[dean from bozeman]

Gary, I had an unstamped "on-off-dim" type light switch and rod. It was identical to the steel stamped one that is in A495. I wonder whether it was a newer design or if it just missed a process. It may have been a one-stamp process. How did they get the masonite material in the handle part?

Charles, you are amazing in regards to the research that you do. I really appreciate it. Yes, it would be interesting to get the original blue prints and see what changes, if any, Ford made with the switch. I seriously doubt whether these were hand stamped in the factory. Machines would save time and money. You can tell the originals because you can see how the metal indented when the words and arrows were stamped in.

I have no doubt that restorers through the years tried various ways to get the desired "on-off-dim" look. I have visited a museum where the guard let me slip under the ropes to examine an early Tudor. Its light switch was from a recast. This was a known fact that the older early guys would talk about. Even today, I know of a restorer who is attempting to make his own.

Until I see a blueprint that shows that some were made with die cast aluminum, I will consider these to be a replacement part or ones that were made by a non-Ford supplier. Now I may be totally wrong but I will reserve judgement until those blueprints are seen.

For those of you just casually interested in this discussion, let it be known that these early light switches had the words "On-Off-Dim" and had arrows below the left and right words. Their rods were longer and paired with an open bail light switch at the end of the steering column. The open bail was a poor design because the contacts were on a masonite-type material and water could get into these bails. When water was able to soak the masonite material became swelled and distorted. Then the contacts did not line up and work properly. A recall, so to speak, suggested that cars/trucks with this problem get their bails and horn rod replaced. Those replaced parts were probably thrown away in the thousands. That is why, to this day, it is so hard to find the original parts.

When you look at the ve28 parts on an early car like A495 you can see that many of them were poorly designed. Thus many of those parts were replaced, thrown away and are hard to find today.