Evening all, following on from my thread the other day regarding IDing some taillights on a custom. im keen to see examples of bumper mounted/integrated taillights, it’s something I fancy doing on my 51 thanks in advance J
Damn! No, I independently found it and didn't read every post. Well, it's a nice site anyway, thanks for pointing it out.
The only things about those is I have seen some by a couple of big name customizers that are seriously tiny and probably not all that visible. I've got rather simple lets say set in rather than frenched taillights below my tailgate and I've been told more than once that that are real hard to see. I finally painted the inside of the housings white and used brighter bulbs and that helped but they are down low where a lot of people don't really look.
Which is why I have bitten the bullet and figured out a 3rd brake light. Didn't want to, but yeah, as bright as my tails are, they are low. That and modern driving habits. (And I know people who have been rear ended. It's bad enough in a civilian car)
great resources there, thankyou guys!! Im thinking of something no smaller than the stock lamps but just relocated. Will do mock ups before fully committing though.
Ron Francis offers standard, traditional style Brite Bulbs https://www.ronfrancis.com/category/brite-bulbs-and-led-style-bulbs if you want something brighter but also want to avoid the dreaded LED craze. I used these in plastic lensed taillight and backup lights without a heat issue, but your experience may vary. Note to X38-I found this on my own.
Bumper mounted taillights on my 39 Ford tub, clean looking on the Desoto bumper. Bates motorcycle tail lights look just right. JW
Most bumper mounted tail lights I have seen are just too small to be seen in todays traffic. Sets you car up to be rear ended.
Heres the link to the ones Matt Townsend did for me: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/tech-week-bumper-gaurd-tail-lights.566437/ KUSTOM
Hello, Small, yes, but if the lights are bright and the background is dark, the lights will show up brighter in both daylight and at night. Plus, the red brake light is around “eye level” sightlines in most normal cars and unless one has a Raptor truck or giant SUV, the red taillight is a good direct sight line. Even the third eye red brake light is within the normal eye sight line behind in all cars, with those exceptions noted above. So, a bumper mounted light does not harm the rear body panels anywhere and the addition of the third rear red light notifies those that are following in their cars and trucks. Although this GMC Suburban is painted a darker primer paint or buffed “ice” paint, it still stands out, even in the dark of night. The red taillights and brake lights stand out in black contrast anytime of the day or night. For most drivers aware of old cars, just the shape of the larger old Suburban would make one notice, as it is… “going down the highway…looking for adventure…” I could not help myself to let this quote pass… Ha! Hobie, Suburban, ocean close, wave search daily? What more is there? in So Cal??? YRMV Jnaki
Pictures from my "I'm gonna build a tail dragger someday" folder. All credit goes to the photographers & builders.
I'm just going to say that on any rod or custom you build you need to have someone else drive it in both daylight and at night as you follow it in another rig to see what others see or can't see when they are behind you. Flyinbrian48's got nailed by someone who wasn't paying attention but having little bitty lights down in the bumper that get all the bubba points at shows might not be the best when out cruising the gut on cruise night.
Yes it did. Happily no serious injury. I'd have like for the A-hole that hit it to have been crippled or killed, but alas, he walked away unscathed, although his insurance company cancelled his policy, he got sued, and a handful of tickets. After he tried to assault me at the scene in front of the cops...
Every time I see a set of these I blanche... All the early cars that used the small glass lenses that were typical up until the mid-'50s are hard enough to 'see' when stock, moving them to a semi-concealed less-obvious location does nothing to help this. And to add insult to injury, most installs are illegal to boot. You'll have to check your state regulations, but most conform to the federal standards. Mounted below 15" above the roadway? Illegal. Close together? Illegal, 'shall be mounted as far apart as practical'. And the biggy, reflectors. 'All vehicles shall have rear mounted reflectors visible at distances between 100 and 600 feet when illuminated by headlights from a following vehicle'. Think about this one for a moment... Starting in the '30s, the OEMs started including a reflector element in the taillight lens. When this became required I don't know, but you won't find any vehicles after 1940 where this isn't true that I know of. On the occasions when they didn't include it in the taillight lens, they added a small reflector separately. Think '50s Caddys or '49-52, 56 Chevys to name some off the top of my head, I'm sure there's others. GM did this more than the other OEMs, but Chrysler did too. Ford not so much. Running '59 Caddy rear lights? Illegal if you didn't add a reflector. Lee lenses? Illegal. Home-built lenses without a reflector component? Again, illegal. Yeah, the LEOs rarely if ever enforce this luckily, but think about this; some guy rear ends you. He gets a smart attorney who brings up your illegally installed rear lights. Next thing you know, it's your fault, not his and you're on the hook for all damages. Could this happen? Hard to say, but I wouldn't want to be the guy who finds out.
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