History 1940 Ford Tail Light Lens Cunundrum

Its pretty amazing what is considered to be on topic and what is considered to be off topic, Rodney Dangerfield is OK, but not Charles Bronson ? No big deal, this happens a lot to HRP. So much for " the hoodlum " element.

 

No big deal, I will jot that down on a post it note and put it on my monitor to avoid getting deleted again, Thanks for the reminder!

 

Very clever. I must say. Snowman

 

Do you know my nephew? That's how he responds when he eats his boogers and I tell him it's unappealing.

True, but blue dots are a modern (post-1980) adaptation in hot rodding and are legal in a number of states, so they aren't really pushing the envelope. Now driving around with blinding blue headlights and purple undercarriage lights, that's hot rodding. Throw in some blue dots and it's off to tear through that envelop.

 

Lynx Eye were an after market lens maker. Made tail lenses for lots of different makes and models of the 30s and 40s.
I think many of them had a nicer look than some of the oe stuff they replaced. There was a nice counter display card that would be nice to have. I have never seen the Lynx Eye brand on any other accessories, just tail lenses.

 

Sorry, I must admit I do not know him. But it does sound like a family reunion potluck I would rather not attend.

 

..............Not sure where that observation came from as I saw many blue dot lenses in the 1950's.

 

The observation comes from the 1950s and 1960s west-coast hot rod and low rider scene. My father and mother grew up in the 50's and 60's L.A. region. My father bought used race parts from and used the shop equipment at Blair's Speed Shop. He helped Don Blair test and tune some land-speed cars a couple times. My mother has a photo of him driving the So Cal Speed Shop deuce roadster at El Mirage when Don was tuning it. My father often raced at Lions, Fontana, El Mirage Lake, and on the street. In the early 2000s, I asked both of them about blue dots, and according to them extremely few hot rods ran blue dots, and those that did were often the butt of the joke. I forget the negative nickname they used to call those cars and owners. My mother's photo albums of drive-ins, races, etc. back up their claims, as do the thousands of photos online. "Hot rodders were too busy focusing on hp, torque, weight transfer, aerodynamics, traction with crappy narrow bias-ply tires, reaction time, speed shifting, drag racing, and evading police to care about pretty purple tail lights" is how my father summed it up. He also said they were easy calling cards for law enforcement to distinguish between cars since so few ran them, which was another reason hot rodders didn't run them.

My uncle on my mother's side was in a customs/low rider car club in southern CA in the late 40's through the 50's. He recalls customs/low riders sometimes ran blue dots, but not commonly. According to both my father and uncle, blue dots didn't become popular until street rods became more popular in the 80s. Obviously, my family's oral tradition is anecdotal evidence but from three people who lived in the heart of the hot rod and customs culture in the 40s/50s/60s. But photos are empirical evidence. I'm sure towns around the country existed where blue dots were more popular, but they were not universally popular enough to be considered staples of hot rodding. Show me 1950's/60's era photos of hot rods (not customs/low riders) with blue dots. I bet there are 100 photos of hot rods without blue dots for every 1 photo you can find with them.

 

I think he's talkin about the dimple.

I would run with the matching pair of checkered ones if I was building it and leave the others for shop decoration. But I am too lazy to spend much time chasing snipes.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. Those are the OEM-style pattern.

 

My first car was a 40 deluxe coup, I remember in Penna, it did not pass Pa inspection,
because the glass lens was cracked. So removed the s/s trim, and pushed the two pieces together
and ran it through to pass inspection. I believe this before blue dots, 1959. I guess.

 

Don't mess with this Doolin guy. He's probably related to the old Doolin gang, plus he is from New York. LOL.

 

That's a good one !

 

Aw, now that hurt ! If I had feelings, I would be crushed ! LOL.

 

I'm 74 and remember bluedot lenses, not because I was a rodder just yet, but because the purple color was so different and really got your attention. Whatever !