The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 1951 Rear directional signals & brake light help?

On the 1951 chevy photo below, you can see the rt taillights/brake lights(bottom light). Are those the correct ones for 1951? I've read the 1951 version doesn't look like the ones currently on the truck rear.

Anyone out there able to help me get these correct? I want brake lights and directionals on the rear too. I put duel element bulbs in the front grille parking light spots but how do you make the rear meet that same level? The license plate light is also below the left rear brake light too. Any help out there?


[img]http://www.iaffl2924.com/1951rtrear.jpg[/img]

A '51 truck from the Chevy factory would have only one tail/stop light. The shop that installed the fire apparatus most likely installed the right light so that would make it right for that truck.

From what I can tell by the picture it appears the lower lights are the stop and tail. The uppers look like after-market turn lights. If the truck doesn't now have turn signals they may have been used for flashing lights for emergency runs. Looks like a good place to wire the signals into.

The top lights are red emergency lights that were added in the 1970's. The lights below are just single element brake lights. There are no turn signels.

Is there a way to convert the lights to parking/brake/turnsignels?

Plus the Chevy Duty catalog shows a different type of 1951 rear parking light/brake in the catalog. The round looking ones on the truck (in photo) look like the 1954 ones shown in the Chevy Duty catalog.

I'll replace them with the correct ones but I waqnt you all's option before I order the other ones. What do you think? Am I just wrong about the lights?

The Filling Station in Lebanon, OR. has the tail lamp assemblies, part numbers BA-25, Ba-26 or TR-64, TR-65. These would be dual element assemblies:
one element each for tail/parking and the other for brakes. Your turn signal switch should have an interrupter for the brake lights that allows the brake lights to be used for turn lights as well; otherwise use the light above the tail lights for the turn lights.

Thanks. Do they have a web site? I want to look at the lights.

the filling station [on the links page here ]

Bill

Thanks. The lights on their web site are not the same ones which are currently on my truck. I guess somebody changed them out later in the truck's life.

my 51 gmc fire truck has only one tail and stop light on the driver side. no turn signals were ever installed.

I only have one photo from 1951 and it only shows the left side of the truck. I don't know what was on the right passenger side.

Do you have any problems driving it with no lights on the right side and no turn signels? I don't want to get hit in the rear by some fool after restoring the truck.