Driving/fog lights

[griston64]

I know we are going well off topic here but I remember the brakes being absolutely awful ( drums all round if i remember rightly ) I crashed into the back of my mates Renault 8 ( i think ) which I also think was rear engine.

Made a right mess of my escort but there was hardly a mark on his. Sold it not long after that with a bungee cable holding the exhaust manifold on. Made a great sound

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by griston64

I know we are going well off topic here but I remember the brakes being absolutely awful ( drums all round if i remember rightly ) I crashed into the back of my mates Renault 8 ( i think ) which I also think was rear engine.

Made a right mess of my escort but there was hardly a mark on his. Sold it not long after that with a bungee cable holding the exhaust manifold on. Made a great sound

Well we are and in a funny way, we're not going off-topic here Mark. When Ford revamped their ranges, the new "S" designation (the insurance companies had relaxed by this time, realising that no matter how they were dressed up, manufacturers were always going to make a "hot" model and it was the driver, not the car that caused the accidents) models all came with auxiliary driving lamps as standard on the Fords of the mid-late 70s and the new high-end models usually got them and front fogs!

Renault 8s were definitely rear engine, kind of a "French Imp" in a way. I remember my brither having a G reg 1300GT Escort and that had drums all round, a mate of mine had a 1300XL (very similar to the GT but single choke carb and cast iron manifold) on an M reg that had disc front/drum rear. I did once drive a Mk2 Escort with drums all round - hideous brakes - i can definitely relate to yours getting intimate with something suddenly stopping in front!

Getting back on topic properly though, i've always thought it a mistake on the part of manufacturers to include the front fogs in the main headlamp. To the uninitiated oncoming driver, it sometimes appears you have main beam on - they don't like it when they get flashed back by me and realise i had dipped and fogs on!

I believe Mercedes did a similar trick around the same time as Volvo and many people flashed them too. Despite having the front fogs built in to the headlights on mine, i'd much rather that they had fitted a full height driving lamp and front fogs under the bumper as per the the pre-facelift models. I've sometimes thought of fitting aftermarket front fogs in the "usual" place and wiring the ones in the headlamp to come on with full beam and the driving lamps. Because i've got LED bulbs in the outer that only use 25W and the HIDs are both 35W, that would be a total of 95W on main beam, still 15W less than the loom was designed for so wouldn't even need an extra relay!