I just scored this piece for my '54 Poncho wagon to swap out with the non-illuminated version. I thought it would be obvious where/how a light mounts, but when it showed up today, I was stumped. Given that I've never actually seen one of these before a few minutes ago, could one of you experienced gents "enlighten" me as to the means of illumination? Pics would be awesome.
I jumped the gun. I just went out and looked under the hood on the wagon and it became pretty clear where the light goes- in the fricking hole in the hood and waterfall, right behind/under the lucite! Sorry to have wasted bandwidth.
The snap-in bulb sockets are readily available at most auto parts stores.The bulb is (IIRC)a 2W number 45. EDIT: forgot the 54 is 6V;there should be an equivalent.That is the only size bulb that will fit inside the ornament. There is a spot on the fusebox(on the 55 anyway)specifically for that wire.If not just tie it into the instrument lamps somewhere.
If for some reason the incandescent bulb turns into a problem, Del City Wire has a lot of different LEDs that could be adapted.
most leds are 1-2 volts ( often have to have a resistor in series with it ) , and yes they have different brightness like a light bulbs but the best effect is to use a yellow led to get the best light out of it . superbrite leds has a tech line you can call to help you choose your led you need .
Thanks for the tips fellas. No worries on 6 volt. This car will be wired 12. I was contemplating using some sort led in there. Don't led lights run a lot cooler temperature too? Would that help keep the lucite from cracking prematurely or do normal incandescent not get hot enough to worry about?
the lucite can crack from heat but most of the damage is from being exposed to the air as it still solvents out some over the years and shrinks . the leds do run way cooler but some of the high power ones do generate some heat but not like a filament light .but they can get hot and if they run to high a rated voltage they run hot and burn out quick . they are voltage sensitive ... I forgot to clarify the color deal . with leds you want to run the color of the lense in question to get the maximum light from it otherwise it will filter the other colors out , the white leds are actually blueish in tint and will not be as bright going thru the lense if its colored , so if you run red tail lights use red leds , the Cheif heads use either yellow ect.. ect .. also you want a wide pattern ( 120-180*) or defused lense otherwise the light will focused and you will get a beam thru the head and will not light it all up ( my first try did this in testing ) . I haven't tried my second revised one yet to see what it looks like . someone told me I might have to drill a hole and glue the led in to it to get the light to transfer right .
I have been learning alot about them from usage in trucking as they are the best way to keep lights on a trailer or truck in rough ussage .and slowly adapting them into some custom lenses I made for a freinds car
Do 51 Pontiac Chieftain use the same light bulb sockets because I'm looking for a replacement bulb for the light up hood ornament on my car?
I wouldn't worry about the heat from a 2W bulb damaging the Lucite.I made an ornament for my 55 Safari out of Lexan and used the standard bulb inside it.The enclosed picture is a bit deceptive as when viewed from the driver's seat the whole thing lights up which can be a bit distracting. The flat pieces edge light very much like a plexiglas sign does.
The Jalopy Journal
