The Dodge Challenger Message Board

Hi everyone,

Although I am not a Challenger owner I am interested in getting some "Mopar Muscle" at some point.

In the UK vehicles have to have amber rear indicators. For those UK owners how have you gone about changing this on your Challengers? With the later model Challengers they have two reversing lights so these could be fitted with amber bulbs, but what about the 1970 model?

Cheers, woodsman

You can fit amber turn signals (as our US friends call them) up in the top corners of the rear window or down below the rear bumper. Or both.

I came up with another solution although this is a bit tricky.

I cut out the reflectors from my 1970 rear lights and replaced the reflectors with clear lens plastic cut from the reversing lights of some old car in a scrap yard (Ford Granada I think). I coloured the clear plastic with red model paint. In daylight they look red but in sodium street lighting they look more clear.

Behind them I fitted two light units from the front bumper of another scrap yard car. This involved cutting two holes in the metalwork between the existing light pods to mount them. Amber coloured bulbs make the new lens sections flash orange through the red paint.

Of course now the car has no rear reflectors which is in theory is an MOT test failier as well. However no-one seems to notice this.

I have wiring diagrams I made that show the existing Challenger turn signal wiring and what you have to do to modify it. I will post them here when I dig them out.

Cheers Dave, very cunning! Vehicle lighting is an interest of mine.

Apparently some TVR's have some of their rear lights inside the back window.

The other item is the fog lamp, but these aren't compulsory on cars built before a certain year, I believe. However if you've got two pairs of brake lights at the rear, one of each pair could be wired up as a fog lamp.

woodsman

I am sure you don't need fog lamps on cars this old.

OK.
Rear Fog lights are only required on British cars registered after 1st Sept 1979. So forget about them.

Here is a simple drawing I made of the standard turn signal/brake light wiring.



Here is what I did to wire in separate amber lights.



Hope you can make it out.

It is getting easier to do cunning conversions now led's are getting better, look at the rear of some new cars and you will see they are led lights.

Easy once you see how!
Nice one Dave.

woodsman

Sorry my drawings (actually drawn for me by a friend) are a little dirty. Shows they have been used "on the job" though. So to speak.

Hi , does anybody know if it's posible to just rewire/splice the black turn signal wire in the boot and send it to the back-up lamp with a orange bulb and then use that for indicating.
I would try anything as long as I don't have to put extra lights on the bumper etc for indicating.
My ' 71 still have all original electric loom. thanks

If you have two back-up lamps you can fit orange bulbs. However on the 1970 there was only one central lamp so I had to find another solution.

You cannot just take the wire from the existing rear lamp because your amber lamp would act as a brake light as well.

Dave, thanks, I have 2 back-up lights, ('71), I suppose I have to change the wire all the way from the front? Do you perhaps have any suggestion at all?
thanks

You have to run two wires back as far as the steering column connector under the dash. An easy job. Just follow the existing wiring.
Splice into the wires for the front turn signals as in the diagrams above.

Dave,

we need orange turn signals over here on regular cars, too.

But the german vehicle inspectors do an exception for old (antique) american cars and the german government makes a special permission for red turn signal lights (there is a fee, of course). They also allow the small US-size license plates, because the german plates are to big for a Challenger (yes, another fee).

Aren´t there such special permissions in the UK ?

Not any more. But we just got permission to use smaller plates if a regular plate will not fit in the space on the car.

It used to be possible to run with american red brake/turn lights because MOT inspectors would 'turn a blind eye' but the government tightened up on it and threatened to take licences away from inspectors if they passed cars with illegal lighting.

Those UK plates are the biggest bloddy things I"ve seen.

It is because they have to be readable over a large distance. The lines that the figures on the plate are made of have to be a half inch thick as well.

In fact reading a number plate from 25 yards is the very first part of the pratical test (just to be sure you can see before the examiner gets in the car with you). At least it was in my day.

Of course when they brought out these rules there were fewer characters in the registration. So a number like "A 16" from years ago could fit on quite a small plate. But a more modern plate in the same font like "R 157 RTY" needs something a little larger.

The front of my Neon looks stupid with a big plate on it. I might see about getting a smaller one if I can get away with it.

Dave, thanks, I'll sort out the wiring as you have explained. Roel

Hi Roel Email me jason@mopar.uk.net co,s l do light conversions and have a neat way for the 71,which l did on my own car 71 R/T. using the rear reverse lights with two extra bulb holders so you have indicators and still have reversing lights.Will show you how to do the wiring

jason was telling me a neater way to do this was to just cut the wire from the brake switch. Then move the existing turn signal wires over to the new amber lights and run just one cable from the brake switch to the brake lights. I am not convinced it is any easier in practice on a '70 because you still have to splice into the existing wiring at the rear lights and run short new wires to the new lights.

Anyway. You have an option.

Here in Western Australia we can now apply for personalised number plates in two different sizes and any colour combinations (background and alphanumeric digits, slim-line or regualar). I thought that black background with white letters would look good on the '71 I have just bought and would like to get something relevant for the car. I've applied for "71 DODGE" and to my surprise, this is still available - bargain at only AU$275.00 (about GDP90 or US$140 Not only will it add value to the car, but it will also save me time and breath answering the constant question "what kinda car is that?"

That number plate would cost thousands here and Jim Wilson would already own it anyway. Your luck is certainly 'IN' at the moment Roger.