Mounting Hella 127 fog lights

[dmeffert]

Hey everyone. I just bought an old pair of Hella 127 oval shaped fog lights for my '61 Bug. It was a total impulse buy and I didn't think about how I would mount them to the front of my car before I hit the buy it now button. I have towel bar bumpers on it. KTPhil suggested mounting them under the bumper, which sounds cool, but I wondered if anyone else has had these and if so how you mounted them. Pictures would be very helpful. Thanks!

[ToolBox]

[KTPhil]

So the trick in using those clamps would be to have the height be correct for under-the-bumper mounting, and also maybe machining of the flange where the lamp mounts so they can be used upside down.

I remember seeing someone who used that style of clamp to grab the bumper brackets, but he used what looked like a home-made "arm" instead of the one that comes with them. A few measurements and mockups with angle-iron or an easier to bend bar would let a good welder fab up the right arm in minutes.

The idea is to mount them low for good performance, but not so low you break them off on speed bumps! I fear the standard bracket above, even if flipped and ground flat, might hang them too low.

By the way, to flip the 127 lamps the lens and "hood" both can be flipped, so the look and pattern still are right when used upside down.

[dmeffert]

Thank you Toolbox and KTPhil. KTPhil, we discussed the below bumper mounting as well as clamps on the towel bar in my earlier post in the 58 to 67 section. When the lights arrive this weekend I'm going to check out both of those options, however, for the under bumper I will probably have to have someone fabricate a mount. I was hoping some other Samba members had these lights on their rides and would share pictures like you did of your '67.

[KTPhil]

Those lamps command Porsche Prices and so you won't find many on VWs! I found a deal decades ago for my '67 when a dealer went from VW/Porsche to just VW, and was clearing inventory. Even then, I think it was $100 for the pair... and this was in 1978! Pep Boys specials had foglamps for under $20, so you can figure the price today of these babies! But man, they do look like they belong on a VW! You'll need good wiring and relays, too, but they are good old fashioned steel/glass lamps that hold up well and have a great pattern.

[dmeffert]

There are 2 fog light manuals in the technical archives. One is from 61 and shows the diagram for wiring. It looks like they pull the power off of the fuse box, to a switch, to a relay where the power just passes through the relay to the lights. The relay is also connected to the headlamp fuse, and when you turn on the brights it energizes the relay and kicks off the fog lights. There is a guy online selling 20 amp switches that look like to old vw ones. That should be good, right?

[dmeffert]

KTPhil, like I said earlier, these were a total impulse buy. Every Bug I see with fog lights is running round ones, either aftermarket or vintage Bosch or Hella. I thought these were cool because they were different.

[KTPhil]

Shoe links to what switched you are referring to.

I wired mine simply; they come on with the switch but do not switch off when high beams are on. I like foglamps not just for fog, but also in wet weather, or in the city where the added illumination to the sides means more safety at intersections and on side streets. I used a 4-way switch, with a green lens from a heater switch, with the heater coil pattern sanded off so it was plain. But your wiring will depend on the switch, including whether it is illuminated or not. Use good quality factory crimp or soldered connectors and thick wires for minimum voltage drop.

You won't regret the purchase, those are very high quality lamps.

[dmeffert]

KTPhil, the lights arrived today. They are in really good shape, except that they were obviously mounted upside down, and there is corrosion inside on the reflector where it would have been the bottom of the light. It doesnt look like too big a deal. They are going to look cool!

[dmeffert]

Hello all. Thanks so much for all of the help. I would up having to fabricate my own mounts for the Hellas to get them up over the towel bar. I used 3/4 inch steel tube and steel plates from home depot and a big M10X200MM bolt from Fastenall. It came out nice and looks cool.