Adding brake and reverse lights

[aunty]

Hi bus lovers. This has probably been covered before, but I couldn't find it by searching. I just got my '57 to daily driver status after a 5 year journey, and now I'm nervous on the road because people follow too close and don't always see me (how can they miss an old bus? the guys who want to buy it never miss me!). So I've talked to my mechanic about adding a middle brake light and back-up lights. He recommended cutting/adding old bug lights with the reverse, but I could hear people on this forum screaming "don't cut!" so then he suggested using '67 bug lights on the bumper, and hanging one from the ceiling under the window of the lid for a third brake light. I'm wondering if others have tried anything like this. Any opinions on what would do the least damage to the feeling of a nice old bus? Pictures? Thank you!

[crofty]

You could use the bug reverse lights as brake lights by adding a red lense.
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[mynameismud]

add a vintage Stop light-

mines bolts to the body until i get my rear bumper installed.
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[///Mink]

Depending on when in the model year your '57 was mde, it should have a center-mounted brake light on the engine lid to begin with. You could then convert to having integrated turn/brake lights like they have on '58 and newer Buses. Then you'd have 3 brake lights when the signals are off and 2 when the signal is on with no external mods whatsoever. I actually plan to do this on my '57 SC - the single brake light just doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. It's a simple and reversible mod, requiring a newer turn signal switch and an extra wire from the brake switch on the master cylinder run back into the cab.

As for reverse lights, you could probably get some '67 Beetle reverse lights and mount them under the bumper. Of course this exercise will be moot if you don't have a tunnel case trans with nosecone-mounted reverse light switch or a speedometer-cable mounted switch (which seem to require the Bus to move about 10 feet before coming on )

[obus]

i would start with one of these and see what happens. Why do all the extra work if this helps?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=76730&highlight=slow+moving+vehicle
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July 1959 Mango Standard Bus aka Obus L346 L347 https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=256592&highlight=
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1960 Paprika Red Karmann Ghia Convertible aka Schatze L452 built 5/20/60
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66 21 window bus built 8/31/65 https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=777273

[Clara]

I've added a reverse light to a couple buses like this:

no cutting required. bolts to a bolt on the bumper bracket. I just used one. You could do two if you like.
The one does show me if I'll hit something in the dark, and people tend to wait of I want to back up.
I heard that you can't use the nose cone switch in a splitcase (mid 59 & earlier) bus. Dash switch with warning light? Mounted so as not to drill extra holes?

My new toy has extra lights on the bitchen custom rear bumper:

These lights were wired up with the VW connectors that are easy to unplug for when the bumper has to come off.
I am going to add reverse lights to the Cragar Kombi.

I dunno if it's the generally bad ass 'don't mess with me' look of the bus or what, but people make space when I put the turn signals on.

You have a later 57 with the flat glass lights? So a brake light on each side? As long as they are properly grounded and the connections are clean, they should be plenty visable. If the chrome inside the bulb holder is all flaked off, some 'chrome in a can' or rattle can silver (take the bulb holder off please, and put some tissue in where the bulb goes to avoid overspray) will help brighten up the lights.

Please don't cut holes in the bus to add extra lights.

Here are some threads:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=255635&highlight=reverse

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?search..._chars=200
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[gerg]

I run a reverse light on the left and a third tail light on the right.

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Gerg

. . . I got 99 problems and my bus ain't one . . .

'65 Sunroof Beetle
'65 Vert
'60 Singlecab

[aunty]

Thank you to all who replied. Here is a picture of the bus before I painted it. Looking at this pic, I realize the tailights are probably not original. I don't see a sign of any missing middle brake light, but maybe the lid is not original. I loved ALL of the pictures of reverse and third light set ups posted below, and this is inspiring me to think in terms of "respect the old bus, but ok to do your own additions." I will not cut. My mechanic thinks it is no problem to hook the 67 bug lights, which I found a local source for, to the transmission. Do you guys know something he doesn't know? I got this bus because I fell in love with it not because I know the mechanics. Yes, I know that makes a lot of you cringe, but I am reading and learning from this forum, got all the manuals, doing my best. I am older than this bus. Thanks again for sharing knowledge. People on this forum are so generous.
(the last time I posted it was over a year ago to get driving advice, which I use every day)

[sub-hatchtim]

tail lights og to me

[cdennisg]

[roamer]

Just sharing my solution to the backup light problem for pre-'67 buses...

I decided to do the same thing my father did when he bought his 1965 11-window Sea Blue/Blue White Standard. He had a pair of dealer-installed Beetle lights on the rear bumper, as seen in this 1968 picture. If it was good enough for him, it's good enough for me.

