Technical BLUE DOT QUESTION

As a kid I remember how the blue dots in what seemed like every 46 -50 Ford mesmerized
me, got me hooked on this love of cars thing.

 

I know this is old, but for those fresh at the topic of blue dots this is historically incorrect. Packard, Cadillac, possibly Pierce Arrow and Lincoln as well all used a blue dot rear lamp to ID their top line cars. Packard used them on the 12, Cadillac on their 12s and 16s. Lincoln may have had some on select KB 12 cyl cars. Of course all the cars mentioned could be had for the tidy sum of about 1/2 dozen or more Deluxe Ford products of the time. Just sayin, carry on...

 

I don't think they are illegal in South Carolina and I have ran them in the past but during the day light hours they are hardly visible and with the way people drive today I want them to see my lights. HRP

 

I know they were illegal in Pennsylvania because they rejected my Street Rod registration when they saw them on the pic I sent. Had to change to regular lens and submit a new pic. That was over 8 years ago so I'm not sure if anything has changed since then.

 

Wait a minute.... "Whoa Nellie!" Are you saying you have, or can source, smaller, chrome bezels rings that you like but then you just need smaller diameter glass blue dots?
Maybe I can help you out. Because of the gemstone shift knobs that I create, I have all sorts of diamond tooling I use to cut and polish material like glass. It would be a simple matter for me to trim down the available, glass, blue dot jewels to a slightly smaller size. I can also core holes in glass tail light lens in any size. Holes in glass are a bit tricky, though, because there is a real possibility of chipping when the coring tool breaks through the thinned out glass at the end of the cut. If I can help, it will only cost you shipping: I don't need to make a dime.

(I'm attaching photos of a couple of my creations to show by example the result of cutting/polishing/coring. Any resemblance to a shameless, commercial plug is purely co-incidental. )

I call this one "The Biggest Blue Dot You've Ever Seen".

 

I remember seeing a 30’s classic at a show that had yellow dots in the taillights.

 

They are a bitch if you are color blind, they actually make the tail light dimmer and all weird looking. I know that everyone thinks they are cool but there really is a reason that they were outlawed in many states in a Galaxie far far away.

 

I had been running blue dots since the 70's on my cars. As stated they are great at night but not that visible in sunny daylight plus my 37 had glass lenses which did not help. I used the bright bulbs but was still told they were hard to see when the sun was behind me. LED was the next step but because blue dots are illegal in several states (including mine I have been told) they did not have an LED setup for them. A couple years ago I finally decided that safety was more important to me than the blue dots and put LED's in the 56 and 37. The difference in visibility is amazing. Now the blue dot lenses sit packed away in a box. Maybe I will make a garage art project with them some day.

 

This is just my opinion, { not worth much } lol I first remember seeing them at the Nats south in Winston Salem. The Rods that had them would hit their breaks, and there would be this big star burst of light. I thought that they were so COOL! You could see them from a long distance. I thought the reason they were illegal, was because that only the police can use blue lights. I diffidently would use the glass lenses , and make sure that their centered with the bulb. Hay that's just me. Ron...

 

Yes. It now seems that all of the blue dots are the same size and it is the diameter of the bezel that is the issue. If I were to cut a lens for the glass blue dot and epoxy the two together without the chrome bezel ring, I think that is the ticket. I have the 37 lenses that have the dots in the them. What I think would work is to take that bezel off and glue the dot in.

This all started over a PM with fourspd2quad over his cool ass tail lights he casting. Particularly this one

It is crying out for a blue dot in the center.

 

Those are very sweet looking tail lights. There's enough bling so the chrome trim ring wouldn't be missed. Are those red lenses plastic or glass? Or are you saying the '37 lenses you have are what fit those custom tails?
Anyway, my offer stands. If the lenses are plastic and can be drilled for a custom size...... I can grind the glass dots to any reduced diameter for you. If the lenses are glass...... I can core a custom size AND re-size the dots for a close fit. You just pay the postage.
Epoxy is okay to use. Clear silicone calk is also a way you could go. I use a lot of epoxy, which tends to run, but acetone, before epoxy fully hardens, will clean up any sloppy issues.

