Types of side lights

[Richie B]

Help please. I started restoring my 1962 2 door saloon 8 years ago. Life and commitments got in the way of completing in the planned 2 years.
Now have the time to put it all back together but I’ve lost some of the strip down photos.
I need help with identifying correct front and back side lights please.
I have L549 rear lights. Are these combined side and tail lights.?
Should there be a separate indicator light?
On the front I have the L632 side lights. According to any info regarding my car being a 1962 the front should be L488 round light.
Again is this a combined side light and indicator light?
Actually fitted are the L632 later type lights. Would this be a later upgrade or where these fitted to earlier cars?
I’d really appreciate any assistance
. Many thanks

[Bill_qaz]

A 62 should be same as mine, originally front side light is also the front flasher(white)
The rear is red flashing combined brake light tail light.
I swapped the fronts for amber and put side light in wipac headlight. The previous owner had already fitted separate rear amber beehive lights, so now separate from tail/ brake light.
It makes me feel safer as many road users don't perceive white front as an indicator let alone flashing red brake light. Particularly if using hazard flashers.

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Original white front indicators

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[svenedin]

A 62 should be same as mine, originally front side light is also the front flasher(white)
The rear is red flashing combined brake light tail light.
I swapped the fronts for amber and put side light in wipac headlight. The previous owner had already fitted separate rear amber beehive lights, so now separate from tail/ brake light.
It makes me feel safer as many road users don't perceive white front as an indicator let alone flashing red brake light. Particularly if using hazard flashers.
IMG-20231007-WA0000.jpgInternet_20220104_203838_6.jpeg

Original white front indicators
Screenshot_20250721-000254_Chrome.jpg

You obviously don't live where I do.........any use of indicators, whether they are red, white or amber is very unusual.....My driving instructor 36 years ago taught me to take any turn signal with extreme scepticism

Seriously though, a wise move on your part Bill. During convoy driving with other Minors I find it hard to appreciate dim flashing red rear indicators and trafficators are extremely difficult to see in bright light especially the low down ones on a Tourer. The late light clusters as on my 1969 are much more obvious.

Stephen

[philipkearney]

As everyone has said, at a 1962, your car would originally be fitted with L649 rears and L488's on the front. The rear would operate as stop and tail and for indicating, one side would flash. The fronts operated as sidelight and indicator. To do this the car would be fitted with a Lucas DB10 relay box in the O/S front inner wing. This unit allowed one back/front light to be on and the other to flash. I can't speak to the quality of the new DB10's you can buy but the originals could be troublesome.

The fitting of L632's to the front is a common upgrade and allows for sidelights and amber indicator. This is usually accompanied by the fitting of L745's on the rear. The 745 was the large light fitted to Series 5 cars - and allows for red brake and tail plus amber indicator.

if you are in tending to use your car a lot, I would suggest upgrading your back lights to L745's and move away from the red only 649's for the reasons Bill has already outlined. You could retain them and add an additional indicator until if you wanted.

If you are thinking of putting the car back to original spec, you will need a pair of 488's and obtain a Lucas DB10 box if you don't already have one.

Have a look at the Potteries branch website, this will take you through all of the lighting changes. https://potteries.mmoc.org.uk/ID/Lights.htm

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[mike1864]

A 62 should be same as mine, originally front side light is also the front flasher(white)
The rear is red flashing combined brake light tail light.
I swapped the fronts for amber and put side light in wipac headlight. The previous owner had already fitted separate rear amber beehive lights, so now separate from tail/ brake light.
It makes me feel safer as many road users don't perceive white front as an indicator let alone flashing red brake light. Particularly if using hazard flashers.
IMG-20231007-WA0000.jpgInternet_20220104_203838_6.jpeg

Original white front indicators
Screenshot_20250721-000254_Chrome.jpg

I did the same conversion of the front sidelights into indicators. But - for a degree of visual originality - I retained the white lens, but with an amber bulb behind it.
The back end has the indicators on carefully angled brackets attached to the bumper mounts; so removeable for film and TV work (which has never happened!). This puts the bulbs within the legal zone (whether or not applicable to old cars) AND points the lens' bore* horizontally and straight behind.
*aerial terminology for the centre of the radiation pattern

[geoberni]

I need help with identifying correct front and back side lights please.
I have L549 rear lights. Are these combined side and tail lights.?
Should there be a separate indicator light?
On the front I have the L632 side lights. According to any info regarding my car being a 1962 the front should be L488 round light.
Again is this a combined side light and indicator light?
Actually fitted are the L632 later type lights. Would this be a later upgrade or where these fitted to earlier cars?
I’d really appreciate any assistance
. Many thanks

For the UK market, between 61-63, they adopted the Indicator system that had been used on export vehicles since the early 1950s.
The Rear Indicator was L549, combined Side/Brake lamp, using the DB10 Relay to Flash the Brake Lamp.
Front uses L488 which Lucas made in single and twin filament versions (BA15s or BA15d lamp holder).
The twin filament version basically allowed the same setup as the rear has, a 5w side light with a 21w Indicator. The DB10 Relay controlled the front indicator too.

These days it is possible to get LED lamps that will provide a dim white sidelight and a brighter amber indicator.

The L632 fitted to your car are just a past owner fitting those rather than separate L488 when upgrading to amber indicators. Not particularly a common route that was taken, the majority of owners who chose to fit indicators simply fitted Amber L488 all round. Lucas marketed a Indicator Kit for that very purpose.
You haven't said what you have on the rear?
The later model large rear cluster, with separate Read/Amber is the L745.

Although my car is a '55, he was updated to the DB10 Indicator system as a point unknown. He was then 'bastardised' to add amber indicators all round still using the DB10 Relay to operate them, adding an additional feed direct to the brake lights.

I've partially restored him to the intended system, in that he now has amber LED indicators behind the clear front single lamp L488, and the rear single filament L488 have red lenses to provide a double Brake/Indicator each side.
See this video I made back in 2019 when I was trying out some LED rear lamps. https://youtu.be/zHTzLepE6-A

Do you still have the DB10 Relay fitted?

I note you've indicated you are a MMOC member. I wrote an article on the DB10 system, which was published in the Nov/Dec 2024 Minor Matters.

[Richie B]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I am going with Phillips suggestion of upgrading front and back lights for safety.
Reference the DB10 relay I havent seen that on the car although I may have missed it when I stripped it down 8 years ago.
Geoberni, I did read your article but health issues have rather taken over recently so as I forgot what I read I shall make it my bedtime read tonight.
We in Eastbourne certainly know how to live Thanks again for all your responses