Thread: Everybody that is currently building a car...

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That's the point Mike. The convertor we are mentioning is made for cars like the ricers, that have no brake wire going into the turn signal switch.

This convertor is used when you have a vehicle that has the seperate light for turn signals, and the trailer has the one bulb system. It makes the two talk to each other. So if you just extend that thinking, nothing would keep you from putting, lets say, '39 Ford taillites on your rod, and putting this convertor between your existing wiring harness to bring it down to the old style configuration.

I might be missing something in what you are trying to point out, though.

Don

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

That's the point Mike. The convertor we are mentioning is made for cars like the ricers, that have no brake wire going into the turn signal switch.

This convertor is used when you have a vehicle that has the seperate light for turn signals, and the trailer has the one bulb system. It makes the two talk to each other. So if you just extend that thinking, nothing would keep you from putting, lets say, '39 Ford taillites on your rod, and putting this convertor between your existing wiring harness to bring it down to the old style configuration.

I might be missing something in what you are trying to point out, though.

Don

i installed a few of those yrs ago when they first came out with the 3 rd. lights. lets say he has 2 lights 4 bulbs on the rear of his car, but cant use the turn signal to cancel the brake lights, where would this go?

looks like that will work, but i'd go with 2 more lights, i like lights.

Originally Posted by DennyW

He could use the new LED bulbs, and he could add additional lights with no problem.

if he keeps the steering column he has, then it looks like he needs to use 2 lights (4bulbs) and the convertor, or 4 lights 6 bulbs and no convertor, or am i missing something else?

I don't know what circuitry is involved inside the convertor, but here is my thinking: Lets say you had this Camaro, and you wanted to tow a trailer with it. You can't simply do the usual pigtail harness because the car has turnsignal lights that are seperate from the brake lights. If you tried to wire to that system you would not be able to get the trailer lights to work properly.

So you put this convertor in the rear portion of the car and tap into the turnsignal circuit of the Camaro, and the convertor creates the signal you need to operate the single bulb trailer lights.

Now, to take that to the application we have here, lets eliminate the trailer altogether, and mount those trailer lights on Don's hot rod. (Don won't be real happy about the look of this, but this is hypothetical, only ) If you mounted those lights on the rear of the rod they would operate just like they would on the trailer. So, any single bulb taillight Don chooses to use will work the same way.

The convertor doesn't care if there is a Camaro turnsignal light there to tap into, it just needs the wires that would normally run to that light.

I could be wrong, but I think this is do-able.


Don

Just as one more piece of the puzzle, my Kid just came home and I asked him about this. His day job is wiring radars, gps, etc onto boats, so he is more familiar with wiring than me.

He agreed that it should work, and had a similar setup on his cal-look VW, but he bought his at a rod shop. He didn't know about these trailer convertors back years ago when he built the bug, so he bought the higher dollar version at the local speed shop. It is probably the same unit the trailer guys are using, repackaged to make it seem more sophisticated and hot-roddy.

Don, I'd say invest the $12.00 or so and try it. All that you would be out is approx the cost on a 12 pack, and it might work. Just don't get any fancy ideas about using those trailer lights on the back of your rod, though.

Don

Itoldyouso, Mike and DennyW, thanks! You guys are great. Actually I spent several hard hours this afternoon beefing up the rear bumper brackets. I apologize to overweight females, it looks like when I get the bumper attached mainly to the frame with a double bracket it should handle up to 300 pounds on the rumble step plate and I am 220 myself. After crawling around on the floor and putting the arm on the 3/8" drill for several hours I just had to take it easy. On the one hand I am getting needed exercis this way, but at the same time I'm not 18 anymore. I was looking at the tail lights sitting in the box on the floor trying to visualize how to add some small lights. One option might be to add the little Mr. Roadster lights in the crease between the quarter panel and the top of the rear fender? I would not have known about the later circuit except for Mike's research, thanks again. DennyW, thanks for the picture, the $12 item looks like an inxpensive way to do the rear lights if I can find a good place to mount them. As far as this thread for a "Brickman Report" I note that stock Model A bumper brackets can be used on a Brookville frame but they have to be shortened by 9" and then I found the 9" pieces can be used to form a second bracket directly to the frame from underneath. Using high grade bolts to mock up the fit I should be able to weld this modified bracket together to handle the case of an adult stepping on the rear step plate without ripping the bottom of the body out due to the attachment of the bracket standoffs. Just trivial grunt work but it has to be done.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

thats one time a diagram came in handy. i would have sure thought the brake lights would have went through the turn signal switch.

