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Blue Dot Tail Lights WHY? When did this start?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 48flyer, Jul 20, 2009.

  1. I have had a set of genuine Lynx Eye blue dots on my Oz 1940 Dodge since 1975, the car uses 1940 US Plymouth taillights from the Oz factory..........when I had the 1941 Plymouth Coupe a factory RHD car from Sth Africa I got a Lynx Eye taillight to suit the 41 Plymouth centre light, couldn't find any for the outer taillights tho'........both the sets of Lynx Eye lens came in original Lynx Eye boxes..........way cool..........lol........have never been hassled by the police or annual rego checks for having these blue dots.........I've never pointed them out to the police nor rego guys so I suppose that's been a saving grace..........lol..........Andy Douglas
     

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  2. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,245

    theHIGHLANDER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Since my google image search is so much better these days I thought I'd toss up and O.E.M. Packard 12 lense pic.
    This is the real deal right from the manufacturer:
    [​IMG]
    Ok, how about a 32 Cadilac as well:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2016
    kidcampbell71 and i.rant like this.
  3. 5window
    Joined: Jan 29, 2005
    Posts: 9,517

    5window
    Member

    I know this is 7 years ago, but this dude must see some interesting rainbows. Real light is all the frequencies in the visible spectrum (and more for non-primate species with eyes). The fact is that red and blue are at opposite ends of the light we can see and therefore are more recognizable to our eyes. I like old blue dots, not modern ones. Real hot rods have glass lenses.
     
  4. Blue dot's are cool to look at scream vintage hot rod when it's dark and the driver ,or biker in this case,apply s the brakes they emit that beautiful purplish glow and are very visible.

    On the other hand,during the day and in the bright sunshine tails lights with blue dots are not bright enough for the average distracted driver to see and have time to react.

    I had blue dots in the tail lights of my 1940 Ford sedan and in broad daylight I was rear ended as I slowed down for a school bus,the driver told the policeman I didn't have any brake lights,fortunately one wasn't destroyed when the car was hit.

    As bad as that was and as venerable as motorcyclist are I would think you would rather have the brightest lights possible.

    BTW,back in the early 70's I had a '56 Panhead and I installed a blue dot in tombstone tail light and thought it looked great,my ridding buddy's told me they couldn't see my brake lights so I replaced the lens. HRP
     
  5. Smokin Joe
    Joined: Mar 19, 2002
    Posts: 3,770

    Smokin Joe
    Member

    They make you notice when the car in front of you hits the brakes. There are red lights everywhere and you get used to them, but that purple glow gets your attention. That's why I run them and always have when I could. They DO have to be directly behind the bulb to work right, and glass lenses work with them better than plastic ones. Besides, they're cool and your average Camry doesn't have them. Very first thing I usually modify on a car.
     
  6. HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM
    Joined: Apr 11, 2007
    Posts: 1,437

    HOLLYWOOD GRAHAM
    Member
    from Ojai,Ca

    Doc, the combination of red with the blue changes the color of the illuminated light to be seen at a greater distance than just red. Red is the worse color to be seen at a distance that is why Navy ships use red lights at night so not to be seen from a distance but yet on board there is light. Many police cars use blue now and some have eliminated the red lights. In Ca. blue lights to the front or rear of a car are illegal for civilian cars.
     
  7. Just looked it up in the NY vehicle code, nothing comes right out and nixes it, but they go into great lengths to specify that they are meant to be on emergency vehicles only.
    http://www.safeny.ny.gov/emer-vt.htm#Top
     
  8. My Blue Dot story. Frist let me say that I haven't read this thread yet. So I probably shouldn't comment about it. I do remember when I started driving and seen these on a few old Hot Rods. I thought they were very cool. At the time they didn't make any reproductions, that I knew of at least. I would find them at the junkyard. I would buy the whole lens, take them home, and drill my old lens so I could add the blue dots. When the police went with all blue lights in Va. they became illegal,{ that's just my opinion}. My Hot Rods never were very legal. If I though they were safe, I would pay the fine, for the cool stuff. lol Ron...
     
