3rd Brake Light Installation Options

[Cory W]

I only used the 3M double sided adhesive for mine. 3 years on and it's fine.

Still had to drill the hole for the wiring, though. As JM said, it would take nothing to fill and respray to go back to stock, but that'll never happen in Truck Country.

[DMCVegas]

I had considered that one too (it's Hervey's, that's even his pic) but decided I'd rather not make those changes. Some states will force you to but I'm lucky that CA isn't one of them.

Edit: here's a pic from John's site of the 3rd lamp installed

I've never heard of a state demanding a retrofit of a CHSML in all my time on the DML or elsewhere. Is this a new law somewhere?

I have this same exact lamp on my louvers as well. Except that the lenses are pulled flush the the edge of the Louver instead of sitting back as you see in the picture here:


It looks totally stock to the point where I've had several people over the years, including a former DeLorean salesman who asked me if the CHMSL was actually a factory production change. When you push the CHMSL out to the edge like this it looks MUCH cleaner since it still sits below the roof line. Also unlike the rounded Suburban LED unit, the Corvette light is angular and will match perfectly in both shape and color to the louvers. Hell, after driving around for years with one on my car and always seeing it when I walk up to it, DeLoreans WITHOUT one look naked to me.

To each their own, but I personally cannot stand the look of the CHSML mounted below the louvers. It's not symmetrical since it's split on half by the Louver's "spine", and IMO looks like a cheap universal part someone fished out of the bargain bin @ Pep Boys because of that. You NEVER see a CHMSL split in two on any production car.

If you drill your louvers, you can ALWAYS easily fiberglass the holes back in and no one would ever know that they were there. And even if you had to replace those louvers, they're currently going for $508.05 over @ DMCH. That's just as much as, if not sometimes cheaper than your insurance deductible you'd pay if someone smashed into the rear of your car. Plus if you're a Daily Driver you might even get a cut in your rates too. Which brings me too:

One of the first things I did with my car was add my CHMSL (Center High Mount Stop Lamp). It wasn't a case of legislation, nor pressure from any outside source.

My rationale was as follows: Up here, most people drive trucks or SUVs. Of those, most don't consider it a truck unless it's a 4X4. These things look like they can block out the sun when parked near you, and I wanted to take no chances these people wouldn't see my factory brake lights in time to avoid driving right over me.

Don Steger was the one who installed my CHMSL at my request, and it was the first thing I ever had done to 6585. We talked about it, and he applauded it and was telling me a story about the invention of the CHSML he'd heard. Taxi cabs were some of the worst vehicles involving rear-end collisions, but once the CHSMLs were installed, they cut accidents in half because that light is right in people's range of vision. He also said that now days people don't look for side brake lights, they focus on the center light to warn them. And I'll be damned if he wasn't right. A burned out tail lamp on a modern or even older car doesn't really affect my braking time, because I'm not expecting to see it, plus most of those cars aren't on the road much anymore. But when a CHSML is burned out on a new car, I've noticed that drivers I've ridden with as a passenger don't always stop as quickly. And when you're driving something super-distracting like a DeLorean, every little bit helps.

If need be, think about it this way: If you had to modify your louvers, and were given a choice to either drill 2 holes, and splice the wires into your brake lights, or have the entire back end of your car crushed by letting another car hit it at speed, which would you choose? If you insist upon the unit that mounts under the louvers and use sticky tape, that's fine. Just get it done to save your car.

But DON'T install a flashing brake light module for the CHSML. Those things are annoying as hell and do nothing but anger other drivers and cause road rage, and that is the last thing you need while driving. Aside from that, they are actually illegal. Mercedes-Benz was given an exemption to test the lights for testing purposes, but you'll notice that other manufacturers such as Toyota and GM quickly stopped making flashing CHSML lamps years ago and have not revisited the idea since. If it actually did save lives and prevent crashes, the NHTSA would have demanded they be mandatory by now.

[DMCVegas]

This is the style I have on my car:



GM used them on Corvettes and I believe Firebirds/Cameros.

Almost forgot. That light we use is from a C4 Corvette. It's a small, compact unit that fits on the rear roof of the car that is at almost the exact same angle as our louvers.



The F-Body unit from the Firebird/Camaro is shaped simularly, but is totally different. It's a much larger unit, and rather than having a flat base because of the Corvette's roof, the F-Body unit is meant to sit on the curved back glass/hatch. It's also longer and much higer, so it won't fit.

[Farrar]

I used two red LED bars from JC Whitney.



Farrar

[jawn101]

I've never heard of a state demanding a retrofit of a CHSML in all my time on the DML or elsewhere. Is this a new law somewhere?

When I lived in NY, I remember a shop telling me that we had to install one on our 82 Tempo in order to pass inspection. So we did, but now in response to this thread I did some research and don't see any such requirement on the books. At least not that I can find. I see that all stop lamps must be in proper working order but there's no mention of needing the center mount. Fortunately time heals all wounds so I don't feel ripped off now

This thread has also had me examining every car that goes by to see the style and shape of their high mount lamp. I would say there are a plethora of options out there in every SUV - they all seem to use thin strip lights mounted at the top edge of the liftgate, so there should be plenty of choices. But I definitely can't deny that DMCVegas' install of Hervey's style light looks absolutely correct and like it belongs there.

[Spittybug]

JC Whitney: http://www.jcwhitney.com/auxiliary-5...wx?filterid=j1 (2 x $17). Epoxied to louver. No loss of rear view. Wired to not only the brake with strobe effect, but left and right turn signals. Do it, it's cheap and makes your car much safer.

[Notifier]

Thanks for all the idea's! My main concern is visibility to other drivers. But at the same time trying to keep the 1981 car looking like a 1981 car as much as possible. The CHMSL wasn't required until the mid 80's. My main desire to mount it under the louvers was to keep the look of the car as clean as possible. I was going to push both lights together so that the only gap between them is the 1/4" thickness of the louver center support. Although I've gotta say looking at DMCVegas's light pushed towards the edge of the louver doesn't look too bad - I might even consider that position as opposed to mounting it higher up on the louver.

If I wanted to obtain the "Corvette" light, what model year were they from? Where can I get one? I really don't want to spend a Saturday searching junk yards for it!

[jawn101]

If I wanted to obtain the "Corvette" light, what model year were they from? Where can I get one? I really don't want to spend a Saturday searching junk yards for it!

If you wanna cheat and support a vendor... http://www.specialtauto.com/delorean...cessories.html It's about halfway down.

[Notifier]

If you wanna cheat and support a vendor... http://www.specialtauto.com/delorean...cessories.html It's about halfway down.

Thanks! You know, I looked through their site a couple days ago and missed that for some reason.

[Farrar]

JC Whitney: http://www.jcwhitney.com/auxiliary-5...wx?filterid=j1 (2 x $17). Epoxied to louver. No loss of rear view. Wired to not only the brake with strobe effect, but left and right turn signals. Do it, it's cheap and makes your car much safer.

Those are the exact same units I used, except I mounted them using brackets to the rear vertical edge of the louvres.

Perhaps for another thread, I'd like to know how you wired them to blink with your turn signals...

Farrar