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Uk law on lights

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 14 11:04 pm
by autofetish
i have some questions regarding what lights are legal ect ect

i have looked for sourses from the internet but apart for the road traffic act which is 1000s of pages long.


does anyone have a good source of the law infomation regarding a 1968 car.

Q. do i have to have revers lights.
Q.do i have to retro fit orange rear indicators or can my brake lights flash usa style
Q. i take it i have to turn my side marker into orange indicators
Q. turn my front indicator into orange


Would like to be as legal as possible :roll:

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 14 11:11 pm
by Mossy68
First. Let that girl out your glove box ! :shock:

Grey area Will that I'm sure some one will make clearer.
Definitely don't need reversing lights.
As for turn signals. As far as I'm aware. I think it boiled down to they should be the correct colour as the vehicle was built. But as I said a very grey area still as I'm aware.
I run amber indicators and side markers. ( the red rear markers are disconnected )
:thumbright:

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 14 11:13 pm
by Pete
Any car after September 1965 must have orange indicators to the rear, so that has shot your fox if you want to be legal AND stock.

At least a '68 is easy due to the reversing lights, though I imagine they are too small....and it is not compulsory to have reversing lights.

Not sure about a FOG light though.
This is probably age-related but is a must have addition on later imports for SVA..............

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 14 11:21 pm
by charger01
Stick orange bulbs in your reversing lights & use them as indicators. Thats what I did . Last thing you want is someone not familiar with American spec lights flashing & braking getting cofused & ending up rear ending your 68.

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 14 11:28 pm
by Pete
You will have to run a dedicated brake light wire to the rear to make this work :thumbright: :thumbright:

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 14 11:34 pm
by GJUK
red flashers look cooler :D

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 14 6:44 am
by cadboy
Don't talk to me about lights.

I had the same questions last year when I was trying to get my first MOT for the Barracuda.

Pete is right indicators have to be AMBER after 65/66.

No need for side repeater if the car did not have one when manufactured.

I tried to keep my reverse light, but after many problems during sunny days (LED could not be seen through milky 68 lens) had to change back and convert the reverse to AMBER indicators; failure till I find a very bright LED, or clear lens for my Barracuda.

Good luck

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 14 8:00 am
by latil
Fog light I think is 1980 onwards. Remember all lights fitted,whether compulsory or not must be working for MoT.

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 14 8:51 am
by Dave-R
Yeah I think fog lights were from about 1984.

Basically you just need the rear turn signals and front whits side lights I think.

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 14 1:21 pm
by Dave81
charger01 wrote:Stick orange bulbs in your reversing lights & use them as indicators. Thats what I did . Last thing you want is someone not familiar with American spec lights flashing & braking getting cofused & ending up rear ending your 68.
Exactly what has been done to my Dart.

Have no reversing light as the above mod, and the car has passed through the MOT station a few times without mention.....So not required! :thumbright:

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 14 1:52 pm
by Dave999
orange pearlecent paint works well on indicator bulbs

they never get hot enough to burn it

bulb and lens paint in french headlight yellow doesn't work at all its rubbish

Orange LED strip stuck to the lens on an indicator with a white bulb also works... tinges it enough from a distance to look ok


like "blue dots in a red lights makes the light purple" type situation, looks well cool but is of course illegal


the GELLS from theatre and nightclub lights also work well cut to size and stick in lamp. its what they are designed for, and a flood light runs way hotter than your indicator, so should last


i only painted my front bulbs cos i needed an MOT from a man who was not my usual MOT man....rear was already ornage for reverse (wrong) and indciator (correct)

Dave

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 14 7:05 pm
by MilesnMiles
I posted a thread on how to convert the rear reverse lights to indicators
Should have been a sticky, but just search it and you'll see what is required. For the front I left my orange marker lamps as I'm
Noida tots and created two subtle side lamps hidden in the grill to show white light.
I spent some time on construction and uses regs. Front side/marker lamps have to be symmetrical and a minimum of 1" square.
I fitted 2" x 1" as I didn't want to delve into changing headlamps to include sides etc...

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 14 1:46 am
by Rebel
My reversing lights have been replaced with orange bulbs and wired up as indicators, I have no fog lamp as it doesn't need one, all my side markers are still original colours and still used as side markers.

You don't need side repeaters and you also don't need hazard lights, they didn't become a requirement until the early '70's

:thumbright:

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 14 8:58 am
by terryr
All original on my 64s.but did hear a whisper they are even trying to outlaw it

extract from MOT manual

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 14 5:39 pm
by aussie pete
Vehicles first used before 1 September 1965 may have direction indicators incorporated with stop lamps, or combined with side or rear lamps, in which case front indicators may be white and rear indicators red.