Third brake light suggestions for 6 volt '40 Ford Tudo

M

mcgarrett

Well-known member
Open to recommendations for third brake light installation on '40 Tudor Sedan with 6 volt system. Appreciate any photos/descriptions.
 
Never used one, but their are those on the market that really don't make much light. (LED?)
Make certain the one you pick will get the attention of a distracted driver.
 
mcgarrett said:
Open to recommendations for third brake light installation on '40 Tudor Sedan with 6 volt system. Appreciate any photos/descriptions.
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I've thought about using a Model A tail light and bracket as a 3rd brake light for my 40

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A bones said:
Never used one, but their are those on the market that really don't make much light. (LED?)
Make certain the one you pick will get the attention of a distracted driver.
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Yes sir, that's exactly the point of this subject!

Stock '40 Ford taillights have several problems I'm working to overcome, not the least of which is the low candlepower of the stock bulbs. Next, is that the inside of the taillight bucket is BLACK with no reflectors. Last but not least, the angle of the lights as installed on the fender makes the rays of light point upwards instead of rearwards. I have ordered some brighter 6v LED taillight bulbs, but a third brake light would hopefully offer more to alert distracted drivers.
 
There used to be a guy who went by Taillighter
Great guy. He used to send you the 3rd light as seen in reply #5 and then if it worked for you -- you paid him. If not, you sent it back.
Of course that was over 5 years ago and things could have changed.
 
Start by painting the inside of the taillight housing white - it doesn't solve the problem but it does make the lights a bit brighter.
 
FortyNiner said:
Start by painting the inside of the taillight housing white - it doesn't solve the problem but it does make the lights a bit brighter.
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Yes, did that a while back, but still doesn't help much. Have brighter LED bulbs on order, but looking for a tasteful, unobtrusive yet effective 3rd brake light solution. The challenge for the Tudor sedan, as you know, is that it has split rear windows set at an extreme angle, so trying to mount it on the package tray underneath the rear window presents problems. I'll keep experimenting.
Thanks for your suggestion.
 
Mcgarrett, i have the brakelighter mounted inside the rear window on my '37 fordor. two yrs now. right away i noticed all the dips--t distracties look up from their phones.very bright. my '37 is 6volt still. most of our cars the tail lights are mounted low,part of the problem. by the way i think you can by direct from the co. Tom.
 
fortyfords said:
I found that making a white paper shaped cone around the bulb helped more than anything else I did.
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I think you are on the right track with the white cone idea. The bulbs need some kind of reflector. I'm experimenting with using the bottom of a Coke can since space is pretty tight in the bucket. It already has a concave shape like a reflector and is already semi shiny - needs to be polished to give it more shine, though. I punched a hole in it the same size as the bulb socket and pushed it up close to the bulb and used an O ring to hold it there. Seems to give some added reflection and better than none at all.
 
Mike I just finished soldering a wire to the bulb sockets and running them to a good ground and it made a big difference. You can do a quick check by running a jumper from ground and touch the other end to the socket and see of the bulb gets brighter. As far as the third light I would try mounting it above the license plate.
 
fortyfords and mcgarrett, besides installing the brakelighter led third brake light iv'e made a hole in a alum foil cup cake liner just big enough for the incandescent tail bulb to fit thru to socket. Tom.
 
The biggest problem with the 1940 taillights is the lens faces the sky, not the road behind. Not much you can do to overcome that.
 
For a reflector in the tail light use a reflector from a flashlight. On my tudor the prior owner modified a '40 tail light with a series of small LED bulbs inside and mounted it on top of the license plate bracket for the third brake light. He also added the LED inserts from United Pacific to the tail lights. Using an LED bulb with a stock lens does not work well. My tudor is 12 volt.
 
farmertom said:
fortyfords and mcgarrett, besides installing the brakelighter led third brake light iv'e made a hole in a alum foil cup cake liner just big enough for the incandescent tail bulb to fit thru to socket. Tom.
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I did the cupcake liner on my ‘37, works great. But the ‘40 taillight housing is pear shaped, with the socket down in the narrow part of the pear. I tried the cupcake liner, a flash light reflector, won’t fit. Aluminum foil works because it will follow the contour of the pear.
 
JayChicago, sounds like a good fix on the '40 those do have a inherent design flaw.love the '40s though. Tom.
 
Planojc said:
Mike I just finished soldering a wire to the bulb sockets and running them to a good ground and it made a big difference. You can do a quick check by running a jumper from ground and touch the other end to the socket and see of the bulb gets brighter. As far as the third light I would try mounting it above the license plate.
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On my '39 Deluxe Fordor, I mounted the 6 volt third brake light on top of the licence plate bracket and it works great! The oval rear windows don't leave much of an option to put it there.
 
Thanks everyone for all the great ideas. I plan to employ many of these suggestions and I can see how they would make big improvements.
 
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