I'm breaking a -69 2CV for spares, and was thinking of using the headlight's from the -69 on my daily driver, because of the little red plastic-lenses on top of the light housing. Do you call them "tell-tales"? Anyway, are they, the "tell-tales", supposed to light up when headlights are on? Then I think there must be some modification to the reflector/glass unit to allow some light up towards the tell-tales?

I also want to modify a late type light-bar to the "narrow spec.", do anyone know the with of the narrow light-bar?

No idea to first question, but:
"2cv AZ '58, 83cm wide
2cv6, 93cm wide"

I'm in the process of doing this myself.. Just gotta get someone to weld it.

I believe the early headlamps had a section of the reflector unsilvered, so as to allow light to pass through and illuminate the "tell-tale".

I had an old mobylette when I was 14 or so and I put some custom french headlight on it that had a "tell tale" red light......but the reflector insidewas not the original and no light came to the "tell tale". So I spent a few minutes with a dremel type grinder and hey presto....it worked great.

The key to insuring that removing a section of the reflector doesn't bugger up your headlight beam is to have the tell tale and thusly the ground reflector point close to the rim of the reflector......you could not see the ground area on the one I did.

If you grind any portion further than about 2 inches back your gonna' see it.

I also reckon there is no reason one couldn't use those red dash warning light lenses and bezels and grind the bezel under it....should work fine.

If those lenses were too flush to the lamp body then grind an angular facet into the rear face of the lenses and it would work for sure.....

Just my two cents....

By the way Old Nail was just commenting on tell tale lights for his beauty.....it must be something in the air.

I did one on friday the head lamps will be slighty weird angles, but the main problem for me is getting my head lamps off the existing headlamp bar

Actually the light fitting is different. The side light is a festoon bulb which shines through a hole in the bayonet holding the main a dipped beam bulb. This lights up the interior of the headlight bowl, which makes the tell tale glow. High tech it isn't....

I like those type of lamps and searched high and low for a set during the rebuild but to no avail. If it was just the effect you were after it should be easy to attach a second bulb to the inside of the bowl that comes on with the side lights and lights them up, but obviously that won't warn you if a front bulb has gone which was the original intention of them.

Thanks! I would never have guessed the old one was 5cm narrower on each side! Maybe the narrow bar for the newer bonnet isn't that narrow?

If the reflector is made of metal there must be a hole in it I think.


Oh, I missed that. I'll see if I can find it.

So if I understand you right Macabry, you just drilled a hole/made a cut with a dremel in the reflector just under the tell-tale? That's what I am going to do, but just wanted to ask for opinions. The tell-tale is original in the housing, so I don't have to think about the placement.

Anyone have a picture of the original reflector for those light housings with tell-tale? Just because I'm curious to see the original stuff...

Eirik I cut one and three quarter inches (don't know what cm that is?) off each side of my lamp bar and it came perfect for the old AZAM size, for use with the normal later type bonnet.

WikiAnswers says that: There are 2.54 centimetres in one inch. Therefore, three quarters of an inch is equal to 0.75 x 2.54 = 1.905 centimetres.
So then I guess one and three quarter inches = 4,4 cm. I think I will shorten the bar with 4 cm on each side. Thanks guy's.


Naah....they must do as intended. I like form, but with a function. Form without function is like womens shoes. Nice to look at but often totally useless.


I must try to read that again tonight. Didnt understand much of it, must google some words I guess I might have been to long in the sun today or it's just too high tech