.my build is at (www.hotrod.ie?) thanx

The prongs of the "S" wire go through two holes in your steering wheel and the S part fits into the rubber. The idea is that when you push the button, the wire makes contact with the side of the hole(s) in the steering wheel AND with the copper contact on top of the mast jacket bushing, completing the circuit. It can be a bit problematic and often takes a bit of fiddling to get it where it work well.

The closest I have to having the project on line is a series the Wichita paper ran. Take this link and scroll down the "Restoring Sweetie" series. The pictures aren't all in the correct order chronologically & some of the captions don't go with the pictures so take them with a grain of salt.

Nice job on your truck. I lean toward restoration over rodding BUT I recognize the different tastes and appreciate a job well done no matter the project.

thanx for your help great pics you must be very proud of your restoration.as for the restoration/rodding debate.well im in both camps any changes im making are to make it more user friendly.except for lowering i want to keep all the origional feat ures eg door handles cowl vent lights etc.i intend putting up long distance trips in it so there you go.all the best herriot

I have a 37 Chevy 1/2 ton. Do the prongs of the S wire have to come in contact with the horn cup (https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/6041/Chevrolet_Horn_Button_Cup_With_Chrome_Rim.html) in order for the horn to work, or do the holes in the cup just serve as a guide for the prongs which complete the circuit by coming in contact with the mast bushing?

Also, on a 37 1/2 ton, is there a spring for the horn button, or does the rubber button (http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?Parta~ShowPicTxt~Z5Z5Z50000014a~Z5Z5Z5AACOZ ) serve that purpose?

Thanks,

The rubber serves as the spring. Back in the day there was an aftermarket booster spring that connected between the steering shaft and S wire and served two purposes. It helped make a good ground for more reliable honking and gave a bit of a boost to the horn button because the rubber alone sometimes sets the button level a tad low. I've not found anyone making them these days. I'm not familiar with the horn cup. My coupe doesn't have one. The holes that the S wire run through are in the steering wheel. Hopefully someone with intimate knowledge of that setup will come along shortly.

Mike, I will send you picture of how the s wire needs to be bent. The holes in the cup are just a guide.

You may be right that the "horn cup" is actually part of the steering wheel--I can't tell without pulling the whole thing apart which is something I've never done.