rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

[philcoyle]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

Morgan Motor Company, Pickersleigh Road, Malvern Link, Worcestershire, WR14 2LL
01684 573104 ask for stores
The plinths are black plastic and also you need the rubber gasket that goes with them.

https://www.morgan-motor.co.uk

The cheeseburger lights when fitted on commercial vehicles have a moulding on the back of them which could be attached to a bracket of sorts.

[Patrick]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

I used these:





I asked the SVA man about the angle and he said 'no problem' and passed it. I have however since then added a 3rd brake light in the middle as I felt the brakes where not visible enough. I believe I got these lights at cbsonline - or it may have been www.s-v-c.co.uk

[Sportster-Green]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

i do not want to argue...but in terms of visibility (as you have confirmed yoursevles with installing a 3rd brake light) the SVA tester, if he goes strict by his rules, should not pass those lights, nor any other light cluster which is supposed to be fitted upright and not inclined like in our marlins. anyway...the IVAmanual is not 100% clear about angles...it says "squarely to the rear"

skim reading certain kitcar forums you will always find a big discussion about the angles of the tail lights....

but, if the angle wouldnt matter, why westfield and caterham have those trailer lights fitted on a inclined base? which makes them definately "squarely to the rear" .

as said..for certain legal reasons i m not allowed to use modern style(LED) lamps.

@patrick: a nice car!!!!

[jon_cox]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

Hi Axel
The trailer style lights were mounted vertically due to the integrated reflector. This is still the case for IVA / SVA that the reflectors are mounted vertically as you will see from the above pictures. Using light fittings that do not have integrated reflectors enables a more inventive mounting angle and as long as they meet all the visibility angles and extreme positioning as laid out in the IVA manual then there is no problem. It might be worth contacting the lights manufacturer / supplier and asking if there is any recommendations on angle mounting.

[Sportster-Green]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

the mentioned LED lights, similar dimension than the hamburger style ones, are also supposed to be fitted vertically.

so any inclination will naturllay reduce the visibility, which might be less critical with those LED ones, but still in-correct....correctly fitted here:

http://thumbsnap.com/s/N1NLTbHr.jpg

even certain owners have passed SVA/IVA wit such lamps mounted inclined..."officially" they would be a fail.

the more critical thing is that other motorists might see your car too late, when driving at nights on a motorway.

thats why i started the thread, as i had some "interesting" moments, mainly on motorways, (day: brake and indicator, nights: light) during my recent trip across europe.

[danny_nelson]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

I am at a loss to understand what is more (official) than a current IVA test ? in this country of course.

[jon_cox]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

Hi Axel,

I can tell that you are determined to change them as at the moment you do not feel safe driving with them as they are.
If you do not feel that you have the skill to manufacture some form of plinth to mount your existing or even an alternative style on, and you do not have access to someone who could do so even at a reasonable cost then may I suggest a look at motorcycle / Quad bike lights. These are normally designed for flexible mounting.
Take a look at these.....

http://www.bikermart.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=255-880

[Patrick]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

@patrick: a nice car!!!!

Thanks Many more pics on my build log here: http://www.msportster.co.uk/

[Sportster-Green]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

@jon...those quad lights look not too bad...but the description says "rear light and indicator"...nothing about brake-lights....

@danny " am at a loss to understand what is more (official) than a current IVA test ? in this country of course."

the IVA test is done by persons....the "official" thing is the IVA manual.....if the testers let things pass, which should not pass....thats a different matter.


we all shouldnt deny the facts that a light cluster which was desinged to be fitted vertical has a poor light emission if fitted inclined.
if testers, which should be responsible for road safety, let such things pass does not make things automatically legal.

even my tester passed those lights, but saying "those lights need to be fitted vertical to be legal"..".if i would fail you, you will be back in 2 hours with something legal, which you keep fitted to the car until back home in your garage...."

you know what i mean: its officially a fail...but the "official" person let me pass.

in the meanwhile...after some really bad and dangerous expiriences i realized myselves that those lights are wrong.

i have received some of those old-fashioned lucas ones, which i mentioned above. they will be fitted in the next months during winter time. car is on sorn at the moment.

[Happy_Dave]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

This is an interesting selection of posts that has stimulated some interesting and useful debate and motivated me out of my usual reclusive observation of the forum...

Sportster Green or Axel (I believe) if I may, raises many applicable comments with regard the disparate interpretation of the uk iva (or any assessment regime) and what is deemed 'acceptable' in the eyes of assessors and mot personnel in the application of such rules or future interpretation given their knowledge of what can or will likely happen after the 'event' or perhaps what is 'reasonable' given an applicant's clear understanding, dedication and appreciation of safety and their demonstrable capability in other areas of the vehicle's assembly/maintenance/restoration (this being applicable to myself in many an mot and potentially others on this forum with their dedicated attention to build quality (see build diaries for some such examples)).

Clearly this is the very interpretation that leads to equal vehicles being passed at one assessment location and failed at others as is often the topic of discussion in kit car magazines/forums.

Whilst acknowledging the aforementioned points one should of course be mindful that if an official of such a regulatory body deems a vehicle to be in accordance with said regulations then frankly a pass is a pass and thank you very much. However... That aside personal preference with regard safety in real world situations is at the end of the day what is paramount in a driver's continued existence and enjoyment of their hard earned kit car so any improvement above and beyond that which 'passes' the legislative requirements of a country can only be a good thing; although one must always be mindful of going beyond what is reasonably required to ensure one's own roadworthiness.

Finally notwithstanding all before, I fully advocate the modification of vehicles to suit an individual's requirements or tastes.

# On a personal note, Danny re donnington, damn it it's just not legal ;-) - personal joke, you had to be there #

[jon_cox]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

Hi Axel,

The company that supplies / imports these is actually German and based in Hamburg. Take a look at their website http://www.shin-yo.de/
They have some other options on their which are very similar to your current lamps and say they are certified for use with cars. I would suggest you pick up the phone to these guys and ask lots of questions about mounting lights according to the German law and for your safety concerns.
Hope this helps.
Jon.

[Sportster-Green]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

a quad, up to 15kW power needs, by EU law, only 1 rear light and 1 brakelight.

i guess, the mentioned lamps are an upgrade and the single brake light remains untouched in the centre?

[jon_cox]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

Hi,

I have spoken to the company on your behalf. These light fittings (and all of their light fittings) support both functions of STOP and TAIL. More importantly. these units have NO license plate illumination function making them ideal for use on a car.

I feel I have done all I can to help you in this matter and the decision is now yours to take.
Hope this helps.
Jon

[Sportster-Green]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

meanwhile i have fitted some different rear lights from a farm tractor....looked ok on the pics when ordered, but look not right after fitting.

now i came across some www pictures of some marlin cars (mainly roadsters, but also sporsters) which look like they came from the factory with rear wings with posts for some trailer lights:

i mean this:

Marlin_Sportster_2012_07_1.jpg

[stevejgreen]

Re: rear lights, possibilities, alternatives

Remarkably close to Rubbolite 88's