Mysterious rear lights

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KiwiMorrieNut
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Mysterious rear lights

Post by KiwiMorrieNut »

I thought that I had a pretty good handle on Morris bits but, with some definitely Morris Minor bits, two Lucas rear lights showed up on l/h and r/h alloy mounts that have me stumped...can anyone help ? They seem to be designed to go on guards that have a curve to them and both come to a point at their top end. I thought possibly T series MG or maybe even an early Jag...but could just as easily be from a truck, I suppose...please help a simple Antipodean, oh Wise Ones.
mystery tail lights 3a.jpg
mystery tail lights 3a.jpg (240.85 KiB) Viewed 4325 times
mystery tail lights 2a.jpg
mystery tail lights 2a.jpg (240.9 KiB) Viewed 4325 times
DAVIDMCCULLOUGH
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by DAVIDMCCULLOUGH »

Im sure Ive seen something similar on the rear of an MG.

I do like the Lucas Gold tin for spare bulbs, very nice!


Too many Minors so little time.....
firedrake1942
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by firedrake1942 »

Not a scooby, but I know a few people who would kill for those speedos and clocks......
KiwiMorrieNut
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by KiwiMorrieNut »

You know people that are willing to kill for old speedos and clocks ? I know it is a bit of a commute to New Zealand, but as it happens I DO have an extensive list of local parking wardens that I would....no...these are bad thoughts !
RobThomas
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by RobThomas »

There was a flurry of mods around 1949 when local regulations forced BMC to make some sudden changes. Maybe a local requirement?
Cardiff, UK
KiwiMorrieNut
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by KiwiMorrieNut »

I did consider that idea, but these things are seriously well manufactured...far beyond what the local Morris dealer would have bothered with back then...i suspect that, unless I stumble upon their twins in use at a local classic car show, their origins may forever remain a mystery.
JohnV
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by JohnV »

Wow! Did you buy them? I do know what they are. Here goes ....

Those are Lucas L488 rear lights (running + brake light) mounted on the pedestals that were used on Minors sent to North America between January and about June 1949.

I thought all other Minors for all markets had a single rear L482 lamp let into the wing flush with the surface, and a matching reflector on the other side, from September 1948 through something like March or April 1949: LHD 6142, RHD 3389. Then they went to a pair of rear L482s, again flush, for only a few short months.

Then all Minors, North America included, switched to the Lucas L471 vertical red-glass "helmet" taillights around July 1949: LHD 7967, RHD 17580.

The U.S. and Canada cars from the very start were fitted with a pair of L488s on those pedestals. Could they also have been fitted to New Zealand cars? Does anyone have a suitably early NZ export Minor?
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
JohnV
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by JohnV »

(There's a factory photo in "Morris Minor: The Official Photo Album," by Jon Pressnell, that shows a Tourer destined for the USA with those lights installed.)
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
SteveClem
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by SteveClem »

Unusual and rare stuff. The club historians need to know about this,I suggest.
les
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by les »

Have we got any? :D

firedrake1942
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by firedrake1942 »

lol
Redmoggy
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by Redmoggy »

I've been trying to answer a similar question on my 49 MM. It's an export car (not CKD) and is chassis number eight thousand four hundred and something. It was in the second consignment of cars to arrive in 49 and was sold in November that year.

Anyhow, the information I have found and been given would suggest that it was fitted with the 471 rear lamps, but the original to the car, right rear guard is not drilled to accept either the 471 or 488 style lamp. The 471 would have two extra holes one top and one bottom of the large hole for the plinth, whilst the 488 requires a smaller large hole to allow the base to be attached. From this I can only assume it came fitted with one or two 482 lamps which are the correct size to fit the original guard.

Rod
JohnV
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Re: Mysterious rear lights

Post by JohnV »

Redmoggy: If your car was # 84XX, that indicates it probably was CKD. The LHD cars were 5501-8001, and the RHD sequence restarted at 8501 and ran to 15500. Is yours RHD or LHD?
I have two Minors in upstate New York. One is the 1961 Traveller my dad bought new that year in London, where I was born. It's had a hard life but is still running cheerfully at 54K miles. The second is the oldest Minor confirmed to survive in North America, a LHD high-light Tourer built in April 1949. It's a total basket case, but will be restored over the coming years.
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