Late saloon rear lights

[don58van]

I am planning to buy new rear lamp housings for my 1970 saloon.

I have to choose between the chrome on alloy OR chrome on plastic alternatives.

As you would know, these are very expensive items (especially as I will be paying freight to Australia too).

I was going to buy from my usual favorite seller ESM.

Can some members please tell me about their experiences with these alternatives?

Thanks
Don

[martin418]

hi i posted in general discussion about the quality of the metal type new lamps and as an update to that i did get them to fit but i had to get new base gaskets to match as the castings are wider than original ,the bulb holders are too long so they hit the gasket requiring the plastic boot to be cut off and also the lenses fit is not very good even with new gaskets , looking at the pictures of the lamps from all the suppliers i guess they all come from the same source , i contacted the supplier of these and i was told '' we have never had a problem before as all original lucas parts will fit them but we do make a wider gasket !!!!!???? ''

[burnham28]

Are the new ones made of the same material i.e. Mazak if so given a few years they will start to pit. I don't think the plastic ones are available.

[martin418]

not sure on the metal but the chrome finish is not perfect ,i would guess they will deteriorate quickly

[firedrake1942]

There seems to be quite a difference in price. Bullmotif £114 each GS Jones £90 each, Andrew Eggleton £120 each DMG - £79.95 (base only) Charles Ware £78.50 (base only)

[don58van]

Thank you one and all for your advice.

I don't think the plastic ones are available.

I had not noticed until now that although ESM have them listed on their site, a note says that they are not available. I guess that simplifies the choice (unless another stockist has them).

I imagine the Australian climate will be easier on the chrome/mazak than the British climate, so I might still go ahead.

I am thinking of ordering either metal or plastic over-riders too (IIRC Andrew E is listing the plastic ones). I will start a separate thread about that.

Cheers
Don

[Declan_Burns]

Don,
I have had the chrome on plastic rear lamps on my car for 10 years. They were not a great fit at the time and I could never get them to sit perfectly but the chrome still looks perfect. I wouldn`t go for plastic overriders but that is just personal taste. I would prefer to have the originals re-chromed. I am lucky that I have a contact over the border in Holland who does all my re-chroming at a very reasonable cost. He did a wonderful job on my TD radiator cowl.

Regards
Declan

[ManyMinors]

Any plater can make a great job of chrome plating a brass radiator though. The mazak material of the rear lights is naturally unstable and doesn't lend itself to re-chroming unfortunately.
Wasn't somebody (Birmingham Morris Minor Centre possibly?) making new light bases from bronze at one time?

[don58van]

I have seen powder coating that looks amazingly close to chrome in appearance. Perhaps this is another option.

I just wonder whether old bases with the usual stippling can be satisfactorily prepared for a long-term coating of paint or powder coating.

Don