I scored a couple nice used lights off the Classifieds, and got bulbs from WW. Some have fashioned a bracket to avoid drilling the bumper. I chose to drill, it's secure, protects the wire attachments a bit better under the lip of the bumper, it's historically accurate, and it's my bus. There's not a lot of room for mounting these lights; they're very close to the bodywork. I couldn't fit the drill in position without removing the bumper. It's a lot easier attaching things and putting in the wires if you remove the bumper, anyway. It's only attached with 4 bolts (6 if you have splash guards). I wired the lights together to get power from a single wire; I also ran a separate ground wire just to be sure.

Some pics from 3 dimensions:

For wiring, I don't have the switch that comes on the '67-on transmission nose cone, and wasn't sold on the speedometer cable switch (as some have noted, you actually have to move the bus a few feet before it kicks on), so I stuck with a manual switch. It was probably overkill, but I decided to wire it using a Bosch relay.

I had other wiring plans anyway, so I created an additional wiring harness by running 5 wires through a protective sleeve, routing under the bus using the same path as the main harness, up through separate holes into the front and engine compartment. Made some "special tools" out of wire coat hangers to pull the harness through the frame tunnels. I used wire connectors at the bumper end so I can detach the wires when I remove the bumper. Don't forget to use rubber grommets to protect the cable. I tapped power for the toggle switch off the inboard 16-amp fuse on the fuse panel, which is switched, so the backup lights will go out when the ignition is off even if you forget and leave the switch on. (The end fuse position is always live, so don't use that one)

I haven't figured out a final solution for mounting the switch, because I'm going to add fog lights too, and want to put a pair of matching switches under the left side of the dash. I haven't found a suitable switch panel, maybe will have to make something, and don't want to drill if I can avoid it; still researching what to do. I've searched but haven't seen many non-intrusive solutions by others to get ideas from.

For now, I just used a plastic rocker switch that is attached using the existing screw for the headlight switch. Not too obtrusive and works fine. I'll replace it in the spring with something better after the weather warms up and I (hopefully) have some better ideas.

Off:

On:

A couple links to other posts about backup lights, for reference:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=255635

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=171981

[zozo]

Perhaps a little over the top, but the drivers in San Antonio warrant drastic measures.

On the upside, no drilling, no glue, nothing permanent at all. Fairly unobtrusive. It seems to have helped, as I have noticed that I have far fewer people running up my ass before stopping or slowing.

[DanM]

[33 Willys]

For safety reasons adding a third brake light is a very good idea. There are aftermarket lights that you can add to the rear window which puts it up at eye level to the driver behind you. To wire the brake lights because you have added load to the switch simply use a relay.

[roamer]

[quote="DanM"]

[Eric&Barb]

Wired into the standard taillight signals:

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[LittleThunder]

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[R.Rabbit]

Here's mine:

I used the bolt that would normally hold the hoops in place.
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[Moz'z58]

This might be useful to some- I have just finished adding in a combo set-up on my '65 . I have a 5" bosch red foglight wired for 3rd brake lt and a manually sw'd back up lt - which makes a nice camp site light too in red illum that is good for night vision. I deliberated location R&R and finally decided to drill - mounted it on the hatch lid in the center and below the window for best utility and safety. Don't gain much down low on the bumper in freeway traffic so the point of the exercise is getting a high and center location. Also is effective higher as the utility/camp light

I used a Hella 4RA fused fog relay for the 25w fog demand and tapped the B+ ALT term for relay supply thru a 12ga fused wire, which also runs a reading light now on the cabinetry.

Switching up front is thru a germany ivory toggle that is on/off/on sw, and into this array a small bosch 356 type indicator next to it. Rather than more dash hole(s) I made a Al bracket and have that left of speedo cluster between junk tray and dash proper. The switch allows me to turn the circuit off completely and so save the vintage relay somewhat from high cycle waste when not in dense traffic etc. And the indicator lamp may save me a drawn down B+.

Just ran a wire from BrkSw to one pole on the sw, a Hot Acc tap wire to other sw pole, and then a 14ga runner back to the relay. I decided to put the relay inside the cabin interior instead of the eng comp as I needed a wiring transit hole anyway-keeps it out of the heat some, and is just mounted on the aft cabinetry, also easy to get to there.

Thought I'd add this set-up D'scrip as is a good way to gain multi utility from one good light. My bus is a high miles daily driver Kombi with a camper interior and wood windows I made in the first years I had it since purchase in '86. Is in good decent body condition and super mechanical driver, but not a stock trim unit so drilling a couple more holes is not TOO tough on my conscience. On a fine stock is tough indeed to solve=could do a fog inside the window I suppose.

[earlywesty]

Here is my set up for rear lights. Original 3rd brakelight decklid and two beetle reverse lights w/red lenses. Works great, very bright (12V). Bubble taillights are just that, plus turn signals as factory...

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