    Nailhead Jason likes this.
  9. GeeRam
    Joined: Jun 9, 2007
    Posts: 557

    GeeRam
    Member

    Immortalised on vinyl.
    3rd verse from My Pink Cadillac by Sammy Masters from 1956. :)

    ........
    Well I signed my name on the dotted line
    And I shouted to the world that she's really mine
    Picked up my sweetie just to take her for a flight
    And to show the other cats my blue tail lights
    Oh-oh-oh-me, take a look at that pink Cadillac
    ........
     
    C. John Stutzer likes this.
  10. As for the history of Blue Dots, the pics that Highlander posted of the Packard and Cadillac with blue dots goes with the story I read in Collectible Automobile magazine a few yrs ago.........high end luxury cars like Packard, Cadillac & Duesenberg had them as a factory installation and the aftermarket industry like Lynx Eye made them available to suit lesser makes & models........eventually like my Plymouth.......at least that's what I have read...............andyd
     
    C. John Stutzer likes this.
  11. slack
    Joined: Aug 18, 2014
    Posts: 543

    slack
    Member

    A guy I went to high school with (King Dork) had em hanging on the bottom of his axle midway between the chunk and the backing plate. The car was bright yellow and had the ass end jacked up with shackles :rolleyes:. Looked goofy to me but whatever. I'm normally a "live and let live" kinda guy but this guy was a real drama queen, loud and spastic as hell. The first day of our senior year, before school started, he comes in from the parking lot cussin, yellin and goin on. He hollered "somebody broke my axle lights and if I find out who did it, I'll kill him!" And proceeded to punch a locker :rolleyes:. My little brother (first day of his freshman year) rounded the corner and I called him over. I whispered; "go down there and tell that guy you broke his axle lights." So he walked to the end of the hall and I couldn't hear but I could see. Little bro tells him something and he grabbed my brother by the collar with both hands and slammed him against the lockers. It all went down hill from there for the king. Little brother uppercut and one punched him (which is what I figured.) So there he lay. Why? I don't know, he was conscious. I guess he was tryin to maximize the drama. Stayed there until the first bell.o_O It's a sad testament but I really got a kick out of that :D
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2016
    C. John Stutzer likes this.
  12. "Blue is the new Orange".
    (mic drop)

    Yes you can quote me.
     
  13. seb fontana
    Joined: Sep 1, 2005
    Posts: 8,444

    seb fontana
    Member
    from ct

    Another slow day...
     
    Cosmo49 likes this.
  14. 58 Yeoman
    Joined: Aug 7, 2009
    Posts: 482

    58 Yeoman
    Member
    from Lacon, IL

    I've run them in my 58 Chevy since the early 90's and have never been stopped or questioned.
     
  15. Smoe
    Joined: Oct 5, 2021
    Posts: 1

    Smoe

    I realize this discussion is 5 years old. My name is Joe aka Smoe and I'm new to the forum. I found this thread trying to research some history on Not the "Blue Dot" but the "Amber Dot" I grew up in Southern Arizona during the 70's and remember every slick hot rod or lowrider had blue dots. I eventially drove and of course, put blue dots on my car. I remember Hot Rod shops (Dons Hot Rod) and Lowrider Shops (Rey & Sons) had glass blue dots and glass amber dots for sale. I remember only seen a few cars with the amber dots.

    Fast forward to today. Blue dots were illegal in Arizona then and still are. Its hit or miss if you get pulled over. I recently sourced some genuine Glass Amber Dots from Ollies Hot Rod & Chop Shop in Lancaster Ohio. I installed them on my Harley Davidson. They look awesome and according to Arizona law, legal.

    My question is; Anyone have some history on the glass amber dots? Who used them? Personal experiences with them? Anything? I know this just adds to the Blue Dot mysteries. Any help would be appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Smoe
     
  16. hemihotrod66
    Joined: May 5, 2019
    Posts: 968

    hemihotrod66
    Member

    Blue dots are probably frowned on due to emergency vehicles using red and blue lights....
     
