Electrical: Under hood and under trunk lid lights

[Scott]

Can someone please post any pictures of these engine compartment or trunk lights, hopefully in operation? I've always wanted one, but none of my Studebakers came with one. It doesn't matter which year, but it would be fun to see this stock accessory, which I never have. Thanks!

[Welcome]

Can someone please post any pictures of these engine compartment or trunk lights, hopefully in operation? I've always wanted one, but none of my Studebakers came with one. It doesn't matter which year, but it would be fun to see this stock accessory, which I never have. Thanks!

I no longer have any of the parts ...or even pics. of them, but might help others to know what model & year set-up you are looking for. TIA

[Orestudeguy]

Scott owns a 1966 Cruiser.

[Mike Van Veghten]

The internet is your friend..

Like this -

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://content.mamotorworks.com/img300/fr11771.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette-underhood-light-assemblies%2B1977%2B1982-1-406-11771.html&usg=__qEQ796HBtgqCJgaiRbclp-3W368=&h=491&w=600&sz=195&hl=en&start=14&zoom=1&tbnid=2QSbs7xjFr3paM:&tbnh=110&tbnw=135&ei=ehzKUObdMMiY2AXKxYCoDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGM%2Bunderhood%2Blights%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1

I know GM dealers (Chevy) used to carry them.
A mercury switch turns them on and off with the rotation of the hood (or deck!).

Mike

[Scott]

Thank you Mike. That looks interesting. I didn't know you could still get such a thing.
But I was hoping to find photos of stock accessory units actually on a Studebaker. It doesn't matter what year. I'd just like to see how they were mounted and find out more about how they were switched on.
There have been many times I wished I had one under the hood so I wouldn't have to bother with a flashlight to see what's going on in the dark. Maybe they weren't that effective, but it's better than nothing. I'm actually really surprised that we don't see more examples of Studebakers with trunk lights. It's just a good thing to have and it wasn't an extremely expensive item. If I found one, I'd put in my '66 for sure!

[2moredoors]

When I was at York last March Bob Munter had a number of the trunk lights. I installed mine and it works very well. I found a used hood light from Tommy K at Reedsville but have yet to install it (put the car away before going to Reedsville). Bob Munter also has NOS hood lights. Now I am looking for something for my '55.

Good luck they are around.

[Scott]

You installed it in your Cruiser?

[Flashback]

here's a underhood light for a 53

[Flashback]

Here's a trunk light for a 53

[Flashback]

And, this is a glove box light for 53.

[StudeRich]

In my opinion most Studebaker dealers did a poor job of selling Authorized Studebaker Accessories. Most side view Mirrors were Western Auto, Pep Boys, Sears Allstate, or NAPA AFTERMARKET along with curb feelers, exhaust extensions, mud flaps, even a few antennas, gas door guards, traffic light viewers, side window rain shields, sun visors etc.

Studebaker had a very large amount of cool goodies for sale that very few frugal buyers ever bought, like the subject Trunk and Hood Lights, luggage, floor mats, mud flaps, door handle, gas door, door edge guards, exhaust extensions, parking brake warning lights, 4 Way Flashers, master brake cylinder remote reservoirs, engine block heaters, childproof rear door locks, and when did you ever see an in fender mounted power brake vacuum reserve tank on a Lark? ...Yes they did have them!

So you ask why are there few to none of these neat items today?
I think the problem was that if you loaded up a Showroom display car, only the local Doctor or Lawyer could afford to buy it.

My dad always had to fight the "too expensive" Studebaker price thing, when trying to compete with the Big Three's price wars, so most cars were not even ordered with a Radio or Heater, they were added IF the saleman could upsell them!

[Scott]

Thanks for the pictures, Flashback. The trunk light is interesting with that extra metal section that's bent. I'm trying to imagine how it fastened to the inside of the trunk lid. I would guess it throws a fair amount of light when on. I'm sure Lark type ones were very different in shape.

Yes, obviously the dealers did a poor job getting customers to buy this stuff. I still have not owned a Studebaker with a day/night mirror even though it was available! To me that's a basic thing (of course by the time I started driving in the 70s it was)!

[2moredoors]

You installed it in your Cruiser?

Yes I installed it, it scews on near the latch area (I don't have the car home to take pictures). There is a wire (plug) just over the left wheel hump which is "hot" only when the lights are on. The wiring goes from there and you push it through the trunk lid cavities.

[53k]

In my opinion most Studebaker dealers did a poor job of selling Authorized Studebaker Accessories. Most side view Mirrors were Western Auto, Pep Boys, Sears Allstate, or NAPA AFTERMARKET along with curb feelers, exhaust extensions, mud flaps, even a few antennas, gas door guards, traffic light viewers, side window rain shields, sun visors etc.

Studebaker had a very large amount of cool goodies for sale that very few frugal buyers ever bought, like the subject Trunk and Hood Lights, luggage, floor mats, mud flaps, door handle, gas door, door edge guards, exhaust extensions, parking brake warning lights, 4 Way Flashers, master brake cylinder remote reservoirs, engine block heaters, childproof rear door locks, and when did you ever see an in fender mounted power brake vacuum reserve tank on a Lark? ...Yes they did have them!

So you ask why are there few to none of these neat items today?
I think the problem was that if you loaded up a Showroom display car, only the local Doctor or Lawyer could afford to buy it.

My dad always had to fight the "too expensive" Studebaker price thing, when trying to compete with the Big Three's price wars, so most cars were not even ordered with a Radio or Heater, they were added IF the saleman could upsell them!

The "up" side of this was in the '70s just about any dealer you went to had lots of these things that they were willing to sell cheap just to be rid of them. I went around trying to buy dealer stocks in those days and I ended up with a bunch of that stuff (still have a set of S-P curb feelers and a trunk-mounted trouble light). Two different dealers told me that they would not sell their mechanical stock because they were still servicing Studebakers, but they were happy to sell me their accessory stuff. At one I got late model floor mats and a bunch of radio antennas. Another told me that he had a bunch of accessory stuff "down in the back building" that I could have for $1.50 a box. I got a dozen Hill Holders, a pair of Speedster exhaust extensions and a bunch of '53-'55 backup lights, both C-K and sedan.

[53k]

Yes I installed it, it scews on near the latch area (I don't have the car home to take pictures). There is a wire (plug) just over the left wheel hump which is "hot" only when the lights are on. The wiring goes from there and you push it through the trunk lid cavities.

The backup lights of that era were also "hot" only when the lights were on. I guess the rationale was that you only needed them when it was dark. I re-wired the backups on my '53 to be hot all the time.