TheSamba.com :: View topic - Making sense of elephant foot tail light options

Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:26 pm

I am seeing a lot of options for the late Beetle tail lights and I'm trying to make sense of the "stock" ones. Finding the original type German units is a bit of a pain and my car has some cheap replacement on the right side. At a glance it looks the same but internally it is completely different.

I see units that have a common brake/tail light center section instead of separate brake and tail light. Those look similar to Mexican Ultima Beetle tail lights. I see units like mine with separate brake and tail lights but with a gray plastic inside instead of the cast aluminum units like the original USA tail lights. The lenses are not interchangeable with original tail lights. Just at CIP1 I find about a dozen different tail lights, and other vendors have various replacement options too.

Which units are of respectable quality? Are Mexican or Brazilian factory replacement units available?

Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:37 pm

I would also like to know. I can't afford NOS Lenses or housings... and my original Hella ones are pretty weather-checked. Lots of crazing on the top amber lenses. I'll use them for the time-being but I would like to know if there are any quality stock style 73-up taillight lenses or assemblies that are being reproduced? I've read that the Italian reproduction assemblies (made by Omega) are poor quality and fade within a couple years. I've also read that the flush-style are terrible quality (they also look terrible, imho). Just would like to know. Anyone have any luck with the smoked assemblies?

Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:58 am

EVfun wrote: Finding the original type German units is a bit of a pain

You gotta be careful with that because US spec cars use totally different elephants feet to European bugs.

The 4 bulb arrangement was North America only, everywhere else used the 3 bulb center mount setup and most aftermarket stuff is made in that style.

So if you are looking for "German" elephants feet you will most likely end up with the Euro style.

It's hard finding good ones.
I bought some $15 ones in 2001 that didn't even have the metal divider between the sections so the brake lights lit up the whole thing till I made some up.
The tops faded to clear within a few years but I recoloured them with the orange light paint and they've been fine ever since, just starting to craze now but my car lives inside when its not driving.

I imagine on an outside car they only would have lasted a few years.

I did have some all clear ones for a year or so, even on my car garaged car they started going yellow :roll:

Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:40 am

i think mexican ones are available from vw mexico, ask Antonio Trejo, he's the man with a plan down there.

Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:36 pm

Joel wrote: The 4 bulb arrangement was North America only, everywhere else used the 3 bulb center mount setup and most aftermarket stuff is made in that style.

So if you are looking for "German" elephants feet you will most likely end up with the Euro style.

Did Mexico switch to 3 bulb type at some point? The last edition Beetle ones with the chrome bezel are the 3 bulb type so I am wondering if that started earlier.

I'm not trying to put custom tail lights on my '79 (at least not custom looking), but I would like to use something that will last and ideally something I have a shot at replacing if someone takes out a fender. I'm leaning toward spending the dough on Hella 3 bulb tail lights but I'm not even sure if Hella means quality or if it is a genuine VW part. I know what to expect with VW Mexico or VW Brazil parts, but at least by name they don't seem very available in this case (except for the Ultima Edition Beetle tail lights.)

Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:23 pm

I'll think you'll find Mexico ran the 3 bulb style all along.

I've seen alot of bugs at shows that run the modern Hella replacements.
The quality looks good from the outside anyway.

Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:30 pm

Scott @ German supply has 4 bulb lenses.

Tail Light Lens Right Beetle 73-79 Thing 73-74 Genuine Hella
Tail Light Lens Left Beetle 73-79 Thing 73-74 Genuine Hella

Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:53 pm

Glenn wrote: Scott @ German supply has 4 bulb lenses.

Both where out of stock. But... there are several different 4 bulb types! The ones with the 1 piece gray plastic housing have a lens that doesn't fit in the OEM USA version. On the one I have the lens doesn't even fit its housing that well (the metal light reflector parts interfere,, making it a PITA to put the lens back on.)

The more I look the less I know! :wink:

I want to thank everyone who has responded so far. I think we can at least get an idea of what is available if we pool our experiences. Surely we can do better than junk -- these things are going on a Volkswagen!

Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:29 pm

back when I first started learning about Bugs around 1987-88, I decided I *hated* the elephant foot lights (to me, they were just the big-round-ugly-late style at that time) but then I got Robert Wood's book "VW Beetle" which was published in England and it showed the Euro-spec style elephant foots. I liked those a lot better - thought they "worked" better than the left/right US style. So I thought those were "the shit" if I ever had to have late style tail lights. (note: that never happened)

Fast forward a few decades... (ignore the gray hairs!) and now those Euro style lenses I used to think were the bee's knees are now everywhere, or derivatives therof, and the classic stock left-right N. America tail lenses that once were ubiquitous, are now slowing falling away into oblivion. How does this make me feel. Actually, a little bit sad. :lol: :cry: :wink:

Sorry, that wasn't helpful at all for the thrust of this thread.

Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:35 pm

Have 73 super beetle. Doing electric re-conditioning...cleaning contacts and spade lugs etc...as part of re-doing whole car.
Direction signal [ rear ] bulb shot...or, non working.
Changing, new bulb. Inserting bulb find, bulb not in tight. wobbles.
So, take the whole thing apart..off car and find....[ has 4 bulbs in fixture ] some other bulbs also not sitting tight.
Problem is this: A plastic ring with center blade conductor is no longer staked tight and just comes loose....pushes in or back and spring blade no longer touching bulb center point. hard to explain, but anyone with this style tail light may have come across same problem? Looking for "method" of fixing..perhaps JB weld?

Wed Dec 26, 2012 4:57 pm

I tried to install Mexico Hellas on my early 73, originally elephant's foot equipped, and could not get them to work. My bug has the original metal base bulb holders. I hooked the new ones up complete with dual element tail and stop bulb. No matter what I tried, turn signal would flash fast and when the headlights were on, all the bulbs, including reverse light, dimly flashed. I tried an additional ground, still nothing. Any suggestions?

Wed Dec 26, 2012 5:52 pm

I ordered from CP-1 'economy' elephant feet[L/R] and received them very well packed and protected from the rigorous life of a traveling cardboard box. The actual lens' look as though they were headed for the "perfect quality" box, but due to slight blemishes were routed to the "economy" boxes. Nice lenses but not quite perfect. The actual fender-mount assembly's are the grey plastic with a vertical aluminium strip covering the three[3] bulb sockets. The plastic lenses themselves are very presentable and have aluminium section dividers between the orange to the red, and from the red to the white/clear reverse section. Have not installed them as of yet, but I suspect using care when screwing them down as the plastic seems to be brittle and may easily strip the mounting-screw holes. Anyone tried using orange bulbs in the orange section of any brand of these?

Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:04 pm

I'd actually suggest using NA (amber) bulbs there, the way repro lenses can fade out it's good insurance that they'll stay showing yellow. I wish they made normal bulbs in red as well - LEDs can get a bit expensive, and you never know how well they will work or fit until you buy them and try them.

As for the ground issue two posts back - I don't know how well those reproduction bulbholders are made, but it's possible that the whole thing is buggered up for ground paths. I would hook a long test wire directly to the battery ground, and then run that around to the tail lights and touch it to the bulb bases and watch for changes in their function with that direct contact.

-Andy

Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:12 pm

Thanks glutamodo. I'll take that. :D

Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:22 pm

Hey 19-VW-74.. I am currently running the PO's choice of flush-mounts with the slotted cover. They do hold up well, but IMHO look way too modern and almost Miami-Vise-ish. [Think 1988 Mustang GT slotted tail light covers painted black to match black bug :(]

Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:29 pm

Heh Heh

Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:08 pm

Hi Jerr. How politically correct of you! That way people can look at the one they like and just ignore the other! 8)

Thu Dec 27, 2012 1:36 am

mascrappo wrote: I tried to install Mexico Hellas on my early 73, originally elephant's foot equipped, and could not get them to work. My bug has the original metal base bulb holders. I hooked the new ones up complete with dual element tail and stop bulb. No matter what I tried, turn signal would flash fast and when the headlights were on, all the bulbs, including reverse light, dimly flashed. I tried an additional ground, still nothing. Any suggestions?

The turn signals hyperflashing when the tail lights are on and dimly lighting is a bad ground, its finding a ground through the other bulbs.
The bulb sockets are often a lousy fit on some of the cheaper bases and often don't ground to main frame part real well.

Veedubaya wrote: Anyone tried using orange bulbs in the orange section of any brand of these?

I've got amber bulbs in mine, although I could only find them with offset pins so they took some fettling to fit.
The amber lenses were turning clear as I mentioned earlier in the thread so the amber bulbs were to keep the local po po happy.

Thu Dec 27, 2012 8:44 am

Thanks, Joel. Great advice. :wink:

Fri Dec 28, 2012 6:03 pm

Thanks Joel, will try various grounding combinations.