1941 tail light mystery 'bubble'

[claybill]

on the drivers side, the rear tail light of plymouths in 40/41 had a small clear glass bubble glued into the bottom of the red lens. about 3/4 in wide.

when the lights are on it shows white/clear. WHY? WHAT FOR? THEORIES?

it is not a back-up lite..for sure. rmember on these cars it was customary to enter on the curb side and slide over to drive..notice no key lock on drivers door...that might be a tip..?

no pics yet..dark out!!

bill

[mochevy69]

I ask the same question of a guy a few years wiser than me. I saw them on a 40 and a 41 Ply. and some other type cars I can't recall. He said this was a military thing. Was used to spot possible trespassers at night traveling on the base. If they didn't have the marker, they got POPPED!! Seems like a good idea to me!!

[Cpt.Fred]

i have the same question, bill! i simply can't imagine what they're for.

looks like this:

at first we thought it would be like a bluedot thingy, but that seems unlikely to me.

that military theory seems unlikely as well... my car wasn't in service at any time, i think. i didn't even know it was original to only have them on the driver's side, so i bought a set of spare glasses, both with the bulb on them and planned to use them as an excuse for my one-chamber-signallights on the rear end. i would really like to know!

[Andydodge]

Those "clear" bubbles are an early form of reflector built into the glass lens, at least thats what I have always been led to believe from talking to people back when I bought my 40 Dodge in the early 70's...........I have had a pair of original Lynx Eye brand glass lens tailights with glass blue dots for about 30yrs........no reflectors lol.......andyd

[Andydodge]

Fred, btw here in Oz all Australian Built 1940 Dodges used 1940 Plymouth tailights.......will get some pics posted of my car over the weekend.........lol.......andyd

[Andydodge]

Fred, btw that rear pic shows 1940 Plymouth tailights, not 1941..........andyd

[Cpt.Fred]

i know, andy, it's mine.

claybill said 40/41, so i postet the picture to illustrate what he was talking about. the question remains...

[Andydodge]

Fred.see my answer above......those things are a reflector........andyd

[Cpt.Fred]

ok. i didn' notice it reflects anything at night. but why only on the driver's side?

[Andydodge]

Cause the drivers side is furthest from the curb, closest to oncoming cars.........for what its worth I never noticed much in the way of reflection from the one that my car had......not that I really went and looked either but a couple of "old timers" both told me that thats what that glass bump was for..........andyd

[Skrambler]

If you even come across a "real" NOS left tail light, you will see that when you look at the reverse side, you will see something that looks black on the backside of the bubble. This is actually "silvering", the same stuff that is put on mirrors. The reflection back from on coming traffic is quite bright! Most of the silvering you see now is worn, or completely missing.

[Plymouthy Adams]

it is a reflector and is on the drivers side, in the day, you could only park in direction of traffic, thus any car approaching from behind at night headlights would reflect

the car is to have only the one bubble lens to be correct.

[Cpt.Fred]

you're right, skrambler, they have the black stuff on the inside, both of them.

[claybill]

another interesting note...the door key locks are on pass side.NONE ON DRIVERS SIDE. when entering or exiting form your car , you were to do it from the pass side. so lock your door, slide over and key lock as you leave.

with bench seats, and traffic laws, made it the right thing to do.

so...with mirror type backing it eliminiates the theory of getting light from the tail light.....so it was a reflector thing...h-m-mmmm. strange place to put it, and to be a bubble.. but thats a good answer..

bill

[Normspeed]

By 1953, Plymouth 2 door models had the new 60/40 seat back on 2 door models, to make it easier to enter and leave the rear seat area. Funny part, they put the 60% part on the driver side, so it's way easier to use that side of the car to enter and exit. Kinda goea against the idea of using curbside.

[JerseyHarold]

I've got a '53 Plymouth sales training movie and in it they said the reason the '60' is on the driver's side is so a baby seat couldn't tip forward in a panic stop...the driver's weight restrained that part of the seat back.

[RobertKB]

I've got a '53 Plymouth sales training movie and in it they said the reason the '60' is on the driver's side is so a baby seat couldn't tip forward in a panic stop...the driver's weight restrained that part of the seat back.

Safety devices then sure were different. The driver's weight keeps the kid in place? If it's a panic stop or accident, the driver's back won't be against the seat as he will be hitting the steering wheel or going through the windshield. New cars are certainly better when it comes to safety.

[Andydodge]

Regarding the key on the drivers side only..........guess where it is on the RHD cars?.........the drivers side of course!!.......which is the US passenger side.........anyone with a set of LHD P11 doors they want to swap?.....lol..........andyd