bicycle turn signals

oldspert

oldspert

Senior Member
Got the idea from another post about using bicycle turn signals for a Model A. Bought a set off of Amazon that are LED re-chargable, remote control. Adapted them to my bumpers with zip ties and clamped the controller to the column. Very bright, and visible from at least 100 ft.
Next project will be seat belts so my wife will ride with me. She wouldn't do it without some safety belts.
 
oldspert said:
Got the idea from another post about using bicycle turn signals for a Model A. Bought a set off of Amazon that are LED re-chargable, remote control. Adapted them to my bumpers with zip ties and clamped the controller to the column. Very bright, and visible from at least 100 ft.
Next project will be seat belts so my wife will ride with me. She wouldn't do it without some safety belts.
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This is a very controversial topic due the the actual effectiveness. Plenty of content here regarding this. Please post how you go about this modification.
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
This is a very controversial topic due the the actual effectiveness. Plenty of content here regarding this. Please post how you go about this modification.
Click to expand...

According to another poster here, he added a stiffener made of angle iron to the riser behind the seat bottom to attach the lap belts to. How effective it will be is anyones guess, but any item that will help prevent being ejected in case of a bad accident, would help.
Since my Model A has many aftermarket items, I will never have it judged to Model A standards, so seat belts and turn signals are a must in my opinion.
 
Go to Amazon.com and search "carrybright bicycle signals". They're still about $60 bucks. They're LED and BRIGHT!
 
oldspert said:
According to another poster here, he added a stiffener made of angle iron to the riser behind the seat bottom to attach the lap belts to. How effective it will be is anyones guess, but any item that will help prevent being ejected in case of a bad accident, would help.
Since my Model A has many aftermarket items, I will never have it judged to Model A standards, so seat belts and turn signals are a must in my opinion.
Click to expand...


Therein lies the issue IMHO. There have been hobbyists that have installed safety belts in their Model-A thinking they were safe only to find themselves ejected during an accident. One or two such occurrences happened in your state while on a club tour which resulted in fatalities. It has happened elsewhere also.

The problem with retrofitting a safety system into a Model-A is the sheetmetal infrastructure is not strong enough to support the G-forces created by a crash impact. I do agree that a Model-A body can likely be braced enough to support a safety restraint system however these modifications need to be done when the car is apart and during the restoration process, -not afterwards. As I stated earlier, this can be a controversial topic so I have said enough about the subject.
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
T these modifications need to be done when the car is apart and during the restoration process, -not afterwards.
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Brent, I fully respect your opinion on this subject; however, if a Model A is involved in a crash severe enough to rip safety equipment from the sheet metal bracing, nothing is going to survive that crash. My car was already "restored" when I bought it so any safety items added will surely help with perceived safety.
I am a retired engineer and know the sheet metal is very unlikely to retain safety belts in a violent crash.
 
Added seatbelts to a 31 pickup. A good piece of angle iron under the cab gives them something more solid to bolt through. All they will really do is keep you inside the car. Falling out during an accident is not desirable.
 
oldspert said:
According to another poster here, he added a stiffener made of angle iron to the riser behind the seat bottom to attach the lap belts to. How effective it will be is anyones guess, but any item that will help prevent being ejected in case of a bad accident, would help.
Since my Model A has many aftermarket items, I will never have it judged to Model A standards, so seat belts and turn signals are a must in my opinion.
Click to expand...

That was probably me. I took a piece of 2x2 1/4" angle iron, wider then the frame. I bolted it to the frame and also at 8 points across the floor. I believe it will work in most cases, anything worse, I'm probably dead anyway. Years ago the government of Ontario mandated that there must be a seat belt at every seating location, so people started installing seat belts without any regards to engineering. They are called lap belts for a reason. One person installed belts across their mid thigh and snapped both legs when in an accident. Others bolted them in the correct location, but running a bolt through the floor pan and using a couple of washers doesn't cut it. Those washers act just like can openers. On my Tudor, I used an anchoring device from Julianno's. The shape prevents the floor from being cut, maybe dimpled unless your floor is so rotten, it has no strength at all. I also have working signals on all my cars even though they were not there originally. Speaking of which, my pet peeve. Non cancelling after market signal units. I am just as guilty, you turn a corner and forget to shut them off. Really confusing to the guy following you and dangerous too. Chev's of the 40s were offering a self cancelling unit but they can no longer source them. anyone else come up with any thing in the self cancelling world?
Warren

 

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lrf said:
Go to Amazon.com and search "carrybright bicycle signals". They're still about $60 bucks. They're LED and BRIGHT!
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That is what I added to my Model A.
 

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Nice, clean look and I'm sure they will do the job well. I've seen them on bicycles and they really get your attention from a good distance.
 
mcgarrett said:
Nice, clean look and I'm sure they will do the job well. I've seen them on bicycles and they really get your attention from a good distance.
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That looks very nice. I suppose you could also mount them on the headlight bar next to each of the headlights so they would be up higher.

David Serrano
 
If you do some research on installing seat belts in race cars you will see the proper proceedure to mount the belts. The key is a properly sized reinforcement plate under the subrail or under the frame.
 
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