Don, your post begs the question: Is a 250 pound woman heavier than a 250 pound man? Is a slim 250 lighter than a thick 250? Bogles the mind!!

Then again, which of these would you rather have riding in your car?

love redheads, green eyes, big smiles... .....
but not gonna touch that question.

Bob, I am already on the edge of propriety, but I have enough esthetic sense to pick the gal on the left based mainly on streamlining! I based my original comment on a number of pictures of roadsters on the Car Nut site which show large ladies in the rumble seat, but then realized my 220 pounds is also a pretty good test. Then I sort of realized that probably 300 pounds is a self limiting case since the lady involved would first have to step up into the seat (without scratching my paint!) and then fit into the rather small opening and then get comfy on a 1" foam pad over a stainless steel gas tank, so I guess all I have to do is pass my own weight test since I am unlikely to attract any large ladies to the rumble seat, but still I want that second brace for strength in the bumper for the 5 mph crash test. Alas, my main problem is to attract my wife into the front seat which is pretty small as well! I thought it would be neat to have the Gennie shifter and tall handbrake to make the cockpit look like an original Model A, but for other readers who may consider a '27 or '29 roadster, I now realize I should have used one of those flat Vega parking brake setups. Basically the problem is that we older guys who are operating on 50 year old memories need to realize and respect the ladies in our lives who raised our kids, cooked and made homes for us and understand that they may need more comfort at their age than our teen age memories may include!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I'm gonna pick the red head on the left, because I know all you guys will pick the other one, and I don't want her to feel left out, or get a complex, or something.

Gee, I am such a nice guy, making sacrifices like this.

Don

Back to business, I am reading the Speedway catalog more carefully in the section on lights and there are some neat 5/16" diameter LED lights that are availabe in amber. There is also an insert for H4 headlamps that allows an amber/yellow LED inside the headlight for a front turn signal, but I already bought their stainless headlight buckets with halogen sealed beams. Anyway this Forum has given me some good leads and I will figure it out somehow while I am still messing around with the rear bumper. I need to check with the Va-DMV to find out if there is a size requirement for the turn signals that would rule out the bright LEDs. Then again there are those running lights they use on trucks. I think the front turn signals can be mounted easily down on the fiberglass covers on the frame horns, BUT with a front bumper the lights may be hidden behind the bumper so I need something higher up on the fenders. After the Holiday I will try to find out from Mr. Roadster how to attach the little lights under the headlight buckets below the bar. How about that Indy 500 finish! That was one of the best I have seen, second maybe to the race won by Sullivan after spinning a full 360 on the track, hitting nothing and going on to win. When was that, time flies! How come Brickman said nothing about the pretty girl? Are we corrupting his thread? Anyway what is Brickman using for turn signals?

Don Shillady
REtired Scientist/teen rodder

Mounted & wired electric fan, made a custom rad support,got radiator ready to mount,took to a local shop to fix a leak & they found 4 more & cant save it so I gotta get a new one....

Bob
97 LSC
67 Caliente (work in progress)

Just got back from the Mid-America nationals and was that really fun! I loved being surrounded by street rods! It doesn't get any better! I found out my front end is out of balance and my carb is acting up. I have different tires to put on and bought a new holley 600 carb, running like a top now NTFDay, it is finally truely a joy to drive. New blue dot taillights, valve covers bolts(no more twist down leakers), and fan shroud. It did excellent except in heavy traffic she got up to around 210 so a shroud should take care of that. Slowly getting the bugs worked out.