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Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

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ranald
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Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

Post by ranald »

Hello, I need to replace the flat round slightly frosted wing lamp lenses on my car. The lamp is described in the parts book as 515/4. The diameter of the glass is 2 7/8" (73mm). Thickness: 2mm. I'm sure acrylic would do. Does anyone know where I can get something. When you go on the internet there seems to be a choice of places doing bespoke orders, however, i've found they either don't do less than 100mm diam or no less than 3mm thickness. Thanks, Ranald

ps. Ideally of course would be the correct glass complete with rubber seal!!

Sydsmith
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Re: Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

Post by Sydsmith »

A friend of mine, now sadly in the great garage above, turned a pair for a Bentley from solid acrylic on his lathe they looked very authentic.

AlanCoombs
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Re: Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

Post by AlanCoombs »

Hi Ranald,

I found the best option for sidelight glasses was to use a watch glass. They're available in all sizes and shapes from less than 1" to at least 6" in steps of about 0.1mm at very low cost from cousins https://www.cousinsuk.com/

The sapphire glasses are extremely strong and not much more expensive, but to add a bit of detail, I went for ones with a bevelled edge, although you really wouldn't notice unless you examined it very closely indeed!

I have been reliably told that the 3" rotax/lucas sidelight glasses were originally always clear, but were often made diffuse by frosting them during the war to comply with blackout regulations - sidelights classes had to be diffuse and no more than 1" diameter. This was usually achieved by waving the glass lense over a spark plug cleaner before putting a halfpenny coin in the centre and painting around the back with black paint,. Of course there was then a mask on one headlight, the other having had the bulb removed, as demonstrated by Bertie in this month's DM.

All the best!
Alan

ranald
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Re: Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

Post by ranald »

Thanks Alan, Very useful. However, I must be missing the correct section on the website as the maximum diam of saphire watch glass seems to be 35mm (https://www.cousinsuk.com/category/watch-glasses). I note you refer to the glasses as being 3". The damaged ones I have taken out are 2 7/8" diam and have been held in with mastic. Did you fit 3" diam? Also, what did you use to hold / seal the glass? Thanks, Ranald

Norfolk Lad
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Re: Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

Post by Norfolk Lad »

This might help same site just the clock section and 1.8mm thick https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/acryl ... rnkreuz-mp, shows the sizes Alan has said are available great thinking on his part a great solution for those sort of parts.

ranald
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Re: Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

Post by ranald »

Thanks Norfolk Lad for looking at this for me. Certainly the clock face acrylic gives me the diameter and thickness I want but I note it is convex rather than flat. Regards, Ranald

AlanCoombs
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Re: Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

Post by AlanCoombs »

Hi Ranald,

It seems that the selection of glasses available on Cousins has reduced since I last looked! However, I do remember that the sapphire ones only went up to about 2", which was just OK for a replacement instrument face.

If you do a quick search on eBay for something like "flat clock glass 73mm" , you can easily find round mineral glasses that should do the job for less than £4 each, or a 3" bevelled glass from further afield.

I recall now that I did by a 75mm bevelled glass without measuring it accurately, always having known the sidelamps as 3" units. Of course, they did't quite fit, so I just shaved a fraction off the edges with a diamond grinding wheel meant for cutting tiles.

For the seals, I just filled the bezel with a bead of black polyurethane sealant and stuck the glass in from behind, then trimmed neatly with a sharp knife once dry. They haven't steamed up inside. yet!

Alan

ranald
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Re: Lucas wing lamp lenses - Lanchester 15/18

Post by ranald »

Just to follow up. I bought clear glass and secured it with gasket sealant. However, I decided I didn't like seeing the led bulbs through the clear glass, so I obtained window film (white matt) from The Window Film Company. They were happy to provide a free sample! I'm happy with the result.
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