New pictures of cab

[randyscycle]

If you pry off the green cap you will find the unpainted jeep logo. It is possible that some trucks had the jeep logo button if they ran short of green buttons on the assembly line.

My horn button is a one piece molded cap for the center of the wheel. No metal under it.

[Don Cavey]

My horn button is a one piece molded cap for the center of the wheel. No metal under it.

Doesn't the cap snap into the metal collar that has the three screws that hold the horn switch in? I think the horn "button" is held into the pot metal (white metal) collar with an O-Ring isn't it? My stuff is not near me right now. I suspect that the horn button was supplied in two forms.

1. A plastic cap that was glued over the existing "Jeep" labeled horn button. That would be a very thin cap.

2. A plastic cap that has a collar that fits inside of the metal horn switch pot metal housing. That horn button would be just one piece that accomplishes the same thing.

My trucks in 1969 and 1970 had buttons that I never saw taken apart. So I truly can't say from experience how it was made. What I have now is a one piece (reproduction, I am sure) button that doesn't "need" the Jeep button below it.

I hope that is clear but to me it sounds like rambling

[Beast]

On civilian Jeep trucks of the time, the Jeep logo on the stearing wheel was under a clear plastic cap. I know from my time on FSJ (full sized Jeeps)forums that finding one where the plastic is still clear and not all cracked or just plain missing is hard to find. I would say that it is safe to say that due to typical Jeep methods of just reusing what they had on hand, that from the factory, our M715s had the clear cap either molded in od green or painted over into od green. And as those caps either broke, or GI's found out there was a Jeep logo under them and popped them off over time, leaving us with what most of us have in our trucks. I also have one of the molded green replacement caps that you see on surplus vendors sites and ebay, and it completely replaces the whole center logo instead of just snaping over it. The molded replacement caps were most likely added into the replacement inventory after the original caps started coming off and were an "improved part" which is why so many of them can be found from the surplus vendors. I liked the logo so I left mine exposed. This is just a hunch I have from working with FSJs for the last 25 years.

[Don Cavey]

On civilian Jeep trucks of the time, the Jeep logo on the stearing wheel was under a clear plastic cap...


...This is just a hunch I have from working with FSJs for the last 25 years.

I have a hunch that you are most likely on target. As we all know, things get engineered differently as production goes on. Changes, as we know were constantly going on not only with our trucks but civilian vehicles as well. What really ticks me off is when the major manufacturers realize a defect is in a part and the redesign it. Then, if your vehicle has the failed part, out of warranty of course, they charge you full inflated retail to buy the part. We become the R&D some times. But I digress, sorry!

[Beast]

Here in one of Don's pics from his time in Germany you can clearly see the seam on the top cap that covers the jeep logo on the horn button. The replacement one piece horn button does not have this seam.

[randyscycle]

Now I need to go out and look at my horn button cover and see what it looks like. If I remember correctly, its just the plastic one like the pics from that ebay auction, but now I am not so sure as it did appear to be the same vintage as the truck when I got it. I'll let you all know later.

[militarypotts]

I'm going out to check mine also. You guys have my curiosity running wild. I guess at this point we've pretty well covered the horn button mystery. Next?

[militarypotts]

I just realized, I started this thread and all I set out to do was post a picture of the inside of my cab. Man this is fun!

[eimkeith]

All hail the Internet.


keith.

(sent from my rotary dial phone.)