401/403 rear light improvements.

[Bobbyweaf]

Hi Geoff,

new lights on the back of my 401 have been haunting me since I had my first 401 in 1968. LED lights are directional and unfortunately the 401/403 lights are at an angle and today are about as much use as a candle in the rear window!

As a temporary measure I fitted a 3rd side/break light in the rear window, which is great and safe but it does restrict the view a little but is much better, and there are a number of options available on EBAY. I have bought many of them as I like to see them in situ and I now have a better alternative if I ever get the time to fit it

I have spent several years investigarting all the alternatives and wrote an article on the subject, which I have not yet published. I also wrote a much longer article on rear indicators and took a number of photos of other People’s “solutions”. This article is also unpublished at present and I have researched a lot on the subject of lights and indicators that are much more suitable for modern standards, without butchering the car.

I had some horrible indicators fitted that left a hole by the rear lights and I have covered these with Jaguar lights that are certainly not perfect but I had a hole in the body and they look much better. The lights are XJ6 export orange side repeat indicators, re-bulbed with a full 21 watt bulb and an additional small 21 watt bulb fitted under the reflector section giving a big 2 bulb flash.