LED tail light coversions? Do they work or are they gay?

[Roothawg]

Here's the conversion I was referring to.
Gay or Nay? (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7923628683&catego ry=43955)

[hankcash]

I can't stand those things...
HC

[manyolcars]

They are VERY bright, draw very low current, and last forever. All fleets are using them due to low maintenance costs. What wuz yer question??? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[krupanut]

They do work, very well.
They do look gay, very gay.

[Harell Los Angeles]

They work awesome. I thought about using them in the sedan, but i didn't only because of cost at the time. Now I don't want to put any more money into the car. But I would. People are dumb these days and I want to do what I can to keep dumb people from hitting my cool car
Later
H

[40StudeDude]

Bright...hurts your eyes if you look directly at them...I'd change them in a minnit...my son has them in his '59 Caddy and you CANNOT miss them, day or nite!!! Can never have enuff reason to prevent idiots from rear-ending you..."couldn't see your taillights" is the number one excuse!

R-

[Deuce Rails]

Did Cadillac think it was way ahead of the class when it used LEDs for its taillights?

It seems to me that you could fab some kind of a lens or filter, that would retain the lights' brightness, but make them less noticablly LED-like.

[RC]

Hey Roothawg I found this site last night check it out

www.fatfords.com (http://www.fatfords.com)

I only paid 7K for my whole 36 and I drove it that same day.

[Bob K]

I've got em my 52 Chev and can't notice any difference except that they are brighter and much more visible during the day. If it keeps some idot from rear ending me it ain't Gay in my book

B http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif B

[Digger_Dave]

The only problem with LED bulbs is they are VERY directional. The angle of dispersement is narrow.

They are very bright looking straight at them. But as you move to either side the effectiveness drops quickly.

Several companies have designed the array of the bulbs so that the outer ring of the bulbs angle out to the side.

The second problem is they need to be used with lenses designed to work with the bulbs. Stock tail light lenses reduce the effectiveness.

The LED tail lights you see on trucks and buses are designed as a package; bulbs AND lenses.

[38Chevy454]

[ QUOTE ]
...my son has them in his '59 Caddy and you CANNOT miss them, day or nite!!! Can never have enuff reason to prevent idiots from rear-ending you..."couldn't see your taillights" is the number one excuse!

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly! Most of the older cars we like to drive have smaller tailights to begin with. Makes them harder to see. Any help to make them brighter is a good idea. Fuck this "non-traditional" or "gay" crap you guys are full of. I will keep from getting rearended by some cell-phoning-yelling-at-the-kids-in-the-back-seat-soccer-mom-SUV by using any reasonable means I can. LED tailights are very reasonable, and if used behind stock lenses they are better looking.

In case you could not figure out, I have them in my 38 chevy with stock tailights and stock lenses.

[stoggie]

[ QUOTE ]
I've got em my 52 Chev and can't notice any difference except that they are brighter and much more visible during the day. If it keeps some idot from rear ending me it ain't Gay in my book

B http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif B


[/ QUOTE ]

I am with Bob on this one. Most cars are so low and early cars we all tend to mount the tail-lights low as well. Some jackass will be dialing his phone and not even notice you tail lights. Been putting 3rd brake lights in everything too - all the small ones are LED. But it is cheap insurance agains the morons in the world!!

[LoungeLife]

The LEDs draw a very low current, so low that sometimes you'll have trouble with there not being enough of a draw to trip the flasher relay. There's a company making a low voltage flasher relay, don't remember the name I think they have an ad in Rod and Custom.

Lounge

[Roothawg]

I know that I have fairly dim lights with the stock 36 taillights and of course if you use the factory original with the glass for tag light, the left is always dimmer.

[speedaddict]

its worth it. There's not too many people these days that straighten out our old big chrome bumpers.

[GomezGarage]

LED over bulbs, Discs over drums, Easy over cute, With the lights off its all the same. I mean if its brighter and easier to see whats the dilemna?

[Roothawg]

I have never seen the conversion in action. Does it look like 10 small bulbs?

[moondisc]

I know what don't work.
I just bought a set of LED 1157 replacement bulbs.
Put just one in to check em out.
Regular 1157's are brighter.
Even when your looking straight at them.
The glass lens just ain't made for LED's.
Tried bright bulbs, blow 1 a week.
Tried Halogens, fried my brake light switch.
Guess I'll keep using hand signals when I see the dumbfucs behind me.
Then again, they're too dumb to know hand signals!

[CharlieLed]

[ QUOTE ]
I have never seen the conversion in action. Does it look like 10 small bulbs?

[/ QUOTE ]
Some do look like a collection of small bright dots...however, you can control how the light is dispersed using different materials inside the lens. Take a look at any newer Cadillac Deville, they have very large tailight panels with LEDs and they look like one solid panel of light. I just bought one off ebay and will be cutting in into sections to use on my Merc. I'm kinda letting the cat out of the bag...I intend to do a tech post on this later. LEDs turn on and off VERY fast, no slow ramp up/down...they're on or off. Low current draw means low heat and less load on your electrical system. Right now these items are new enough that the prices are still too high, that's why I am looking to capitalize on the used parts of late model cars as a source.

