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3rd Brake Light: Round Two!


roadhog0

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As many of you know, I like to preserve my car cause I'm a lot better mechanic than body man!  :rolleyes:  So I did the strip light 3rd brake light a few years ago and was only mildly happy with it. It was large and mounted up HIGH so the soccer mom in the Excursion could possibly see it, not low and small like many of the ones I see posted on here. But the issue was it was never really "HEY I'm stopping here," bright. It was also pointed downwards the way that I had it mounted (taped to the window gasket), so it worked better at night than during the day when I do most of my driving.

 

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So early this year I got back on our best friend for cheap parts, flebay. and started looking around for what I could get for a fair price that would possibly fit in these cars and I came across a few different things. One of them was another strip light similar to the one I removed but with newer and brighter LED's and the other option I liked was this 80 LED bar. I went for the second option because it was capable of being aimed and was almost as big as the one I was removing but had more LED's than the other options.

 

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So it showed up in the mail today and I quickly got to unwrapping it an installing it in the car. I also found out that it was a good thing I removed the one I installed a few years earlier because the urethane like coating on it had dried up and was cracking and the whole thing was falling apart.

 

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The only issue I ran into when installing this part was the fact that the windows in these cars are curved and this piece is setup for a straight flat mounting. So I had to be a little creative and stack double stick tape, but not an issue in the end. I also should of flipped the brackets now that I look at it... But hindsight.

 

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And for how it looks behind when it's on! Yes, I know it was darker out when I took the second pic. Tomorrow is suppose to be bright and sunny and I will take the car out and get a good picture of it. Also, a second pic from a drivers point of view (my lifted chevy)

 

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So to conclude I am not totally in love with this light either, it's a little more prominent than I like but brighter than the old one. I'm more than willing to trade some form for functionality though. So in the end I see it as a win!

 

This is the light I purchased for reference: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231377005808?item=231377005808&viewitem=&vxp=mtr

-Nathan
'76 2002 in Malaga (110k Original, 2nd Owner, sat for 20 years and now a toy)
'86 Chevy K20 (6.2 Turbo Diesel build) & '46 Chevy 2 Ton Dump Truck
'74 Suzuki TS185, '68 BSA A65 Lightning (garage find), '74 BMW R90S US Spec #2

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I really like the new look even if it does hang down like that, of course this is just one mans opinion. I have a rear fog light that I want to use as a third brake light, only problem is I have the extendo diving board bumper like you so it would just look weird being mounted so far away from the body...  then if I go with early bumpers I risk what you are afraid of and have a big suv take me out..damn decisions..

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If you do it right you should be able to install that fog light. But in the end I would just put a 3rd light in the window and call it good. Im also personally not a large fan of the rear fog lights, but again just one mans opinion.

 

As promised here is a picture of this bad boy in the day light! Still very bright and noticeable! I also flipped the brackets around so that the light is tucked up higher which I like more. I did have to modify one of the brackets by cutting a spot in it for the wire, but other than that I think flipping it over was a good idea!

 

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-Nathan
'76 2002 in Malaga (110k Original, 2nd Owner, sat for 20 years and now a toy)
'86 Chevy K20 (6.2 Turbo Diesel build) & '46 Chevy 2 Ton Dump Truck
'74 Suzuki TS185, '68 BSA A65 Lightning (garage find), '74 BMW R90S US Spec #2

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Nathan--

Is the light bar at all flexible--i.e. can it be slightly bent to conform to the curve at the very top of the glass, so it's flush against the rubber backlight gasket?  You could then stick it directly to the gasket with strips of double face tape and eliminate the brackets altogether.

 

mike

'69 Nevada sunroof-Wolfgang-bought new
'73 Sahara sunroof-Ludwig-since '78
'91 Brillantrot 318is sunroof-Georg Friederich 
Fiat Topolini (Benito & Luigi), Renault 4CVs (Anatole, Lucky Pierre, Brigette) & Kermit, the Bugeye Sprite

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Nathan--

Is the light bar at all flexible--i.e. can it be slightly bent to conform to the curve at the very top of the glass, so it's flush against the rubber backlight gasket?  You could then stick it directly to the gasket with strips of double face tape and eliminate the brackets altogether.

 

mike

 

Nope, unlike the old LED strip light I took out this thing is very rigid so there's no way of flexing it, that would of made for a lot simpler install! Part of me is tempted to design some kinda clip for these and 3d print them out so that they mount a little better in the car. but that would take some time... So until then I rock layered double stick tape which is working this far.

-Nathan
'76 2002 in Malaga (110k Original, 2nd Owner, sat for 20 years and now a toy)
'86 Chevy K20 (6.2 Turbo Diesel build) & '46 Chevy 2 Ton Dump Truck
'74 Suzuki TS185, '68 BSA A65 Lightning (garage find), '74 BMW R90S US Spec #2

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Nathan - it looks like we have the same LED light strip although I opted for a shorter one. I attached a stiff plastic tab to each mounting point, then tucked the tabs under the window gasket. This made the light sit higher and less noticeable when not on (my preference). While the photo isn't the best, the LED shows well in daylight.

 

John

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1974 Verona 2002 tii

1974 Polaris 2002 tii (deceased)

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Yup! Same one but mine is wider. Interesting, I was thinking there had to be a way to attach it to the gasket. If the window doesnt work I will try that. Thanks for the idea!!

-Nathan
'76 2002 in Malaga (110k Original, 2nd Owner, sat for 20 years and now a toy)
'86 Chevy K20 (6.2 Turbo Diesel build) & '46 Chevy 2 Ton Dump Truck
'74 Suzuki TS185, '68 BSA A65 Lightning (garage find), '74 BMW R90S US Spec #2

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While mine wasn't as long as yours originally, I did cut it down in width. Inside the LEDs are in groups of fives (or sixes? Can't remember). Cut out a couple of segments, re-soldered the leads and voila. 

1974 Verona 2002 tii

1974 Polaris 2002 tii (deceased)

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