VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 38 sedan--ignition switch location on dash

The ignition switch on my 38 Master 2-door sedan is on the left, beside the instrument cluster. On other cars, the
only place I see the ignition switch is below the ash tray.
Is mine correct? I have a Master, not a Deluxe.

My '38 2 dr Master, all original, has the ignition switch on the right centered between the Throttle and Choke knobs. Beamer

Take a close look at that picture as it shows a correct 1938 control head and the panel matches the lower part of the dash.

Tiny, I am just curious. Is the plug between the light and throttle knobs possibly for a lighter? My car has this also. Beamer

I have tried for a while, but I can't figure out how to attach a photo of my dash. Mine lacks that plate that appears in your picture. Any description I could provide would be very involved.
I'll get some help, maybe in a day or so, and try to add some pictures.

Beamer, I don't know if that's that was intended to be the location for a lighter or not. That's always been my assumption though.

Glovebox, you need to put your pics on a hosting site such as Photobucket and the link to the pics from there. If you use the button showing a globe and link of chain you'll post a hyperlink to the picture. If you use the button showing two blue dots and a pink triangle inside a gray rectangle you'll put a pic directly in the post. Membership in VCCA may or may not be required to post pics a mod would have to answer that.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/parts/1929_41/41cp244.html


Look here. ^^

Hey guys,

That plug is indeed where the cats eye goes if you can get your hands on one

-Davis38

I'll try that. But until I do, I'll just described my dash:
Below the dash, I have a wood-handled cowl vent lever.
Above that, from left to right are: choke; chrome or stainless headlight switch; horn button; red glass indicator marked "brakes"; and last, a dummy (just filling an empty hole).
And above those switches and buttons, the ashtray and radio are separate; they are not on a single, ribbed plate like I see on other cars.
As I say, my ignition switch is to the left of the instrument panel.
I've had this car for 2 1/2 years, and I continue to find all kinds of odd things. My ignition key will not copy onto the GM B10 or B11 keyblank; instead, mine is an Ilco B1, which one site matches up to a Ford Model T. And I just found out my engine is wrong; the code numbers call for my engine to be in a 1949 Chevy truck.
Help.

Are you sure you got a CHEVY??????....ED

Yep, it's a Chevy, but it sure looks like the car restorer sewed some mechanical wild oats. I guess now I can participate in both prewar and postwar forums. And that ignition with the funky key will give me access to the Ford sites, as well, as long as I stay back in the back, away from the respectable people.
By the way, this mishmash of parts has provided some insight. The coil, plugs, rotor, condensor and points I installed in my 38 wannabe work just fine with the 49 Chevy truck engine.
Anyway, that photobucket suggestion--I registered for that and uploaded pix:
http://photobucket.com/kylestuff
Sorry about quality of pix; the restorer continued his creativity inside the car, where he painted the dash black.
The 3d photo, w/ full steering wheel, shows the keys dangling from ignition, to left of the instruments.
In the 2d, you will see the wood-handled cowl vent lever at the bottom left. Above that, left to right are: choke; chrome or stainless headlight switch; horn button; red glass indicator marked "brakes"; and last, a dummy (just filling an empty hole).
And above those switches and buttons, the ashtray and radio are separate; they are not on a single, ribbed plate like I see on other cars.
Other 2 pix are redundant.
So, what do we have here?

Tiny, I set up the pix of my dash on photobucket. Thanks a lot for that; I had no idea I could do something like that, and for free. I wonder who all they sell my name to?
Anyway, please take a look. My theory is that my car was a rusted out wreck, and the restorer just stuck the switches in whereever he wanted to. Even with that, I can't make sense of the ignition being over on the left; nobody seems to have done that. The lack of a plate to unify the radio and ash tray also makes no sense, unless, I suppose, one just wasn't available. Jeesh.

When I first got the car it had neither the radio or ash tray. I'd added those as I did the heater and defroster. Below is a pic showing the dash and my "brand new" restored heater/defroster. You'll notice there is no radio or ash tray. The radio and ash tray delete plates are separate items, not one piece.

Boy, I can't believe what a big help you and everybody are. Thanks a lot. Having the delete plates as two separate items makes sense, and it'll work for me. Since I have the bottom plate, for the ash tray, all I need is the upper one. I may get one with the emblem in it, and just abandon the radio; it doesn't work, and I figure it'll take $300 to $500 to fix it, so I can pick up a couple of AM stations.
I think I have part of it figured out--the car restorer just played a game by shuffling the switches when he reinstalled them. He must have had a great sense of humor.
I still don't know why my ignition is way over on the left. I can't find any car that does that. But I bet I could just move my ignition over to where it belongs, then put one of those dummy plugs in the empty spot on the left.
Thanks again.

Thanks a lot for that diagram. I had actually looked in that book, but I just didn't bother to look for illustrations.
I think the guy who restored my car just mixed up the switches, maybe on purpose, who knows.
Anyway, now I have something else to fix.
Thanks again, Kyle

Maybe he was left handed and didn't like reaching that far with his right hand.

The driver was incapable of turning the key so he positioned it for the passenger to operate.
Tony

I'm not sure about the '38, but on the '40 the ignition is where the light switch goes.

Here's a little better picture of what the '38 dash should look like.
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyowner/1938om/38om05.html

Glovebox.....The ignition switch in your car is a "after market" universal switch, hotrodders use them allot. The delete plates should be easy to find because folks who look for, and find ash trays and radios, have no more use for the delete plates.
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR PROJECT......ED

I see them on ebay a lot. There's a radio delete plate on ebay right now but it's not in good shape and the starting bid is too high.

Thanks, Richard. That one does a little clearer job of telling me what I need to do to straighten out this mess.

Boy, Ed, I'm really happy to find that out. That makes a lot more sense--a generic, aftermarket ignition switch sounds better to me than the chance I had a Ford part. Thanks a lot for the info. Kyle

Glovebox.....I don't understand your statement about having a "WOOD HANDLED" lever on the cowl vent....In the pictures you posted it shows the brown knob that is proper to the 38 Master, it made of hard plastic. Chevrolet called the color "MOTTLED BROWN" Only the 1938 Master had this color on the dash knobs and the window crank trim bezels. That knob is one of the only original things you have on the dash......GOOD LUCK...ED
BTW...I see you are a fellow Ohioan.