The Smith And Sniff Podcast Put Out The Taillight Call To Me, And I Answer A Month Late

Are you familiar with the Smith and Sniff podcast? It’s the podcast done by British autojourno icons Jonny Smith and Richard Porter, and it’s always fun and engaging to listen to. Or read, if you like your podcasts transcribed, printed, and then bound into hardcover books. Or, even, I suppose, seen acted out with puppets, if you have the resources required to make that happen. The point it is it’s a great car podcast, and in an episode that aired about a month ago, there was a call out for my help. Which I will now answer!

Late. But still.

Our own captive Brit Adrian Clarke heard this and notified me, so thank you, AC. Here’s the bit in question, which has to do with taillights, tarmac rollers, and Volkswagen Beetles:

So, in this part, Jonny is talking about how he was stuck in miserable traffic for far too long, and while stuck he was able to really scrutinize the tarmac spreaders being carried on the truck in front of him. These tarmac spreaders – we’d probably call them steamrollers (or more accurately, drum compactors) here – were Hamm HD13 models.

I bet Jonny’s view looked something like this:

Jonny noted the lovely taillights on the HD13, small charming oval units inset into the bodywork, one set of lights for brake/tail/indicator, and another just for reverse lamps. He appreciated the appealing and charming look of the brake/tail/indicator lights, and speculated that they were likely 1961 to 1967 Volkswagen Beetle taillights; at this point, Richard suggested they put the call out to me, the dork for whom obsessions with Beetles and taillights are well-established.

So, while I apologize for being so late, I’m more than happy to address this fascinating subject. And, I should mention that Jonny is no slouch here, as 1961 (well, model year 1962 but still) to 1967 is the correct period for a particular type of oval Beetle taillight! You can see them here on this chart:

Now, I see what Jonny was getting at; those lights absolutely look like ’62-’67 Beetle taillights. Actually, if we really, really want to get geeky, which I assure you we do, they look like the wonderful 1960-only, Italian- and Australian-market only “50-50” taillights:

The Hamm HD13’s lights look an awful lot like the rare 50-50 VW taillights, but I don’t think they actually are those, nor do I think they are the ’61-’67 Beetle lights. But, they are related, in that they’re made by the same company that made the VW lights for so many decades: Hella.

In fact, I believe they are these taillights:

Yes, I think what caught Jonny’s eye were Hella 2SD 343 130-071 Combination Rear Lights, which it looks like you can pick up for just under $30. They’re very close to the old VW lights, but have a nice slight arch in the divide between red and amber, like a seeing a distant hill at sunset.

I actually noticed these lights myself on a trip to Germany in 2021, where they were used on a forklift:

In an article for the Old Site I wrote about these (and all the other wonderful utility vehicle taillights seen in Europe, which are far more varied and wonderful than what we tend to see in the States) I actually had essentially the same sort of thought as Jonny did, saying

“Also, I feel like these would make excellent replacement lights for a lot of pre-’68 Volkswagen Beetles, early Porsche 356s, DKWs and Saabs.”

…because it’s very easy to imagine how well these would work on an old Beetle. I don’t know if they’re exactly the same size or shape, but given Hella’s long history making taillights for Volkswagens, it’s hard to imagine that those old lights weren’t at the very least a design inspiration for these.

I hope Jonny isn’t too disappointed that these are not the exact same taillights, but I also hope both Jonny and Richard find some solace in knowing the answer. They’re still fantastic taillights, and I have to applaud any and all acts of public taillight appreciation. They’re one of the small joys of life, and deserve to be celebrated!