 

Acetone will melt plastic immediately.

 

Blue lights in the windshield corners or under the dash were a thing where I grew up. I remember them in the early sixties, and the cool guys did call them sex lights.

 

I can see it now the Hotrod with the Blue light enters the Red Light District and Ya got rubber in all 4 gears...
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I agree with shift wizard about not needing the chrome ring around the blue dot on those lights.

 

@rudestude's idea is cool and @The Shift Wizard could turn a small version of a caddy style bullet in any shade of red or blue to get whatever effect works for you to fit the center of that grille.

 

I have glass lenses currently with glass blue dots. Those zepher lights will accept the glass lenses as long as get that dot inside the 7/8" hole in the light bezel.

I'll take the dots out tonight, remove the bezel and post what we have to work with.

 

Maybe it is a local thing, the guy who told me that did spend a lot of time in Canada as a mud engineer.

 

I've been trucking for over 30 years, and I know Mississippi used to give you hell about blue dots. We had to tape them up when we went through there or possibly get a ticket. We'd put them in our trailer brake lights.
The purple light above the windsheild was supposed to help you see better at night, supposedly it cut the glare off of oncoming headlights. I tried one once, I couldn't tell the difference. My 2010 Freightliner has a red dome light, supposedly so you can turn it on going down the road and it not blind you like the regular dome light beside it. I'm like Beaner, colorblind, so I see the red light somewhat, but it's too dim for me to see much else, justa red glow on everything. At least I think it's red.....

How would you drill a glass lens for a blue dot anyway? Looks like the lens would break. I know it would if I tried it....

 

In addition to our entertainment tonight in the Blue Dot Room I add this to peruse at our leisure when we all have a momento...

And when I see the eerie glow I begin to hear The Twilight Zone theme...

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/blue-dot-tail-lights-why-when-did-this-start.381526/

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I never saw blue dots 'till the 80s out here in the Midwest. Never saw 'em up in the northwest before 1980. Like Ron Funkhouser I was blown away the first time I saw a guy hit the brakes at a NSRA event...prolly Kansas City. BAM! a big purple glow shot out of the lens. I dug it. I have both stock 40 chevy lenses and blue dot lenses for my 34 ford. I'll carry both in the car.

 

When I picked up my '56 Meteor Rideau Victoria th eunderdash had four of those purple lights. The previous owner must have had a lot of fun in the front seat let alone the back!

 

Does this have to go along with a left ear ring ?

 

Blue lights are illegal in Washington and even if the argument is that they are really purple when combined with the red tail light, it states that tail light can only be red.
Blue lights are prohibited on any vehicle other than a law enforcement vehicle as defined in WAC 204-21-020.

 

Guess I'm an old guy, but I remember seeing lots of blue dot tail-lights back in the late 50's down South. Maybe it was the proximity to the Honest Charley mail order speed shop. I used to see them a lot in '56 Ford and Shoebox Ford tail-lights. You would more often see Lee Lenses in '55-'56 Chevys at that time, but occasionally you might see a '57 Chevy with blue dots. I do remember as a youngster thinking how cool those blue dots looked when I first saw them light up.

 

Diamond bits, lots of coolant, slow speed, prayer, good luck, a dictionary of swear words and spare lenses. There can be a lot of, often undetected, stresses in a piece of glass and even the best cutters aren't perfect.

 

I bought the lens from Speedway with the blue dot already installed. The high stop light is one that is used in a receiver and is blue until I hit the brakes. Colorado made blue dots legal about 15 years ago.

 

They were fairly prevalent in Central MD during that time, too. Didn't need to be near Honest Charley as J.C. Whitney was as close as your stack of "Hot Rod Magazine."

 

I've had this pair of original Lynx Eye blue dot glass taillights in my Oz 1940 Dodge(which uses 1940 Plymouth lights) since about 1975, I got them in the original Lynx Eye boxes, about 10 yrs ago the chrome bezel around the dots started to rust so I replaced the bezel and lens with a new glass pair that fitted perfectly, the originals are kept on the shelf........these are the only 1940 Plymouth blue dots I've ever seen or heard of.........andyd

 

Here’s what I did


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