Anyone running with one spot light? I bought a nice unity spot light a while back but never got around to getting it's twin.
I like spotlights. Two of them looks custom. One of them looks utilitarian, as if it's actually used. Like on a police car. I would attempt to find a second one if it was me. Get around to it. LOL I guess it depends though, on what type of vehicle you're using them on. One spotlight on a pickup truck would look right. But only a real one. Not a dummy. Good luck!
The lights themselves are the same left to right... Its the mounting brackets that makes the difference
I only run one on my truck. I have two but was looking for an earlier time period. '47 is kind of pushing the time frame where single spotlights were still being used. It seemed to be an early "40's thing. In the end it's your choice. Here are a couple of cars with single lights. And mine. Missing the hood sides and hubcaps.
My 2 cents.... Unity is an easier (Read that as less expensive) spotlight to pick up a second one if wanted. They still make them and as posted earlier it's the brackets that determine what side it fits. I believe you can get new mounting hardware for them still, too. 1 vs 2 is as K 13 pointed out mostly a "Time period" thing. If you look at pics of early customs like the 2 that K 13 posted you may notice that they had one spotlight, some times. Others there were 2. More importantly is the fact that in that era they kept the light in a upright and forward facing position. Compared to the tucked in and down of later customs. Start with one and see what you think. Torchie
In the 40's and early 50's 1 spotlight was the thing because they were expensive and kids couldn't afford 2. adults and car show car builders like Barris did 2 because they had the grownup money coming in.
Good thread!--------In 1949 I won a bet with my girlfriend & she had to buy me 2 Appelton spots for my '41 Chev.
When I had the shop, a young man came in with a whole box full of Unity and Appleton spotlights. I bought them, they were from his Grandpa's attic collection when Gramps p***ed. Traded the Appletons for an Evans 4-jugger and a pair of Evens heads, (N.O.S.) There was a plethora of brackets, akin to @mr.chevrolet's, as pictured above. I kept a pair of Unity spots for my '40 Merc coupe, sold the rest...
Hello, Back in 1953, our dad bought a Buick 4 door sedan for his daily driver and family needs. One of the needs was to go to the local drive in movies with the whole family. My brother and I had never been outside in public, at night before and so it was a new form of entertainment. The movies were great, the snack bar food, the funky speakers, all played their part for the next thing. While sitting in the 53 Buick at intermission, we noticed that the big blank screen was full of light balls randomly moving all over the screen. When asked of my dad, he mentioned that they were spotlights that were on cars and trucks. My brother asked why his big Buick did not have one or two. He said that it was usually a police or CHP item and those that traveled in the darkened roads of our So Cal deserts. He had no inclinations of traveling in the dark desert roads any time soon. So, he p***ed on further discussions. Jnaki What was funny in a later discussion was that he did have two spotlights installed on his 53 Buick sedan. Why? He had planned on a two week Summer fishing/camping vacation down in the 200 mile range, South of the border in Coastal Baja, Mexico. He knew that “dark” was the mode of dirt road driving in Baja Mexico and wanted to be prepared to light up roads, river crossings and emergency actions if we drove at night. So, prior to going on this long vacation, he took the family on several drive-in movie outings. My brother and I finally got to be the “chase and chaser” on the half-time screen. We were relentless and had so much fun, that we forgot to go to the snack bar, until just before the 2nd movie started. The odd thing was, we did get in a roadside incident in deserted Baja, Mexico. But, it was in the middle of the day and miles from civilization. So, the dual spotlights were not going to be used unless the hot daytime turned into a night time emergency. Which it looked like, if we couldn't get out of the roadside ditch. My mom told my dad in a loud unexpected shout… “There is the beach!” My dad was rounding a steep curve and his right tires fell into a roadside culvert stopping our Buick instantly. Needless to say, he was mad. We got rescued after many hours. But, from that point on, no more spotlights on any of his Buick Sedans... From an earlier post: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-you-see-today.1059262/page-13#post-12408063 "Last week, we had to go up to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Santa Ana for some business. While waiting at the coded door to open, there was a new Police Interceptor SUV Ford Explorer just sitting for inquiring minds to go over and see what is what. Of course, I got the warning to quit messing around over there, by you know who…!" "The first thing my wife noticed were the black rims and tires. She wanted to know if they were bulletproof. Well, no…they puncture just like our own tires. But, they looked like reversed Halibrand Mags with a floating center hub, and were made of steel." "What I noticed were these new shiny black spotlights on the windshield posts. They were sleek, about the same size as regular Appletons and the functionality was the same…light up the road ahead, a darkened alley, or an old drive-in screen. But, this time, whoever used these lights would win as they were LED Halogen bulb powered units. I was told later that they are 7.8 amp bulbs." "Immediately, I thought that someone using Appletons on their hot rods or trucks, could interchange the big bulbs and wiring to make a custom super, high beam spotlights with the original, Appleton outside housing." "As all lighting is under the DMV laws, these would fall under accessory lighting. They would not be subject to a ticket, as they have their own switches not connected to the main headlight switch. (even with those powerful Halogen bulbs.)"
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