FITTING A HIGH LEVEL BRAKE LIGHT

With "Safety Fast" being the widely recognised epithet to describe MG, I decided to take a "Safety, First" approach to fitting aftermarket accessories to my MGC Roadster.

The lighting on all early MGB/Cs can accurately be described as 'adequate' in today's motoring terms but then the MGB was designed and developed in the early 1960's when there were fewer cars on our roads and the pace of life was far slower than that of 2007.

Modern vehicles are fitted with high intensity rear reflector lenses, high output LED bulbs and halogen headlights, a far cry from the globe filament incandescent bulbs - just one stone's throw away from acetylene lamps of old.

Several interesting options that MG owners, throughout the world, had utilised were found including:

Chevrolet Blazer Brake Light	Mini Cooper Brake Light	Hummer H3 Brake Light

Out of choice, the Chevy Blazer looked right on the MGB GT V8 but it would have looked out of place on a Roadster. The Mini Cooper brake light required 'surgery' to the boot lid and should be positioned vertically to give the correct intensity of light while, as much as I like the Hummer, I couldn't justify an American Military vehicle brake light on the rear of an MG!

I finally settled for the High Level Cabrio Brake Light fitted to the MG RV8 in Australia. This light is made by Hella in New Zealand and conforms to the Australian Federal Motor Safety Regulations.

The problems arise when you try to obtain one of these lights in the United Kingdom! Hella (UK) do not supply this type of lamp and do not transact with Hella (Australia). Hella (Australia), on the other hand, will not ship products out of Australia and will not transact with Hella (UK)! A dilemma.

Actually, with a little research, the MG Centre in New South Wales, Australia, supply and fit these lights to imported MG RV8s to comply with the Federal Regulations and carry them in stock. Voila!

FITTING

The Hella High Level Cabrio Brake Light is simple to fit and required drilling three small holes to secure the Unit to the Boot Lid and one slightly larger hole through which the cable passes.

A rubber base gasket (seal) rests on the boot lid onto which the Light unit sits. The wiring cable passes through a rubber grommet which seals and protects the cable from chafing against the hole in the boot lid. The cable was secured to the Boot Lid Hinge using cable ties and it is then a simple procedure to route the new wiring around the offside wheel arch to connect with the existing brake light wiring.

The Brake light is supplied with 'Scotchlok' connectors to pick up the power supply to the existing brake light and to Earth. I preferred, however, to solder a 'bullet' connector to the Positive lead from the new brake light and use a soldered 'ring' connector for the Negative (Earth). A 'double' bullet connector was substituted for the existing 'single' bullet connector which connected the offside brake light unit to the car's wiring loom.

For piece of mind, I used a continuous bead of 3M gasket seal around the perimeter of the underside of the base gasket to ensure no ingress of water into the boot.

TESTING

With the Battery re-connected, the ignition was turned and the foot brake pedal depressed. All three brake lights illuminated. Job Done - well, almost.

BODY COLOURING

Although the silver powder coating of the cast body of the unit is quite acceptable, colouring of the unit to match the remainder of the car makes it less obtrusive. And so, it was sprayed in Mineral Blue to match the vehicle's bodywork.

Powder Coated As Supplied	Body Coloured

This Hella High Level Cabrio Brake Light is available from:

MG Centre, 26 Cowper Street, Granville 2142, NSW, Australia.

Contact:              Stuart Ratcliff

Email Address:    mgcentre@bigpond.com