Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Power Equipment & RV => Topic started by: jackelope on October 04, 2013, 10:09:24 AM

Title: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: jackelope on October 04, 2013, 10:09:24 AM: I've got a '61 Continental in the shop and we're wondering what this is on the dash. It's snack in the middle of the dash. Picture is taken through the windshield looking in from the hood.
Anybody?
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F10%2F05%2Funumene9.jpg&hash=79888bcf23f290700751a6981dfae78e3c0ce05c)
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: h20hunter on October 04, 2013, 10:11:23 AM: Either a traffic light spotter or animal spotter........per one of the guys I work with......he is all about old cars....
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: jay.sharkbait on October 04, 2013, 10:13:22 AM: High beam sensor

It turns the cars high beams off when the sensor "sees" an oncoming cars headlights
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: h20hunter on October 04, 2013, 10:14:54 AM: Okay...I'm going with sharkbait...

http://daveknowscars.com/2011/05/26/mercedes-benz-adaptive-high-beam-assist-new-feature-or-old-news/ (http://daveknowscars.com/2011/05/26/mercedes-benz-adaptive-high-beam-assist-new-feature-or-old-news/)
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on October 04, 2013, 10:25:24 AM: Quote from: jay.sharkbait on October 04, 2013, 10:13:22 AM
High beam sensor

It turns the cars high beams off when the sensor "sees" an oncoming cars headlights

Sharkbait is correct. Back in the late 1950's early 1960's there was an attempt to put headlight sensors in cars to dim the headlights to oncoming cars. Cadilacs had a similar system too. Don't know why they weren't a success...
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: flinger on October 04, 2013, 10:51:59 AM: Yup automatic headlight dimmer
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: Woodchuck on October 04, 2013, 10:56:55 AM: It's the phazer in Cpt Kirk's personal planet exploration craft, looks like he has set on stun. :tup:
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: jackelope on October 04, 2013, 10:57:40 AM: Quote from: Heredoggydoggy on October 04, 2013, 10:25:24 AM
Quote from: jay.sharkbait on October 04, 2013, 10:13:22 AM
High beam sensor

It turns the cars high beams off when the sensor "sees" an oncoming cars headlights

Sharkbait is correct. Back in the late 1950's early 1960's there was an attempt to put headlight sensors in cars to dim the headlights to oncoming cars. Cadilacs had a similar system too. Don't know why they weren't a success...

Thanks!
Quote from: jay.sharkbait on October 04, 2013, 10:13:22 AM
High beam sensor

It turns the cars high beams off when the sensor "sees" an oncoming cars headlights

Thanks to you too.

This car has some crazy options for a '61. Neat stuff.
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on October 04, 2013, 01:23:57 PM: I had a '64 Lincoln Continental. No headlight sensor in it. Either it had been discontinued by then, or it was an extra-cost option. :dunno: One of the best cars I ever had, though. It had a 430 cid. engine, and got 22 mpg!
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: Bofire on October 04, 2013, 01:26:02 PM: Yup my Mom had one in a 65 caddy, the thing tho was so sensitive that sometimes reflector posts beside the road trigered it.
Carl
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on October 04, 2013, 08:54:09 PM: Quote from: Bofire on October 04, 2013, 01:26:02 PM
Yup my Mom had one in a 65 caddy, the thing tho was so sensitive that sometimes reflector posts beside the road trigered it.
Carl

Maybe that's why it never got to be popular.... :dunno:
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: 300rum on October 05, 2013, 04:35:31 AM: Must have been a Lee Iacocca car. I know he was real big in having lots of options on cars, they were much more profitable for Ford.
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: jackelope on October 05, 2013, 08:51:08 AM: I don't know. It's a '61 Continental Convertible. Very nice car.
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: follow maggie on October 06, 2013, 09:14:02 AM: Another vote for the headlight dimmer. Nice car, by the way
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: coachcw on October 27, 2013, 05:51:08 PM: wait til you work on the top ! I have the old manuals on them
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on October 28, 2013, 08:05:44 AM: Quote from: jackelope on October 05, 2013, 08:51:08 AM
I don't know. It's a '61 Continental Convertible. Very nice car.

It's kind of a historic car, too. I used to see a powder blue Lincoln convertible parked in a Hadley, Mass. driveway that JFK rode in. Drove by one morning on my way to work, and something shorted out and it burned up. Sad. :'(
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: jackelope on October 28, 2013, 08:46:10 AM: This one is powderblue too. It belongs to a Limo company.
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: huntnphool on October 28, 2013, 08:54:04 AM: With today's HID headlights that thing would be permanently in dim mode.
Title: Re: What is this?(old car question)
Post by: Skillet on October 28, 2013, 09:00:12 AM: Grandpa had a 1967 Coupe De Ville and I think it had one of these in it.

They would have been a lot more popular if they would have dimmed the other jerk's high beams instead of your own. :chuckle: