I avoided my last accident this weekend, and I'm tired of hearing tire squeal and seeing near misses in the rear view mirror. I need to add a third break light. I'm thinking about bolting the brake light to my rear deck, and had a kool idea with a skull but it isn't bright enough to serve my purpose. I want them to see me stopping. They have a beeping sound for cars that are backing out,so how about connecting train air horns facing the rear of the car. Hook them up so when you hit the brakes they scream at people behind ya. Yeah!! This way I can scare them before they scare me. As you can tell, my mind is gone and I need your help. Any kool ideas?? Happy Tails, Mick
don't do the horn thing cause the idiots will look behind them to see whats going on and run into you anyway. Did you see Brian Crows Malibu at the StrayKat? He mounted some bright LED's in the eyes of his skull and is using it for a third light and belive it or not it works pretty well.
Don't know what you're putting it on, but it's one of my favorite things about my Plymouth. They did it on other body styles too. Nicely integrated into the design...
What you use depends on the year and style of your ride. Here is mine on the roadster. The ones on the back of a school bus will prvent an accident but not quite my style. . . On my old 34 P/U I used two stop light lamps shaped the same as the stop lens above. They nested on top of the stock 34 lights. A resto-rod.
Mick, Flame throwers wired to work with your brake light switch. One tap on the brake pedal should giet the point across. Stop tailgaters, too. Did I mention flame throwers are kool on a sled? On a more serious note, have you tried the led conversion for tail light bulbs in your Merc? The problem I see on your car is the location of the lights. Most of the late model production vehicles have the lights in the vision path of following vehicles and that is what most drivers are attuned. So, we have to compensate with brightness. Good luck.
"Find ya an old gl*** taillight that says STOP on it, mount that ****** as a 3rd light" That is exactly what I'm doing on my car. Couldn't find a second original light anyway so I'm going to mount the one I've got under the rear window.
[ QUOTE ] I need to add a third break light. I'm thinking about bolting the brake light to my rear deck.... [/ QUOTE ] On my 51 Chevy. Cheepo 2 inch diameter Harley accessory light from JC Whitney on a home made bracket.
Colorado51...that's a pretty slick deal! I was kinda wondering about this issue myself...I converted my 49 Chevy to 12v and the new 1157 bulbs are plenty bright...but a fastback Chevy has so much rear surface area...and the tail lights are a very small part of that area, and mounted kinda low... ...so I had been secretly considering a third brake light myself...but didn't want it to look overly ****y or gold-chainerish when done! Although...It's my experience that the average driver is stupid, and the standards are getting lower all the time. With cell phone jabbering yuppies trying to have phone *** with their secret admirers while watching Keanu Reeves on DVD in rush hour traffic...nothing short of a rear-facing mini-gun on the back of your ride will stop them from plowing into you! The very first day I rolled my HUGE 4x4 El Camino out onto the street, some 16 year old girl slid into the rear tires at a stop light! Didn't hurt the truck at all, but her little turbo Daytona was MUNCHED! She told the cop that she couldn't see my brakelights cuz they were too high...and he simply asked her "Well, didn't you see the big black TRUCK?" as he wrote out the ticket and called a wrecker for her! That was way back in 1988, too!
they make a decent skull light that plugs into a trailer hitch that does not look too bad and has bright eyes and most auto parst stores sell them
I would like to mount headlights back there. That would scare the bejesus out of them. but your right It'll blind them and they'll hit you anyway. My 50 pickups are mounted way too low. Yes, I think it's more the location of these than anything. Everyone, including me, gets used to looking higher instead of tire height distance.