[PetT]

$9.00 for shipping???? Are they packed in lead? Typical Egay!!!!!

[hankcash]

I don't like the LED tail lights, but LED gauges are DOPE!
HC

[manyolcars]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Roothawg I found this site last night check it out

www.fatfords.com (http://www.fatfords.com)

I only paid 7K for my whole 36 and I drove it that same day.


[/ QUOTE ] RC, did you see this quote?>>>>>>The fenders and running boards will fit 1935 thru 1937 Ford 1/2 ton pickups but are correct for 36-37 due to the open bumper holes.. <<<<<< The guy doesnt even know what hes talking about. The 35 front fenders are identical to 36 and 37. No bumper brace holes are 1 1/2 ton truck fenders.

[BigDdy31]

I like the function and safety of the LEDs. In fact I'm gonna adapt some for my bike to keep people from making me a pancake.

But I agree with some of the other guys that keeping the "10,000 bulb" look to a minimum is definitely desirable. I don't want to end up riding 'Disco BSA'. LOL

[cleatus]

Obviously LED is brighter / more noticeable from directly behind, but I've been told that they are actually less bright than a normal bulb when viewed from a side angle.

Havn't had the opportunity to test that premise, tho' - personally I do think they look kinda gay in an otherwise old looking car, but I guess it's better than being rear-ended?

You can also use a Ron Francis "Bright Bulb" but they seem to burn out much quicker than a normal buld - I've gone through 4 ina year-and-a-half and finally went back to my old dim bulbs.

[bigron]

i like the idea of them being really bright. the last thing i want is to be reaended by someone not seeing me at night. alot of these cars we drive have really small and dim lights. for that reason i added a led third brake light on my wagon. it's monuted inside and shines through the back window. got it from a saturn trunk lid in the junk yard. i find the yellow turn signals more annoying and extremely bright way worse then the red led ones.

[zgears]

why is this even a quesstion? if you take parts off the Space Shuttle and put them on a traditional car that makes it Super Gay!!!

[leadsled1953]

i like them.i was burning out taillite blubs at a rate of one a week on my victory.i put a led in it and that took care of that problem. they last just about for ever and they are bright.here in New york a traffic ticket starts at $75 so the led is a great thing.

[SKR8PN]

Roothawg....go here and look around.Once ya get past the biker stuff, They have the 1157 conversions that are NOT the same as the cheap fuckers they sell at AutoZone.........Plus they have the lens material.
http://www.hitechledproducts.com

[dehudso]

Are you going to be using them in a glass lens?

I tried a LED conversion in my glass tail lights, and it looked awful. It could not replicate that "glow" that regular old light bulbs use. I was dissappointed, but glad that it was only about $10. IMo you need a whole lot of LEDs closely spaced to get a good looking tail light.

[Roothawg]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Hey Roothawg I found this site last night check it out

www.fatfords.com (http://www.fatfords.com)

I only paid 7K for my whole 36 and I drove it that same day.


[/ QUOTE ] RC, did you see this quote?>>>>>>The fenders and running boards will fit 1935 thru 1937 Ford 1/2 ton pickups but are correct for 36-37 due to the open bumper holes.. <<<<<< The guy doesnt even know what hes talking about. The 35 front fenders are identical to 36 and 37. No bumper brace holes are 1 1/2 ton truck fenders.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually he is 100% correct. The 35's had a bar across the bottom of the bumper hole and then Ford discovered that the bumper braces had to be removed to change a fender. So in 36 they are open at the bottom.

[HOTROD30]

I tried the LED lights, but they didn't seem bright. The 1157 bulbs weren't bright and neither were the special 2157 bulbs. I went with the Juliano Halogen Retrofit Taillight Kits. They work great.

http://www.julianos.com/taillight_kit.html

They also carry these new halogen replacement bulbs.

http://www.julianos.com/dual_filament_halo_bulbs.html


With any halogen tail light bulbs, you have to run a brake light relay off a brake pressure switch, or you will burn up the pressure switch.

[Mojo]

I like the idea of LEDs, in that you can make shapes and patterns with them. Take a 61 Thunderbird for example... you could do something cool with the tail-lights, like make pentagrams with LEDs... there's more to them than bowties and iron crosses...

[C9]

The non-LED 39 taillights in my 32 are pretty bright.

The taillight housing interior is painted with "chrome" paint (some guys claim white is brighter, but it seems about the same to me.)
Bulbs in use are Bob Drake Halogens.
They are direct replacements for the #1157 bulb.
No socket changes necessary.

The Halogen bulbs cost about $5.00 each last time I looked although I think that was the sale price.