Decklid center brake light style changes

[BeaterBarndoor]

This is the rubber that fits to the glass.
It doesn't look the part but it stretches around the rim.

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211945323
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www.thebustransfer.com

Whaaaaat?

[Okie Adam]

Man, that makes so much sense. I have seen those seals on reverse lights forever but never considered that the brakelight needs one!
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[RockStock]

Thanks Mark
Weird looking, but I guess it folds around the glass like those headlight seals

Check out the price difference from a UK parts supplier...probably still the WW seal...$6 is around £4.50
https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/211945323-reverse-light-lens-seal.html

I see AutoCraft do a more conventional looking lens seal
http://www.autocrafteng.co.uk/shop/bay-window_109/...0-79_2032/
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-StockRocks-

[BeaterBarndoor]

Looks like the Heritage one is west coast metric. It shows 2 seals in the image, maybe that’s a price for a pair as they’re generally a backup light seal?

Interesting on the AC one. Never seen that before but does more resemble the parts book image
I have a nice original complete light. If I can remember tomorrow I can take a look at it. Got me curious now after seeing that AC one.

I’ve always used the other style , they work perfectly.
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Whaaaaat?

[RockStock]

Heritage price is for ONE WW 211945323 seal (I asked)
From £4.50 to £12! Clowns
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-StockRocks-

[RockStock]

Do those starred washers (top right) really sit up against the fragile silvered reflector (bottom right)?
The washers are not shown in the 54 Parts Manual (on screw 56).

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-StockRocks-

[BeaterBarndoor]

To revisit my previous post, my original light set i picked up years ago, it had an orange lens. I didnt need that so I sold it off long ago. So along with that or into the trash went whatever seal was around it. So unfortunately I cant help there
The washers are still there though, and they are the star style as pictured above and mine are butt against the reflector.
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Whaaaaat?

[RockStock]

Thank you again Mark
A good friend came up with two original seals from a similar Hella light

This is, I currently believe, seal 54…

It’s the same on both sides
It doesn’t wrap around the lens like the repro seal does

This is how I installed it:

^Stars installed

^I sat the glass lens directly onto the reflector…

^Seal 54 next

^Then chrome bezel
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-StockRocks-

[MLockwood]

I pulled out an NOS unit and noticed the terminal screw is attached to a fiber board riveted to the shell. Everett, the one you posted looks different. Maybe different generations or parts suppliers?

[EverettB]

Not sure, maybe 2 different suppliers or maybe original vs. early or later replacement part production?

I feel like your is more original because of the bakelite piece and it appears to match the extremely worn original in the first post here - The bakelite board is missing on that one.
This pic

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[BeaterBarndoor]

So I am restoring my brakelight and had a NOS unit in hand recently that needed a minor repair.
I want to restore mine the best I can back to its originality and the NOS unit still had a clear ink stamp for the bulb wattages. Mine was very tough to make anything out. I made myself a stamp to replicate this and restored the 'L' bracket according to the unit I had on hand.
Recently I started noticing differences in this stamp which may coincide with the different manufacturers.
I am curious if anyone has ever made sense of any of it.
My thoughts are that the print would be "right reading" while the decklid is open for anyone to replace bulbs they would see which is necessary.
Also , the watts are 10w for the license bulb and 15w for the brake bulb, as stated in the parts manual.
what I am seeing now is that the assemblies with "right reading" those wattages are backwards. giving the idea that the license would be 15w and brake 10w where as this NOS I had is "wrong reading" (upside down) but the watts are positioned proper.

My original

The NOS unit I repaired

A couple other images I ran across , different from the ones already posted in this forum

And lastly, the bracket I restored

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Whaaaaat?

[vwjim]

I've got some glass to bezel seals arriving, which look nothing like the WW / WCM seals that fold around the glass.

So we'll see if they fit properly or not later this week.

[Who.Me?]

[vwjim]