Like Colorado51,I'm putting it inside on the package tray on my Merc.Actually gonna use 2.That way,there's nothing outside that looks like **** on an old car.If there's anything uglier than a big square light stuck on the body,I don't know what it is.Plus,in case of a rear end accident,the lights will survive,and we can show them to the jury during my defense at my murder trial
Ha Ha Ha...Petejoe...that idea works great...I'm here to tell ya! When I was about 17 or 18, I mounted a set of rear-facing off road lights in the rear window of my Nova...called 'em "***hole Lights" and somehow managed to successfully use them while avoiding heat from the cops for doing so! My motivation for rigging such a deal up wasn't to keep from getting rear-ended, though...it was to give ***holes running around with their brights on, or tailgaters with poorly aimed headlights a little wake-up call! Just used an under-dash switch to flick 'em on as needed! On a side note, though...they came in very handy for backing the car up at night when I'd spend the Summers way up at our cottage...lots of trees and no lighting makes for tricky night time manuevering!
Sorry guys for not telling you what kind of car. The Brake lights are for my '50 Merc (51 rear quarters because I was rear ended a couple of years ago) I tried the LED lights and it didn't help. Your right JimC, the Merc has a tail draggin stance and the LEDs are pointing down. Hey Colorado51, I like the Motorcyle brake light idea, because I'm limited on space. The J C Whitney lights are they bright enough? Thanks for the help guys. Happy Trails, Mick
<font color="green">Mick, I have one of the LED bars off the back of a Blazer/Tahoe thing. You are welcome to it as long as you don't french the whole damn thing in there. I had it hanging inside the rear window of the 41, but it was just too techy looking so I yanked it.It could probably be opened up and the board disected to make a few shorter boards or something? I dunno. I guess it depends on if the LED's are red or white behind red plastic. I like the LED's in the skull sockets idea. Then again, You could just hire MONKEY to ride around with you and stick press his man-*** against the rear window everytime you stop. I think people would just stay back. RASHY </font>
How about using a small light in your back window, but replace the original bulb with those strobe bulbs? That should get their attention. I'm working on putting turn signals in my back window. I get more worried when I have to make a right turn into a driveway. When I slow down I even row down the window and use the hand signal for right turn. Trouble is, I don't think drivers nowadays even know what the hand signal is. Probably think I'm waving to someone.
[ QUOTE ] Hey Colorado51, I like the Motorcyle brake light idea, because I'm limited on space. The J C Whitney lights are they bright enough? [/ QUOTE ] They are not too bad, I think it has a 1156 bulb, plus the little hood thingy above the light helps. http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10112&storeId=10101&langId=-1&productId=147183&mediaCode=ZX&appId=51738 They also have a LED version for more $$$. http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?makeId=12050410&productId=7415&catalogId=10112&langId=-1&storeId=10101
I've had two close calls this year and on my way to Austin this year it was a 4x4 P/U doing 70 plus. I don't want to be hit again!!! Rashy my friend Duke sells accessories and he wants me to put one of those LED strips on the inside of my gl***. I agree with you it may look to high tech. Thanks for the suggestion but I don't want Monkeys **** pressed up against my rear gl*** unless e could hook up a strobe light. Mikes51, I like the stobe light idea with the J C Whitney fixtures. One is a good idea and I believe two is better. I would use more if I can think of away to make it look kool. I've been using Hand signals for the past two years and it works, If they are paying attention. I'm sending you a pm. Thanks for the suggestion Rashy, but I don't want Monkeys **** pressed up against my rear gl*** unless we could hook up a strobe light. Happy Trails, Mick
Bob Drake carries an 1157 Halogen replacement bulb. Installs like an 1157 and really helps in the light-em-up dept. They used to be on sale for $5. per and I think the regular cost is still around $7.50 or so. I bought four and am still on the first two. Another small one that will help is to paint the inside of the taillight housing with chrome spray paint. Did the paint and Halogens on the regular 39 taillights on my 32 and they're very bright. Brighter as stoplights than an LED stoplight in the red lensed 39 taillights on a local roadster. During the daytime anyway. For the Merc, take a spin through a junkyard and look for some of the late 70's early 80's (?) GM cars that had the - newly required by DOT - third taillight inside the rear window. I think Chryco had the same deal same era as well. They're pretty much invisible or at the least not too noticeable when not lit. If you could find the right ones, one in each corner of the window would work well as additional turn signals.
