'46 tail lights one only ?

sean wrote: ...Not quite anal enough yet.  To join the crowd, you'll get picky about the lens itself:

Sean,

Art:

I looked closely for dimples and knockouts, but my footman loop knockouts are the only ones on the passenger side reflector panel.

So they woulda had to drill 'em by hand, each time someone ordered the option?

Must notta got many orders for them!

Sean

I'm not at all surprised that hand drilling would be necessary for options.  In 1960-61, I worked at a Pontiac dealership and routinely installed outside rearview mirrors on new cars that had been ordered with them, but the mirrors were to be installed by the dealer.  A template came with the mirror kit to locate the holes in the door or fender properly.  We didn't drill the holes, though.   I was taught to punch them in the sheet metal with an awl and hammer.  It was great fun to do that with the buyer looking over my shoulder as the young teeenager that I was hammered a crude looking hole in the sheet metal of their new car.   (The reason for the awl was to bend down the metal whcih surely happened so that the sheet metal screw holding on the mirror bracket would have something to bite into.) 

Sean, while we're on the topic of Willys' practices, it seems to me that the rough time that a new part was catalogued and potentially made availablr can be estimated crudely by noting the the numeric sequence of the part number assigned and bracketing the unknown "date" between a pair of parts whose availability is documented and whose numbers are above and below that of the part having an unknown date.  In other words, my assumption is that the part numbers were assigned in time-sequence order.

Edited by samcj2a - 10 July 2008 at 6:35pm

Okay, now we know where and why the expression "willy nilly" originated. 

Two questions, but first a THANK YOU to all of you in this series of posts. What a complete education for a new owner of a "survivor" '46. I look for details and accuracy on how it was/should be, even if I keep/choose to deviate for several reasons. And now I know what that hole is on the right side next to the tail light!

1. Is there any evidence the "factory" or authorized dealers used tail lights other than the NACO as described? I ask because of a picture reportedly showing "original" tail lights, but they had two bezel screws on the face rather than one on the side.

2. Am I deviating "too far" if I use the chrome bezel tail lights for '33-'36 Ford I found at a reasonable price (two screws on face of bezel)? A well known retailer sent me a repro NACO, but has not been able to complete my order because they have no source for the driver tail light (and now no more PAX side lights). Thanks again.

Much appreciated, great picture. Thank you. Even better than "period correct"