old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
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old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
So I'm running a set of '39 Ford tear drops for my brake/tail lights, and they have an actual glass lens that is super thick and red..
normal 1157 incandescent's are BARELY visible, i'm using some cheap made in china led 1157 sized bulbs now and they are halfway decent when it's dark, but almost not noticable in direct sunlight.. I tried sylvania's crazy super bright led bulbs and they were dimmer than my cheap ones..
I've read some people upgrade to 2357, but was wondering if anyone here has any input?
normal 1157 incandescent's are BARELY visible, i'm using some cheap made in china led 1157 sized bulbs now and they are halfway decent when it's dark, but almost not noticable in direct sunlight.. I tried sylvania's crazy super bright led bulbs and they were dimmer than my cheap ones..
I've read some people upgrade to 2357, but was wondering if anyone here has any input?
-pariah
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
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Re: old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
I used 3057 bulbs in my ford lights, before I gave up and just went to LED inserts.
Last edited by saltracer on Fri Dec 06, 2019 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
a quick googling found me these: https://www.spoilerlights.com/spoilerli ... NbEALw_wcB
might just be a good option for me..
edit: these are actually 10 bucks cheaper and looks like it's a direct replacement for my glass lenses.. that other link i can't tell if it is or not since the description mentions the mounting screws...
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/1938-193 ... ZdEALw_wcB
might just be a good option for me..
edit: these are actually 10 bucks cheaper and looks like it's a direct replacement for my glass lenses.. that other link i can't tell if it is or not since the description mentions the mounting screws...
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/1938-193 ... ZdEALw_wcB
-pariah
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
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Re: old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
tattooed_pariah wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2019 4:56 am So I'm running a set of '39 Ford tear drops for my brake/tail lights, and they have an actual glass lens that is super thick and red..
normal 1157 incandescent's are BARELY visible, i'm using some cheap made in china led 1157 sized bulbs now and they are halfway decent when it's dark, but almost not noticable in direct sunlight.. I tried sylvania's crazy super bright led bulbs and they were dimmer than my cheap ones..
I've read some people upgrade to 2357, but was wondering if anyone here has any input?
Yeah, they can be kind of dim especially if you have gotten use to modern bulbs. The big thing I recommend is to check the quality of you electrical input and especially your ground wires and connections. If you have an original tail light housing the internals might need updating too.tattooed_pariah wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2019 4:56 am So I'm running a set of '39 Ford tear drops for my brake/tail lights, and they have an actual glass lens that is super thick and red..
normal 1157 incandescent's are BARELY visible, i'm using some cheap made in china led 1157 sized bulbs now and they are halfway decent when it's dark, but almost not noticable in direct sunlight.. I tried sylvania's crazy super bright led bulbs and they were dimmer than my cheap ones..
I've read some people upgrade to 2357, but was wondering if anyone here has any input?
If I remember correctly the glass can age also and get hard to pass light through but the "Teardrop" '39's" are still pretty cool.
These are replacement Model A lenses and housings. I had to modify the housings not only to shorten them but to make sure that the lenses point straight back to the rear of the car (they now do but didn't. This was due to the difference of fender shape between stock Model A and the after market body). You might check to see if your lenses are pointing straight back as if they are at an angle it could change the view of the light.
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Re: old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
I know i've got good power coming in, and the ground wires run back to the engine compartment because I have fiberglass rear fenders. The housing themselves were purchased new back in 2007, there aren't really any "internals" to speak of.. it's just a hole with a bulb socket in it, i've ensured the socket is free from corrosion though..
I ordered the speedway led kits i linked above, so we'll see if that improves it..
I ordered the speedway led kits i linked above, so we'll see if that improves it..
-pariah
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
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Re: old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
On cars with glass fenders I double ground things; I ground the housing and if there is a second ground wire going to the bulb then both should work (usually there is the stop light circuit and the tail light circuit and that is it but I have seen the second ground feature a long time ago.
By-the-way, are you still using the woven ground strap from the body mount area (the passenger side) pan to the torsion tube? They are notorious for breaking down.
Lee
By-the-way, are you still using the woven ground strap from the body mount area (the passenger side) pan to the torsion tube? They are notorious for breaking down.
Lee
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Re: old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
I replaced the old corroded strap with a modern negative battery cable a few years ago.. I'm running a 90amp alternator and MSD ignition system so I wanted to be sure that old strap wasn't going to be an issue..Ol'fogasaurus wrote: ↑Thu Nov 21, 2019 12:05 pm On cars with glass fenders I double ground things; I ground the housing and if there is a second ground wire going to the bulb then both should work (usually there is the stop light circuit and the tail light circuit and that is it but I have seen the second ground feature a long time ago.
By-the-way, are you still using the woven ground strap from the body mount area (the passenger side) pan to the torsion tube? They are notorious for breaking down.
Lee
-pariah
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
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- Posts: 17732
- Joined: Mon Nov 13, 2006 10:17 pm
Re: old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
Good job! Those were common on early American cars up until about '49. They were pariahs' even then . The thin strands would break due to ae and the bouncing around in the motor bay. I'm not completely sure but I think I heard that they are still in use in places. For example: https://www.bing.com/search?q=woven+gro ... lang=en-US
If you do a search as to why the dialogue as to the good and bads are interesting. Also the materials used in the making of the parts and then check the corrosion times for those materials. Remember electricity, like stress, likes to travel in the path of least resistant which usually means the surfaces not the body of the strands.
Lee
If you do a search as to why the dialogue as to the good and bads are interesting. Also the materials used in the making of the parts and then check the corrosion times for those materials. Remember electricity, like stress, likes to travel in the path of least resistant which usually means the surfaces not the body of the strands.
Lee
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Re: old glass tail lights (bulb brightness)
just to follow up since I hate finding a thread and not seeing the conclusion..
Got the new lights from Speedway on saturday before last, took about 15 minutes to install them. discovered one of my ground wires was loose, causing the driver's side to not light up consistently, fixed that, and now have brakes and tails that are actually visible to other drivers!
Got the new lights from Speedway on saturday before last, took about 15 minutes to install them. discovered one of my ground wires was loose, causing the driver's side to not light up consistently, fixed that, and now have brakes and tails that are actually visible to other drivers!
-pariah
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread
"I never trust a fighting man who doesn't smoke or drink or at least cause a little trouble." -Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr.
1972 VolksRod Build Thread