After looking at Ebay for a tail light for my roadster I've sorta of landed on the 50 Pontiac style tail light. Do you know of a good one that would work? I talked to a guy whos name is Dave and he says that his tail lights are the best because they have glass for the lense and have 60 LED lights. Some have forty LED lights. I guess more is brighter. Any ideas?
Street rods use LED's, hot rods use bulbs. I've got a few '50 Pontiac taillights on the shelf, and they came from '50 Pontiacs. The Pontiacs originally used plastic lenses.
LEDs on the back, square headlamps on the front. This is what I think of the Street Rod LED 'movement'. Big rigs are the ideal application.
LEDs are the best thing going. I don't care if they are not traditional. What is traditional about getting hit in the rear because some 16 year old girl in a BMW runs into you? I also have 3rd brake lights on my hot rods. Just another opinion but it is mine. Thanks for your support. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
LEDs come with their own set of issues.... They're rarely as bright as standard bulbs, and when they are, lamp life isn't all that great. And if you have even a single LED fail, you'll lose multiples as these are wired in series. And if you buy a 'taillight assembly', you'll be replacing the complete light when you have any problems.
I agree, bulbs are best, LED is more of a street rod look, might as well add a third brake light while you are at it, you know, one in a billet aluminum housing
Use a halogen bulb in the back. It will focus through the original lense like the incandescent bulb did, but will be much brighter. If you don't want to find your own sockets at the parts store, Julianos sells conversion socket kits with the H bulbs for some popular vintage taillights. They work really well.
46-48 Pontiacs have the same light with an angled housing to mount on the curved back of the car. In my junk I had a pair of them and they were both fished out of an old junkyard and way too pitted to be repros. One had a glass lens and one was plastic. LED taillights work well enough, but they draw less current than bulbs so flashers may not work right, and they have some issues with being seen at angles. My work truck has them in the back of it. Personally, with all the round and round-ish lights out there to pick from, I'd try to avoid a bandwagon light like the '50 Pontiac or '59 Cadillac. How about a set of '55 Dodge lights? '61 Olds F85 wagon? Etc etc etc -
That's due to improper circuit design and component selection. The cheapo ones that are mounted to a standard 1157 base aren't what I'd consider to have a proper design. With proper circuit design, component selection and heat sinking, LEDs can be as bright (or brighter) than the good ol' incandescent and have a magnitude greater lifespan. Circuit design can also take care of the load on the flasher. Aside from the look when lit, the biggest disadvantage of the LEDs is the focused light pattern that they emit (a cone or modified cone shape). Most have a pretty narrow pattern, although there are some with wider. Still nowhere near the 360° of the incandescent.
Paint the inside of the tail light housing flat white and run good old fashioned 2357 bulbs. Very bright in my '34.
LED or not, you can spot a CHINESE 50 PONTIAC "STYLE" LIGHT from two car show rows away. Nothing like the real thing! Then again, you'll find no Chow Mein anywhere on my Hot Rod. Just my taste!!
Salvage an old taillight. I've got original 50 pontiac rear lights but a lot of the guys are also right in suggesting something unique. Just cause its new don't mean it's better. Ill take a scratched part my granddaddy made anyday. Good luck.
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