The Ford Barn

jcheshire31 · 05-03-2012, 08:36 PM

Met a guy today who would like to get his car ready for touring season. Mainly he wanted it to be safe so he ordered a set of LED tailights but he has the drum style housing so they did not fit. Anybody know of a vendor who sells LED tailights for drum tailights or a way to modify them to work? He'd rather not switch to teacup style because he has an AR with many original AR parts.

2manycars · 05-04-2012, 06:03 AM

I bought a kit for drum taillights a few years ago, and it fit very poorly, and sent it back. don't know if they are still available. I mounted a pair of rectangle trailer lights under the body, so they are not obnoxiously visible, until they are lit, and wired them for tail, stop, and turn, and left the original drum light for tail only. It works good, but I am considering replacing them with LED trailer lights.

Tom Wesenberg · 05-04-2012, 07:11 AM

Be sure the interior of the drum taillight is painted silver, just as it was from the factory, to better reflect the light rearward. My 28 with an original bulb seems to have very good light, and when I look back I can see the road well lit from the light coming through the license glass.

Rich in Tucson · 05-04-2012, 02:08 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Brattons distributes them however the lamp housing will require modification of the internal horizontal metal separator for a wire connection between the two circuit boards.

You can cut a notch with a Dremel tool and use a rubber through-panel bushing to protect that wire.

I used thin, narrow Mylar tape and high density foam material (rather than the suggested "crumpled newspaper" - I try to avoid the First Depression-era fixes when possible) to space the circuit boards and it took a lot of fussing to locate them properly. The circuit boards use surface mount components however if you ground any metal to them POOF! and they are gone. The whole getup is rather fragile so be careful when installing them. Also had to manually align some of the LEDs on the boards.

The wires are too short and poorly connected to the bulb-bases which are a loose fit in the sockets and those issues may need addressing.

No need to spray anything with silver paint because the light is emitted rearward in such a narrow angle that there is no forward emission to reflect.

You will not be able to satisfactorily use the stenciled "Stop" plate that is in some drums, it blocks too many of the LEDs.

Happy with them once I got them in but if they do not last 10+ years or forever, which ever comes first, I will not be!

05-03-2012, 08:36 PM	#1
jcheshire31 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 109	Drum LED Tailights. Met a guy today who would like to get his car ready for touring season. Mainly he wanted it to be safe so he ordered a set of LED tailights but he has the drum style housing so they did not fit. Anybody know of a vendor who sells LED tailights for drum tailights or a way to modify them to work? He'd rather not switch to teacup style because he has an AR with many original AR parts.

05-04-2012, 06:03 AM	#2
2manycars Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Eastern CT Posts: 2,732	Re: Drum LED Tailights. I bought a kit for drum taillights a few years ago, and it fit very poorly, and sent it back. don't know if they are still available. I mounted a pair of rectangle trailer lights under the body, so they are not obnoxiously visible, until they are lit, and wired them for tail, stop, and turn, and left the original drum light for tail only. It works good, but I am considering replacing them with LED trailer lights.

05-04-2012, 07:11 AM	#3
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: Drum LED Tailights. Be sure the interior of the drum taillight is painted silver, just as it was from the factory, to better reflect the light rearward. My 28 with an original bulb seems to have very good light, and when I look back I can see the road well lit from the light coming through the license glass.

05-04-2012, 02:08 PM	#4
Rich in Tucson Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Tucson, Arizona Posts: 374	Re: Drum LED Tailights. Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Brattons distributes them however the lamp housing will require modification of the internal horizontal metal separator for a wire connection between the two circuit boards. You can cut a notch with a Dremel tool and use a rubber through-panel bushing to protect that wire. I used thin, narrow Mylar tape and high density foam material (rather than the suggested "crumpled newspaper" - I try to avoid the First Depression-era fixes when possible) to space the circuit boards and it took a lot of fussing to locate them properly. The circuit boards use surface mount components however if you ground any metal to them POOF! and they are gone. The whole getup is rather fragile so be careful when installing them. Also had to manually align some of the LEDs on the boards. The wires are too short and poorly connected to the bulb-bases which are a loose fit in the sockets and those issues may need addressing. No need to spray anything with silver paint because the light is emitted rearward in such a narrow angle that there is no forward emission to reflect. You will not be able to satisfactorily use the stenciled "Stop" plate that is in some drums, it blocks too many of the LEDs. Happy with them once I got them in but if they do not last 10+ years or forever, which ever comes first, I will not be!