High level brake light for a convertable

[Deaconbrody]

Have just bought a Series 3 convertable from Charles Ware and am now looking at all the safety features that can be added. I am getting Charles Ware to add most of these, headlight flasher, electric washers, hazard warning lights, etc. But would like to try and do some things myself. So High warning brake light. Can one be fitted to a covertable? Has anyone did this? Looking forward to picking up the car in March. At the moment it is going through a full restoration with new panels and respray so hence the reason for not getting it till March.

[MarkyB]

Maybe you could fabricate one using these?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=l ... &_osacat=0

[chesney]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350249333231? ... 1439.l2649
One of these. It works.

[welshrat]

I have also been considering a higher/third brake light for a ragtop but have hit a brick wall (not in the minor). The problem is not about availability, its more about where to put it, inside the hood will only be good for hood up, considered fitting one on the body above the boot, however this may be hidden with the hood down and is not really a high light. Not convinced that there is a practical way of doing this.

[youngcamper]

My Dads got one on his, I'll take a picture

[GeordieDave]

If you are concerned about drivers not noticing a low level 3rd brake light, you could add one of these brake light flasher circuits.

http://www.esr.co.uk/velleman/mk178.htm

I've had one on my modern car for a few years now and no one has run into the back of me yet. My friends have told me it looks like there's a fault with my car but as long as it draws attention to the light and the fact I'm braking, I don't care! No mot failures yet either.

[Deaconbrody]

Thanks everybody I will look into all the ideas.

[MorrisMinor-65-1000]

Hi Deaconbrody,

Did you find a solution to this? I'm thinking along similar lines myself for when the welding is done at the end of the summer. A small step in sideways thinking let me to the Series II boot badge, which appears to have a reflector built in. I can't imagine it would be too hard to machine out the casting behind the lens (still leaving enough material for clips to have something to hold to). You could then mount a simple side light bulb holder on the boot lid behind the lens of the badge. Job done. Very inkeeping and undetectable until illuminated.
My only concern is that it might not be big enough - especially compared to the size of the elephant-foot rear light clusters on the later 1000's. The lens only looks about an inch across, but it is positioned high up. The other light clusters are just too close to the ground IMHO, and your common or garden 4x4 driver simply wouldn't be able to see them for his own bonnet when driving at Audi/BMW tailgating distances...

Has anybody done anything similar?

Michael

[MarkyB]

I've certainly thought about it, something brighter than a sidelight bulb though, maybe LEDs?

[Deaconbrody]

Hi Michael,

Not done anything about it yet, however I like your thinking.

Would it be legal with respect to distance off ground, etc.

Not had much chance to use my new Morris this year much as I have been working in Germany and Indonesia.

Got a contract in Germany from August till the end of the year so the Morris will be going into the garage with its cover over it for a few months.

Having said that I was out in it yesterday, nice dry day. Amazing the people who wave and give you the thumbs up.

Perhaps I will try to get a series 2 boot badge and do some experimenting in the garage.

Thanks for the idea.

Ian

[MorrisMinor-65-1000]

Hi Ian,

Thanks. Sounds like you're a busy man! The furthest my job takes me is Glasgow and Cardiff, but I know what it's like to not have the tinker time you'd like on you classic on a pleasant summer's weekday evening!

I don't know what height the lens would end up at, but I don't think it would be a problem really. In terms of observing the law, it's no different to fitting one of the stick-on rear windscreen units that many other classic owners have, and would even look factory fitted. Let's face it, your common or garden 22 year old plod isn't going to have seen semaphore trafficators before, and the standard rear light clusters (1098 excepted) are way too small and mounted way too low down to stand a chance at coming up to modern standards. They're just the quirks of the car. So I can't imagine it would be an issue putting a bulb behind a pre-existing reflector lens...

Bulb wise, MarkyB is right, a side light probably wouldn't be enough, especially given the size of the lens. One of those forward facing LED cluster bulbs is probably your best bet, and you could get that right up to the back of the lens without risking melting/discolouring it for maximum brightness. A conventional bulb would have to be mounted further away and so you'd only get a relatively small area of the light shining at the lens.


Cheers, Michael

[callyspoy]

My old Minor was a '53 Series II and i did indeed fit a brake light in it.
It worked quite well i think, i ended up using the glass lens and chrome ring from an A35 sidelight (the torpedo type).
Drilled a hole in the boot and mounted a standard early Minor sidelight rubber and bulb holder behind.
It did work though!

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

I have also turned the S.II boot badge into a light.

[chrisryder]

Does the light pass through the existing reflector, or does a lens have to be fashioned?

If so, you need to make sure you've still got some form of reflector on the back!

As for a high level brake light on a convertible, why not get a boot rack and mount a high level light on the top of that?

[Deaconbrody]

Another good idea.

Ian

[charlie_morris_minor]

good point chris on the reflector, but running a late convertible it is not a problem to me.

So i purchased a 2nd hand boot badge at the national (thanks badobsession) to play with.

I removed the lens and purchased on ebay (290811090101) the LV5 red lamp and LV16 chrome surround

I made a 20mm hole in the centre of the badge..[frame][/frame]

The LED and rubber mount fits nicely, the problem with the chrome surround is that it fits over the rubber and is slightly too large for the recess in the badge. So i will need to modify the chrome cover slightly, which will not be an issue as the cover is held in place by the LED, as the LED is self contained it all fits inside the depth of the badge i.e. outside the boot so i just need to drill a small hole for the wire + grommet..[frame][/frame]

now to wire it up, check that it all works then buy a brand new boot badge to modify..

[chesney]

Keep us posted - looks like a nice little mod

[IslipMinor]

That looks very neat - I need to find a Series II boot badge now.

[charlie_morris_minor]

further to my previous post i ordered a new boot badge and modified it, as i covered in the previous post. Now with the new chrome boot badge the chrome ring around the LED does not look so bad sitting "proud" in my view, so i will not be reducing the size of the ring to fit the recess as i had planed to[frame][/frame]

i wanted to mount the light as high as possible so marked the centre lin of the boot and slid the badge down the boot until it was not able to wobble any more, i marked up and drilled the three holes in the boot..[frame][/frame]
and from the inside waiting for the wires..[frame][/frame]

[welshrat]

Must say I am very impressed with that and will be fitting one to mine, where did you buy the badge and other bits?