cab marker lights

[jzjames]

When you ask about the spacing pattern Ford used for the marker lights you'll hear crickets.
Here's a pic of an old ebay truck, FWIW.

[tylerb43]

So whats the deal with the roof marker lights? Did ford have a standard pattern for their placement, or did dealerships come into play?

I believe the answer to that question is "both". Obvious there was a standard pattern as the cab (or marker) lights were a factory option. But they also could've easily been dealer installed as well. Dealership's at that time had a lot more freedom to modify their trucks as they or their customers saw fit. They added A/C systems, flatbeds, winches, swapped wheels and tires, you name it. So if a customer came in and said "I really like this truck, but I wish it had cab lights" they said "no problem, that'll be an extra $19.50" That's a joke - I don't know what they charged.



Here are mine, I don't believe they are factory, studying the harness connectors used, and the fact that they are KD517's.

[Earthling789]

My '78 F100 Explorer had factory cab marker lights... they were spaced evenly, with the front edge of the lights about 3" from the front edge of the cab, IIRC. The ones on the ends were probably 5" from the side-edge of the cab? (hard to remember that far back) IIRC, they were amber all the way around (not front amber lens with chrome tear-drop), sitting on a thin, chrome plate... maybe 1/4-3/8" high, and the lights were tall enough to get a grip on when reaching over the cab... maybe 2-1/2 to 2-3/4" overall height on the front face, tear-drop down to about 1/2 or or so in the back? (again, hard to remember)

Now that you've got me thinking about them... I've got the bug to add a set to my '69

[capeclassics]

There must be somebody out there who makes these with a real metal bases......???????????????

[CrypticRacer13]

Great info Bud!

[Calfdemon]

Hey Earthling.. Thanks for that info!! I actually just bought a set of cab lights and plan to run them on my 69 Crew. I like the blinker idea too, I might just have to consider that!! Maybe to be different, I will have my right two, and left 2 lights blink with just my center light remaining solid!

[Earthling789]

Calfdemon, glad that info could help you out!

A couple of notes on the blinking light wiring... in my research, I found a couple of others that had tried to wire that way (two lights on each side), and all of them reported success, whether they used one light or two on each side. I think the main difference between using one or two lights was depending on how the lights were positioned/spaced (and a bit of personal preference). The second thing... most of those who tried it also reported that the lights would flash when the hazard lights were engaged as well... so that would be a BONUS!!

As soon as I decide on which lights to buy (leaning towards the Blazer lights with black bases), I'm going to get started on mine... The hardest part about doing it will be getting the nerve to drill 15 holes into a perfectly good cab, .

[Calfdemon]

Bringing up an old topic, but its still relevant and I am at the point where i am needing to drill the holes in the roof of my cab. This is one of those things where I definately want to get it right the first time, so I will be measuring about 15 times before I actually drill anything just to make absolutely sure I have everything marked right.

That being said, is there anyone that has come up with some good measurements yet? I want to run my lights 5 across with them evenly spaced. Is there anyone that has this setup that can do some basic measurements so those of us adding them can at least get close to where they should be?

Probably a measurement from each side of the truck to the edge of the first light, and then the distance between each light, and the distance back from the front edge of the truck for each light. Those 3 measurements should give a pretty good layout for the even spaced 5 light setup. Anyone that can help with this?

[1972hiboy]

nothing proven yet but ive been thinking about stabbing my cab with some marker lamps and a visor. I was thinking id space them out evenly as well. I take a pencil and try to find the center of the roof spaced as much as I want off the windshield figure once I sliced the section in two id just divide up each side evenly and make a outline of the gasket base on the roof where I want the marker to go then drill last. thats just my way of thinking if I were going to tackle this myself.

[Calfdemon]

That is pretty much how I was thinking of doing it too, but I wanted to get a starting point from the edges, and how far back from the windshield. The center point should be easy enough to do.

Another thing I am probably going to do is do all of my measurements, marking, and drilling from the inside of the cab with the headliner out.. This way, I dont have to try and mess around on the roof until I am actually putting the lights on.

I would love to do a visor if I could find one of the old school original looking ones. The only ones I can find now-a-days are the plastic or fiberglass looking ones that look too modern for our trucks with their more modern lines. I dont like the lines of any of the visors I have found. Wish I could find one of the old metal ones or even a re-pop of that older style.

[tylerb43]

Hey guys, Rich PM'd me and ask me to take some measurements of mine. I hope this helps you guys.

Method: To compensate for the slope of the roof, I used a nylon string (no stretch), tied a knot on one end and colored the knot black. With two hands I held the string tight and put the knot on the upper edge of the drip rail, then pinched the center of the hole on the other end. I then held the string up to the tape measure to record the distance. I measured each one at least twice. I used the same method to measure center to center on the holes. Please note these numbers locate the forward mounting hole of each light.

This is what I was trying to describe, right hand is taking the picture obviously.. Parallel to the side drip rail.



And here are the numbers, you can click on the picture to blow it up to see it better. The red lines are center to drip rail edge, the greens are center-to-center.



If I were laying these out like some of you are, I'd use the center support bow on the inside of the panel to locate dead-nuts center. (maybe with a lightly-tapped punch or something) and then do my mark on the top side 7.5" back. That would locate the center forward hole, and you could easily work out from there with the above numbers.

Good luck!!

[Calfdemon]

Tyler, that is awesome!!

Thanks a ton for doing that and the fact that you used the forward mounting holes instead of the actual lights makes it even better for anyone drilling holes. This way we can drill in the exact locations rather than trying to figure out the offset from the edge of a light.

I will hopefully be tackling this in the next week or so. Again, thanks for taking the time to do this!

[1972hiboy]

That is awesome! Thanks for showing everyone Tyler.

[mark F-100]

I've always liked cab marker lights. Decided to have something different,so I put seven on the truck.

[1972hiboy]

Thats a few lights up there. You ever had problems with planes flying twards you at night?