Pillar mounted spotlight

[bigcountry78]

Does anyone have any pictures of squares with the police style spotlight mounted on the a pillar? Does anyone have one on their square? I have absolutely no use for one, but just like the gun rack, I like the looks of them and have recently thought about putting one on my truck. Thoughts?

 

[Crispy]

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http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=476853

http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=11229.0

http://wkinsler.com/truck/
Scroll down a bit and you will see how he installed it.

 

[Craig 85]

Here's my old K5 circa 1995. I used the correct mounts for a C/K truck. We were getting rid of our 1991 Crown Vics so I was able to steal a few before the cars went to auction. I liked the shaft length in those vs. the recommended one for my truck as it did not protrude as far into the cab. You need a 12" long drill bit or longer to get through the pillar. I actually liked them better than the Daylighters since I could position the light where I wanted it. These use the same bulb.

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[bigcountry78]

Thanks guys. I’ve seen some concern over the strength of the a pillar after installation, because of the size hole required. But I think it would still be cool to have them. I can see where they would be more useful than conventional hard mount lights, just because you can put the light exactly where you need it.

 

[Craig 85]

I’ve seen some concern over the strength of the a pillar after installation, because of the size hole required.

We had a concern with that with the late 90's Expeditions. They did not come with spot light options as the pillar was so thin. Ford's plan was to mount the spotlight in the door and have it swing your beam of light when the door opened.

We had a body shop drill the pillar, then weld a pipe through the hole for support. The spot light rides in a bushing on the outside chrome pillar mount. On a squarebody, there are several layers of metal in that pillar area for strength.

 

[bigcountry78]

We had a concern with that with the late 90's Expeditions. They did not come with spot light options as the pillar was so thin. Ford's plan was to mount the spotlight in the door and have it swing your beam of light when the door opened.

We had a body shop drill the pillar, then weld a pipe through the hole for support. The spot light rides in a bushing on the outside chrome pillar mount. On a squarebody, there are several layers of metal in that pillar area for strength.

So it sounds like that isn’t a concern with our trucks. That’s good to know. Now I have to mentally get over the whole drilling a hole in my truck issue lol.

 

[Craig 85]

If you decide to do it just go slow. The procedure is to install the chrome A-pillar mount first. A steel sleeve fits inside before the drill bit goes in. Drilling through the outer skin is pretty easy, but when you get to the inner structure, the bit wants to walk. The sheet metal screws will want to rip out that hold the mount. IIRC, we used a large C clamp to hold the mount as we drilled.

 

[mtnmankev]

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Since we have this thread going, I need to ask a question.
My 83 C20 has a pillar mounted spotlight, but the knob/handle thingy hits the dash and won't rotate enough for the light to be completely useful.
Is the shaft adjustable for length, or did somebody install it incorrectly ?
I will post a pic of the truck with the spotlight shortly, but I am in the middle of fighting the ball joints and other front end issues and need the truck driveable again.

Edit: While my hands didn't have grease on them, I grabbed the camera.
Hopefully the pix come through okay.

 

[mtnmankev]

The space aliens are messing with me again, can't get two pix in the post with my text and it keeps putting the same pic up when I want two different ones.
Here's a pic of the knob/handle thingy hitting the dash.

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[bigcountry78]

From what I’ve researched, the angle of the handle is adjustable, but the length of the rod is not. There are different lengths of rod, based on which model of vehicle the light was originally intended for. So a light designed for a crown vic might have a longer rod than one for a Chevy truck of the same year. Looks like someone installed the wrong model light for your application. To me anyway.

 

[Craig 85]

There were a variety of shaft lengths available. I used the one out of the Crown Vic as it was about 2" shorter than the ones out of our '89 Caprices and I didn't want it that close to my steering wheel. When my light was in the up position it looked very similar to your's.

The link shows someone doing repairs to the light and has a nice exploded view. It's been years since I've messed with one of these lights, but I think if you loosen the nut/screw near the elbow at the base of the light (referred to as the head post housing) you can spin the black handle and adjust the position of the light. You're actually adjusting the outer chrome shaft that goes through the pillar.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=403869

 

[mtnmankev]

Thanks for help and info, guys .........as soon as my back recovers from the ball joint job, I will tackle the light to see if I can fix it.

 

[bigcountry78]

I found a couple more pics. I like the look but I’m not sure I like that big ole handle in there.

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[Craig 85]

Those are the handles I had in mine (Photo #1). The newer ones are rubber (Photo #2). I think I had my handles more level, but raised slightly. Handle placement is dependent on the light head in the raised position. With the light up, you want to make sure there's enough room for your hand to rotate the light without hitting the dash.

I zoomed my original picture from post #3. From what I can tell, the passenger handle is level with the light head in that position. It's hard to tell since the wiper arm is in the way. From my memory of 25 years ago, I recall comfortably being able to hold the handles in their resting position while driving down the road.

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[bigcountry78]

Ok this might be happening the near future. I’ve found several on eBay for around the $50 mark. I just have to get over the drilling thing.