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  17. Elcohaulic
    Joined: Dec 27, 2017
    Posts: 2,212

    Elcohaulic

    They were for medial people so they wouldn't get pulled over if going fast to get the the emergency room or some other place doctors and nurses would be needed..
     
    loudbang likes this.
  18. Doublepumper
    Joined: Jun 26, 2016
    Posts: 1,535

    Doublepumper
    Member
    from WA-OR, USA

    Sorry, I'm no help. I'm curious about them also.
    1937-hudson-8-9.JPG
     
  19. Never seen the amber dots. The blue dots have been on my 33 pickup longer than I have been alive. Never been haggled by the police here with them here in Oregon. I will agree the glass blue dot is the only one that works, they are really bright when the lights are on. Had some with the plastic dot and all it really did was cover up alot of light. I will say the use of them around here has dwindled, was really popular when I was a kid riding around with my grandpa to shows in the 90s.

    24353918168_2ffc5eac52_k.jpg
     
    Elcohaulic and VANDENPLAS like this.
  20. Sporty45
    Joined: Jun 1, 2015
    Posts: 1,168

    Sporty45
    Member


    What a dickhead :rolleyes:
     
  21. Someone decided that if people will buy blue dots as a gimmick, why not make some in amber. Enough people like trinkets.
     
  22. I'm not a follower of fads or trends. I run black dots. :rolleyes:

    But, all seriousness aside, there had to be someone, some car builder company, that first put a red taillight on the back end of a vehicle. And the vast, unwashed public saw that and said, "That cool! I want a red taillight, too". Then some other automotive genius came up with the 'stop light' concept and perhaps it was his smarter cousin who thought. "Why not make the stoplight part of the red taillight?" And the masses, once exposed to it, pronounced it "good". Then there was this one nameless guy in Toledo who had a pair of 7/8" blue reflectors from a bicycle laying around, yada-yada, and during his next night-time cruise, 50 smurfs saw the blue dots and 16 of them said, "I want some of that". 4 of them actually added blue dots and many hundreds of others saw the blue dots and became infected. This became a tidal wave that spread across all state lines faster than Covid 19. (Which hadn't been invented yet.)
    But fortunately, scientists developed a vaccine and also many of us have herd immunity....... but not everybody.
    I'm glad I could help clear this up. :p
     
  23. clem
    Joined: Dec 20, 2006
    Posts: 4,190

    clem
    Member

    @The Shift Wizard , - thank you for clarifying this for us all.
    You may even put this 12 year old thread to rest ………..:)
     
  24. BamaMav
    Joined: Jun 19, 2011
    Posts: 6,713

    BamaMav
    Member
    from Berry, AL

    Stupid question from someone who has never used them—-

    How do you drill a glass tail light lens? Looks like it would shatter all to pieces. Hell, I broke one of the lens on my car just by slapping it with my open hand. Looks like a drill would break it unless it was something like a diamond bit.....
     
  25. 3quarter32
    Joined: Dec 10, 2010
    Posts: 498

    3quarter32
    Member

    I used duct tape with the correct size hole cut in it and an old Sears small portable sand blaster. Nuttin to it.
     
    WalkerMD likes this.
  26. 3quarter32
    Joined: Dec 10, 2010
    Posts: 498

    3quarter32
    Member

    Had blue dots in 41 chevy tail light on my 33 coupe. Got pulled over for having them. Officer was going to write me a ticket for them. I asked if I could change them before he wrote the ticket would he let me off. He said "sure".
    Reached under the seat, grabbed the stock 41 lenses, and he said " okay, get them changed and drove off. This was in 1976. Oh ya, I did change them for the rest of the day. Put them back the following day. Never had another problem.
     
  27. Fitnessguy
    Joined: Sep 28, 2015
    Posts: 2,020

    Fitnessguy
    Member

    Blue dots are the best!!
    IMG_6673.jpg
     
  28. Cosmo49
    Joined: Jan 15, 2007
    Posts: 1,552

    Cosmo49
    Member

    If it doesn't make the vehicle go faster, safer, or more efficiently it's just fuzzy dice. I would bet the op sports fuzzy dice.
     
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  29. Callmaker
    Joined: Feb 17, 2020
    Posts: 170

    Callmaker
    Member

    DSCN5078 - Copy.JPG *
    Grandpa put these in around 1964...
     
    loudbang likes this.
  30. 5window
    Joined: Jan 29, 2005
    Posts: 9,517

    5window
    Member

    So on your cars, no paint other than basic black, no wheel upgrades. no chrome, no radio? Pretty much everyone who owns a HAMB car has done something to personalize it. And, for a car of the correct style and era, I LIKE fuzzy dice.
     

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