Arrow alternative

(Sorry about the blue letters and the "supposed" link, I composed this in Word and then cut and paste,  this is what came out. If you click on the highlighted words, they go nowhere, I just don't understand these things sometimes.)

I thought that NACO taillights were hard to find until I tried to find Arrow lights for the trailer. Not being lucky enough to have one still on the trailer when I got it, and not wealthy enough to buy the few that show up on Epay, I started looking for alternatives.  The Arrow looked very similar to Model A taillights so I wanted to see if they could be adapted to fit.

Some of the differences are that the Model A taillight is about 3/4” shorter than the Arrow, and they have 2 sockets that protrude from the rear as opposed to a single hole with wires coming out.
The Model A lights originally mounted on a stalk that was bolted to the car, this “stalk” covered the 2 sockets and the wiring. First thing I did was to paint the them, I was only able to get these in polished stainless steel so I scuffed the metal, used an acid primer and painted them black.

I also removed the mounting screws and put longer screws from the inside out so that I could mount them with nuts like the Arrow.

Next up was making an adapter to account for the protruding sockets, originally I made a simple spacer.
I didn’t like the look so I changed the design to one that enclosed the sockets and wires.
They also clean up the look

Finally here’s what they look like completed, wired, and ready to mount.

And then mounted (I’ll cut the studs to length once the trailer is painted and the final assembly takes place) I think they look pretty good (not as good as originals though)

Edited by bkreutz - 13 Feb. 2009 at 11:11pm

Gale,

I was a modifier before a restorer, If I was going for the mod look I'd probably have frenched in some sequential T-Bird taillights. Now that would get some looks. 

Gale,

Art,
Still working on the harness, I'll do up a thread as soon as I'm satisfied with the design and measurements. I've got pics and preliminary drawings. The only part of the harness I've actually made to this point are the pigtails at the lights. (the repop Model A lights came with modern wires).

I used what I had, Hard maple in this case.

Got the wiring on the Bantam finished today, like I said before I'm using the WWII military trailer socket and plug (it's a 4 wire and I needed to wire in the turn signals) I made up the harness from cloth covered wire I bought from Walck's so it would match the wiring on the 2A. Eventually I'll figure out a way to post the wiring diagram and various lengths if anyone is interested, but here's some pics of the project so far.

Front view, plug back along left drawbar.

Harness as it passes through the 2nd crossmember. (the grommets are available at Ace Hardware)

This is where the main harness connects to the taillight harnesses, this is between the 2nd and 3rd frame crossmembers (just ignore my 1x1 extra floor supports)

Next 2 pics are the routing of the harnesses from each taillight forward.



And finally a view from the rear.

Now I start hanging springs

Mike,
Don't remember where I got the lights. I "googled" Model A taillights and up popped more sites than I can count. Just started looking through until I found a model and price that I liked. I did cut the hole for the right side, and made a bracket that mimicked the other side.