Rose,

Welcome to Chevy Chat. Yes, all 1938 Chevrolets were built with a floor mounted "dimmer" switch for selecting between high and low beam headlamps.

I do not know if the law requires this feature.

Mike

Rose are you writing about 1938 Chevys or just the 38 Master Deluxe Coupe?

The Chevy for 1938 did come with high/low beam headlights controlled by a foot operated switch mounted to the toe board, left of the clutch pedal. The bulbs from the factory were #2320 prefocus base bulbs. High beam was 32 candle power and low was 21 candle power. Other bulbs can be purchased with higher CP output. I use #2530 bulbs on my 38 Master HB Business Coupe. The #2530 has a 50CP high and 32CP low output. Even with reflectors needing resilvered I have no issue seeing at night (I drive 50-60MPH). Converted to Lumens the #2530 would be 628.5 Lumens/264 Lumens.

Tiny, I could be mistaken but I'm going to guess that THAT was WAY too much information. Just from one car nerd to another of course. 😝 

@john-schildberg Hi John, thanks for your question. I'm writing a novel in which one of my characters has a 1938 Master Deluxe Coupe, which he has kept in mint condition ever since buying in the early sixties.

@tiny Hey Tiny, thanks for those details. I'm not so sure how bright those numbers and lumens would make things, but I love the detail about the location of the switch. You're a star!

Would you happen to know if the 38 Master Deluxe Coupe could come in white back then too? I think I stumbled across some spec info that said yes, but just in case, a confirmation here would be fab.

@skidplate 😀 Never too much info for a research nerd like me! But if you get too technical I may have to ask increasingly silly questions that are sure to induce eye-rolls all around...

@35mike Hi Mike, thank you so much for the welcome and the helpful info - I love that floor switch detail!

Posted by: @rose

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Would you happen to know if the 38 Master Deluxe Coupe could come in white back then too? I think I stumbled across some spec info that said yes, but just in case, a confirmation here would be fab.

I can't answer that with any authority. I don't have the documentation to confirm one way or the other and, contrary to a vicious rumor going around 😀 , I didn't buy my 38 new to have first hand knowledge. I do have a Ditzler chip chart that does not show white as an option if that helps.

@tiny Thank you for the update! Wow, this could change things - I found a database https://paintref.com/model/silver_Chevrolet.shtml that suggests Chevrolet did use silver paint in the thirties, but that chart you posted doesn't have it listed, and just because they can, doesn't mean they did, right?

I'm such a girl - going for the color more than the specs hehe. I really like the silvery-white though! Plus that curvy sport coupe shape.  Hmm, I wonder if I need to change the year? Or maybe it's not the original color by the time my character buys it in the early sixties? Kinda want to keep it all original though. 

Here's what's in my head for my character:

I mean, pretty swoony, right? 😍 But have I even got the right make, model, year, original color? 🤨 

@rose Your database shows for 30 and 31 but not 38. FWIW your picture is of a hotrodded car, no where near stock. Like I said, I don't have the documentation to say for sure but I don't believe silver metallic was offered in 1938. <You may find this page helpful.>

This is a photo of what a stock 38 would have looked like (sans the visor over the windshield).

@rose I just found out that my good friend has died in October last year.   He has one of the most beautiful 38 coupe that I have ever seen.  Everything on it has been replaced by NOS ( New Old Stock ) parts.  He had collected and sold 37-38 parts for over 70 years.  I have bought most of the parts for my car for over 10 years.  His name was Finis Barrow and lived in Centralia Illinois.  Your book wouldn't be about him would it?

@rose I believe there were Chevys that were painted white and used as "demonstrator cars" in the late 1930s. Aside from that, there were no white or silver 1938 Chevrolets. Please do not take offense, but if you can't look at a photo of 1938 Chevrolet and recognize that it has been highly modified, you are in over your head. I suggest that you take what you have learned here and do your best. You will make mistakes but the good news is that no one who reads your novel will know anything about old cars so any errors or omissions will go unnoticed. If, by chance, a reader who is Chevy savvy, finds inconsistencies in your portrayal of the aforementioned Chevy, he/she will not be surprised.

We are happy to answer all your questions and I am impressed that you have taken steps to describe the car as accurately as possible.

Mike 

@35mike Hey Mike, of course I don't take offence. I appreciate the honest appraisal, and your advice. Also, thank you for the information about the use of white paint in the thirties. That's very helpful. 

It's true, accuracy in a novel may be inconsequential at the end of the day, I mean, look how many glaringly obvious errors exist in hugely popular art forms like movies etc. But this is one of the things I find so fascinating about writing and researching. You can start with nothing, and end up gaining so much - whether what you learn along the way goes into the end product or not. For one thing, learning from people such as yourself, who have real knowledge, and genuine experience, and who don't mind sharing it when asked by someone who... may well be over their head, but is not (yet I hope!) out of their depth.

By the picture comes from an artist, so it doesn't surprise me that it is 'highly modified.' The whole thing might have been fabricated for all I know. Incidentally, do you think more than just the colour was tinkered with in that picture?