What are these lights on my '51???

[Deleted User]

OK,

I bought my first Hudson at the end of last year. Car stayed there until this week. When I bought the car there were outlets with no lenses on the body, just below the headlights and above the turn lens. I didn't think anything of it until I tried to find a picture of them and realized I don't think there factory. Fast forward to this week, I was jacking her up to put on road worthy tires and low and behold there was laying one of the lenses. So question #1 Are these factory (guessing not) and #2 Does anyone know what these are off of? They say STRATOLITE on the front and have a little 53 on the bottom. They are about 2 1/2 to 3" across. These were mounted on my '51 Hornet half way between headlight and turn light. Thanks for any help.

Park_W

They're definitely not factory items. Looks like aftermarket backup lights, but why would they have been mounted up front? That's a puzzle.

Walt-LA

You might see if they were installed for turn signals. My early Hornet did not come with turn signals, though most Hornets did. Wiring would tell if that was their intended use. As Park says, they look like after market back-up lights. Possibly they were used as fog lights? - though better lights and positions available. Not standard, that's for sure! Walt-LA

Unknown

Just a thought, if the Hudson was ever overseas the original lights would not pass the strict lighting requirements of European inspectors. Servicemen added lights to their American manufactured cars to meet the on all day and different color driving light requirements. In England the requirement used to be that the signal lamp be seen from the front and side and be amber or yellow. The 51 Hudson lamps did not meet the criteria. Some other countries required running lights in cities which were could not be the HEADLIGHTS. The lamps shown are definitely NOT Hudson in origin but look very much like the YANKEE manufactured backup lights on my car.



Interesting the bits and pieces of history we stumble on as we resurrect the old Hudsons.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the interesting replies. I didn't know that about the lighting requirements, guess you really do learn something new everyday. They do look like back up lights, but I am curious why they were there. Maybe previous owners son can shed some light.....

[Deleted User]

Here are rules posted on a military site concerning the lighting requirements for England

MOT Light Conversion All vehicles built after 1 April 1981 must have a fog light, mounted at the rear of the vehicle, centered to the right hand side of the vehicle. Also, the light control switch must light up when the fog light is on and must be seen from the driver's seat.

Parking lights must be white, not amber. The headlights in the UK are angled differently than in the States because of driving on the other side of the road. It is suggested that the re-aiming of your lights be done when you arrive in the UK.

All vehicles built after 1 April 1986 must have a side repeater. A side repeater is a separate turn signal in the fender that can be seen from the driver side door. In most cases this means drilling holes in the fender of approximately 3/4 inch. Wraparound lights may substitute for the side repeater in some models.

All rear turn signals must flash amber, and must not adversely affect any other light (brake light, parking light). Very few American vehicles meet the standards for light requirements in the UK. The price for a light conversion costs from $185 - $250, depending on the vehicle

Another resource is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting#Front_position_lamps_.28parking_lamps.29