I am quite impressed by the quality of folk on this board. I saw this query and figured there'd be a bunch o' folk tellin' you you was stupid or scared or what not. Instead, a number a very good suggestions. Now for my two cents worth: You are absolutely right about the intellect on the roads. People are ****in' asleep!! Plus, since they have been required since 1986, people are looking for the third light. So it's not going to help much to put in brighter taillamps (more in a sec..) as they are just not looking there for the warning. I've seen (on a Citroen CX) LEDs placed in the chrome trim 'round the window, looked very incon****ous, until they are lit. A small slot was cut, the LEDs placed behind, and voila!! I put a late eighties Buick unit in my Mercedes 300D, which looks quite factory. Possibly a unit from a Pontiac Sunbird hatchback could fill the bill, it was a small bulge, bolts on, with LEDs inside. A little hole-drillin' and a little moulding, and you might just have it. As for the "Brite Bulbs" sold by some - don't bother. The problem, as explained to me by someone following me after I installed same, is that the difference is not enough to alert people following that you are braking. The truth is, the venerable 1157 is 3 watt and 21 watt, or seven times brighter when braking; the "Brite Bulbs" are 21 w and 50 w, or just over twice as bright from taillamp to brake. Not enough difference if someone were to look away just before you braked; when they look back, they're not sure. Good Luck, Cosmo
Mick, Just my nickles worth, but have you ever considered a rear facing scoop on the roof ala 58 Chevy? Perfect place for a light and would fit the car, IMHO. More work for sure but hidden.
BINGO!!!! I talked to a guy during the Lonestar Round up that said he was going to send me one. I'm going to give him a call. Put the strobe lights inside and....... Thanks for the reminder. Happy Trails, Mick
I was thinking of a third light set-up inside a louver in the decklid..., or the panel above a decklid. Won't look out of place! Mark
one thing i noticed that 3rd brake lights have been around since'86, people are so uesd to seeing them when you brake that is what they respond to, case and point I got 53 Buick w/blue dots frnched, one day i took out my BRIGHT 3rd brake light to work on it left it off for 1 day this is no ******** at leas TWO times i got real close to being *** ended. people automatically look for that light and don't pay attention to tail/brake lights anymore
I brought this up about 3 years ago and got lots of NEGATIVE responses!!!!!! C9, I disagree, USE WHITE PAINT INSIDE the lense. I read a magazine article that tried several colors and they foud white was the brightest. I tried it on several cars. IT WORKS! Also, two weeks ago I followed my boss with Trad repro 39 tailights and Blue dots. Hardley could tell they were on or off. I was in a new Touring that we built for a customer with the LED 39 Tailights. After driving in the #2 position behind my boss, I asked the other 8 cars drivers. They could see my tailights even from the last car! BTW, the LEDS have white buckets
Hey why don't you go find a harley shop, or hell any real kind of motorcycle shop and get you some of those Iron Cross taillights for a motorcycle and mount it to the package tray. I've seen them used a few times for third brake lights. I might know someone that would come off of one maybe. My buddy duke used to have one or two but I don't know if he would get rid of one or not if he still has em. By the way brians chevelle's skull light does work pretty good. Another idea is get one of those light up skulls from night prowlers. They come in red so when the light is on the whole skull lights up and they aren't extremely big either. Just an Idea tho. I could see you pulling up at a car show and monkey pressing his *** to the back of your mercs gl*** hell I'd probably wreck laughing!!
Mickey, I am not sure if you will want to go this way, but there is led lights available with thick lens in several shapes. You could pick a location in the body, cut a hole for the light, mount it and sand to contour. I think the area just above the stripping on the deck lid would be about right No break in the smoothness of your sled. Wire into brake circuit. Presto! Third light looking custom. Oh Wait, That is tooo streetrod.
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