Turn Signal Lever for 1st Gen?

I'm having trouble finding a reproduction turn signal arm for my 1st Gen. Anyone know if ours is the same as another GM model?

I tried these two from Classic Industries but are not quite right. They bend up which puts it too close to the steering wheel. The flat part on ours is bent 90 degrees different from these. I tried to rebend it gently in a vise but it wouldn't budge. I'd have to use heat which would screw up the chrome and plastic.



The two repro levers are virtually identical. Slight difference on the mounting end but they would be interchangeable. Here are the Classic Industries part numbers I tried:

CX1186 - 67-72 Pickup
Their site says this fits Trucks. The part came with a label that says:

CounterPart Automotive
67-13305
67-72 Chevrolet/GMC Truck

CM3028 - 62-66 Chevrolet/
Their site says this fits Truck, Impala, and Nova. This label says:

CounterPart Automotive
63-13305
63-66 Chevrolet/GMC Truck
63-66 Chevrolet Full Size w/o tilt
64-66 Chevelle/El Camino w/o tilt
65-66 Corvair
63-66 Chevy II/Nova



Maybe ours is from a Corvair van. I'll try searching for a repro for that.

How bout LMC Truck PN 34-0788. Looks like it might be what you are looking for.

Peace,
Brian

Is your old one missing?

You may be able to get it re-chromed, or someone here might have one for you. I don't think I do but will check when I get home.

Be careful of the repro's. Some are a little wider at the mount. I had to grind one so it wouldn't crack the NEW plastic turn assy when I tightened the screw....

The rusty one in my photo is the turn signal lever from my van. A repro lever would be cheaper than rechroming mine, and it would be brand new. And I don't know if I can remove the plastic knob without cracking it.

My steering column is about to get painted. I know the white part comes off but does anyone know if the next part, the gray ring, can be removed? The manual doesn't show it broken apart.

I'm glad you mentioned that, Don. I noticed a small crack in my retainer but I'm going to leave it alone. Looks like there's still plenty of metal there. Plus, with an automatic tranny, the shifter's got it easy!

Yeah, mine broke in the Sportvan a few months ago. Had to steal the one out of the Panel since I switched it to a B&M shifter... Not a fun process!

Thanks for the tip, Dan. These new levers are too wide to fit all the way down into place. I could see how you could either crack the plastic or strip the hole while tightening it. Probably safer to grind the lever narrower than to try to cut the plastic slot wider. (If I ever find the right lever, that is.)

So, I learned a few things while reassembling the steering column. To remove the old turn signal switch, you have to pull the wiring leads out of the muliple connectors and then unwrap the tape around the wires, so you can snake them out through the small opening at the top of the steering column. Under the tape I was surprised to discover that the wires were fed through a plastic protector (#6 in the diagram above). This is good because these wires are otherwise exposed along the steering column and it also adds further insulation where it passes through the hole and gets squeezed in the steering column mounting clamp.

On the new switch (thanks, Don, for providing this, since I hadn't gotten around to ordering one yet! I owe you one.) I split the 7 wires into two sets and found that they fit in this protector just right with the 3 wires laid flat against the 4 wires.





The other thing I learned was how to fix something that really bugged me on my old van. The steering wheel scraped against that top ring (the turquoise one). It was always a mystery to me what held that ring in place, and how to adjust its positioning. As Don assured me, the three three screws that hold the turn signal switch assembly in also pull that ring up into place. That, and a part that was not shown on that diagram: a big tapered spring. The spring went in first, narrow end down. You push the ring against the wider end of the spring and then turn the ring a quarter-turn clockwise to lock it in place. The bottom of the white plastic switch assy has a curved groove that aligns with those curved metal tangs and kind of locks between two of them. When it's all lined up, you tighten the three screws.



That's the idea anyway. It was not so easy for me. For one thing, you can see that the steering shaft is not quite centered in the column tube. It's riding a bit high. There is a ball bearing in the middle of the turn signal switch assy (another benefit of installing a new assy). But it does not slide onto the shaft easily. So I pulled off the brass horn ring and then pulled the bearing out of the assy. This left a bigger hole in the middle of the assy so I was no longer fighting the bearing while trying to line up the plastic with the metal tangs. Plus I found it helped to bend the wires right where they came out of the assy to get them to aim for the opening in the column.

So, now I tighten up the three screws and see that the turquoise ring is really crooked! Big gap along the top, and hitting the column on the bottom. I remove everything and now I see that the bottom of the turquoise ring is all bent out of shape! That inner circle on the bottom needs to be flat. I found that bending it at points A, B, & C is how you fine tune the alignment of it! One I got it flattened out, I could use a channel locks to pry each one up and down a bit until it had an even gap all the way around. I'm assuming this will also provide an even gap between it and the steering wheel.

In the photo above you can see the bearing up by the knurls of the shaft. I now need to press it back down into the turn signal assy. It is not a super-tight fit like many bearings, it just has several sharp tits sticking into the steering shaft. I should be able to tap it down with a pipe.

The other task was to get the wires laying nicely inside that protector sleeve and wrap with with tape. Then I can clamp the column to the column mount that bolts to the dash -- all without SCRATCHING ANY OF THE NEW PAINT!!!