Classic/Antique Car Repair: Turn signals & brake light on 47 Plymouth, filament bulbs, dual filament

Question
What's involved parts & labor in adding turn signals ? Can the tail lights be converted to activate with the brake light ? stock is onlly the light on trunk for brake light.

Thank you,  Jerry

Answer
There a  couple of ways to do this.  Probably the least hassle way is to buy the kit from J.C.Whitney - that comes with the control switch that straps to the steering column, and wires to connect to the four lights.  Remember that the switch will not automatically cancel after a turn - you have to manually turn it off.  Most of the switches include a "hazard warning" feature that can blink all 4 bulbs.

Some folks then just add small amber lights that they get at a motorcycle shop, and that works fine.  These can be clamped to the bumpers or bumper braces, so that they can be removed for show.

If you want to incorporate the turn signals into your parking lights and tail lights, you have to take the light fixtures apart and replace the bulb sockets with dual filament sockets, then install dual filament bulbs - if your car is still 6 volts, they would be 1154 bulbs, which are getting hard to find. If your car has been converted to 12 volts, you can use 1157 bulbs.   These bulbs have two independent filaments in them, one is the same as currently  in your parking and tail lights (about 3 candlepower) and the other filament is much brighter - about 30 candlepower - that is the one to use for turn signals.  

Since your brake light circuit is separate from the tail lights, you don't need to worry about coordinating the turn signals with the brake light system, which can be a bit of a problem for cars with two brake lights.

I can't estimate the cost for you without knowing where you live and what the labor rates at electrical shops are in your area.  I would guess the parts cost would be somewhere around $150, and the labor would probably be around 4 hours.

I believe turn signals were offered as an accessory for your car from the factory - if you could find a parts car with all the parts on it, you could do a complete transfer and have an authentic installation - but that would be much more expensive - probably 3X the cost, even if you could find the parts car!  Maybe someone in the Plymouth club could steer you to a source for the parts car.

Dick