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Hi Guys,

I've been taking pictures of my '52 M in an effort to get to undertand how it works a bit better and I just noticed a funny thing. On my truck ALL the major electrical components were made by AutoLite. I'm talking the Starter, Generator, Voltage Regulator, Horn, Front Marker Lights, and Front Blackout Light are all made by AutoLite. The truck didn't come with rear tail lights.....but I'm pretty sure they would have been made by AutoLite too.

I know in previous discussions it's been mentioned that when the trucks were built the guys on the line just pulled parts from the bin regardless of who manufactured them, which implies the bins had parts from different manufacturers in them.....but if that's true why would my truck be built with ONLY AutoLite parts and no other brand? Is this a common thing or is mine just an odd-ball?

regards,
bob

Well IMHO just as different sub-contractors were used to make the needed parts for the truck it is also possible that at any given day at any given time that only one manufacture was used. Also remember Bob that your truck had a life past the factory. There is no way of knowing if the starter was replaced or if a lamp housing was replaced etc. It is possible that the stars a lined just right for your truck to have all the same parts manufacture on it...then again it could be that all trucks in 1952 had the same parts manufatures on them. Or it could be that on that given day in 1952 when your truck was assembled it got matching parts and then when one of them broke it was the same manufacture that was the replacement part.

Something to ponder about that's for sure.

Hi K8,

You're right, no doubt......I was just wondering if anyone else's truck had all the same electrical components from the same vendor. I also think some vendors were used for specific periods of time and then others replaced them. For example, I think Autolite and Guide were early vendors, as I've never seen marker lights from those guys that used plastic lenses on the top, only glass. And then some of the later brands seem to have been made only with plastic lenses. It would be neat to know what vendors were used from when to when, but that's not something that's very easy to figure out.

Thanks for your reply.

regards,
bob

What was on your truck at the time of manufacture is 1 thing, while what it may have gotten during military service when a replacement was necessary is quite another.

That could have been a new part from any number of manufacturer's; a take-off part from another m series truck on the tator row along the back fence at the motor pool that was shot up or wrecked last week, or a part that was conveniently stolen from some other Co's truck that was left parked unattended near by, (this was a very common source of easily removed parts such as lights, rear axle shafts, seat cushions, etc). There is just no telling where parts may have been sourced from; based on my time in service, used parts were much more common than new.

Autolite was a Chrysler subsidiary and furnished the electrical systems for all Chrysler products for many years. There's a link to a great movie clip "Auto-Lite on Parade - 1940 Vintage Automobile Film" in the Frequently Asked Questions on my Kempner Power Wagon Museum web site. http://www.texaspowerwagon.com

General Motors owned DELCO. American Motors used DELCO. Later on, Ford used Autolite parts.

Although Chrysler was a major customer of Autolite, they did not own the company, which was an independent supplier of OEM parts, primarily to Chrysler, Ford, and Willys/Jeep. In the early 1960s, Chrysler did purchase some of Autolite's product lines, and Ford purchased others, along with the "Autolite" name.

Paul,

That was a really good video! Very interesting. I had no idea AutoLite made so many different products. It makes perfect sense that if Autolite was used by Dodge as a main supplier of electrical parts that most of the parts on my truck were made by them. One thing that is weird is that although almost all the electrical parts on my truck are made by AutoLite.....my gauges are not. They were made by AC, which I assume was the spark plug manufacturer. The gauges in my truck, with the exception of the temp gauge appear to be original and have the correct part number per ORD 9 for my S/N. In the video it showed AutoLite made a wide variety of gauges and instruments.......so it seems a bit odd that Dodge didn't use AutoLite gauges in my truck. And I've not seen AutoLite gauges in any M37, only AC and Stewart Warner for the early trucks.

Again, thanks for the video.......I guess there really was a time when we actually did make things in this country. Awesome!

regards,
bob