The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs 1952 Suburban Taillight Configuration

What is correct for a barndoor version? Single taillight / license plate light? Couple of turn signals over the bumper? Couple of bullets on the side of the body? What?

Joe is correct about the standard single tail/stop/brake lamp on the driver's-side barn door.

The "bullet" dual tail-lamps were an available GM accessory (and in 1954, they came with a turn-signal apparatus). These were installed by the dealer or the customer.

I've got a 48 panel and mine came with the single tail light on the door. What I did was fabricated new ones to fit into my rear fenders from a different model of vehicle.so i could take that tail light off my door.It cleaned up the back end real nice.

My 52 Carryall, former military ambulance, has two licence plate lights, one on each door of course. Don't know if only the ambulances came this way.

The "bullet" lights were used as dealer-installed turn signals until '54, when the column-integrated turn signals were introduced. The '54 turn signals could have been factory or dealer installed.

There was also a service bulletin issued in '48 to use a bullet light over the doors as a tail light if driving with the doors open.

I have two sets of those 'bullet' lights. One I bought at a swap meet and another that came attached to a '51 Chevy 1-ton panel.

The best of the pieces will someday be on my '55 1st GMC modified with dual filament bulbs for tail and stop/turn.

Steve,

I was looking through a 1950 Chevrolet Truck Data Book and it had the accessory "bullet" lamps listed as dual-filament stop/tail lamps. I wonder if they were dual filament for all Advance Design years? The '39 Chevy passenger car tail lamps were most likely single filament?

Tim

My 49 sub came with the single tail/license light on the drivers side back door. It also had 2 tail lights on the rear splash apron which I don't think was stock. I managed to find a pair of bullet lights at a swap meet which will go on the sides close to the beltline. Seems to me I saw a post a long while back on this site showing exactly where the bullet lights are supposed to go. Anyone remember this? I could use that information now that I have the lights that I thought I would never find. Weeds

One of my sets was minus any guts, so I've no idea if it was single or dual filament. I'm pretty sure the other set only had one wire, but that doesn't mean it was always that way.

MNSmith

I found a couple 50ish burbs a long time ago at the boneyard that were used for school busses in their past lives. They both had the bullet tail lites on either side of the rear just below the beltline along with the licence plate holder lite on the drivers side barn door. The bullets were identical to those found on a 39 chevy (I once owned a 39 chevy business coupe in high school back in '72). I bought new glass lenses and chrome rings from Chev's of the 40's and they fit perfectly! I have also seen them on a canapy express at the Barrett-Jackson auction site. I plan on using them for running lites on my 53 Suburban, as well as turn/brake lites and the barn door lite for my 3rd brake lite.

You can follow the link below and should be able to eyeball the location from the pic of the 1949 Canopy Express.

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/events/scottsdale/vehicles/cardetail_list.asp?id=183383

If for some reason the link doesn't work you can go to WWW.barrett-jackson site then click on auction car list and select chevrolet under the "List By Make" box. It's listed on the first page. There is a good photo of the passenger rear to locate the bullet.

Good Luck,
Jim

That looks like the right spot. The wires and mounting studs should come through the body right above the interior ledge.

tcl---Thanks for the bullet light template. Now I know for sure where to drill the holes. Weeds

Take a look at the mounting of these bullets.

http://www.classictruckshop.com/clubs/earlyburbs/members/gallery2/222/display.htm

They appear to be mounted higher up?? I guess they could be hack mounted just about anywhere!

Tim - your template looks to be like the canapy express' lite mounting, which I'm sure was painstakingly restored to original. I'd go with the template.

Jim

Panel Truck, Canopy Express, and Suburbans all had the bullet sidelights located using the same template.

The template at the link above is a pdf scan of an original template.

I saved the PDF for future use. It looks to be a good 1 to 1 - I matched the studs on my bullet lites to the scan and they line up nice.

Thanks,
Jim

I just got my restoration package from GM. If I read it correctly, the passenger door side light was an option. Otherwise it was just the single license / tail / stop on the drivers side door.

Great info guys, this is something I've wondered about before. I've snagged it and the scan for future use, and to put on my website.
MONGO

MNSmith,

Does the restoration packet give an option number for that passenger door side light?

Thanks,
Tim

#249

GMONIZ,

I could not find the dual-tail-light/bullets for panel-body trucks article either under Suburban, Panel, or electrical sections (47-55 Tech Articles). I think I remember seeing one in the past.

JC has an article about the single add-on tail light for above the panel truck rear doors ( 1948 Canadian panel bodies ) and an article about dual tail lights on other truck bodies, stating this about panel bodies:

"Neither the single factory taillight on the double door or the center unit on the tail gate were in a good position to be matched with a second live assembly. GM solved this by offering a turn signal kit containing two matched taillights. These were dealer installed beside the vehicle belt line near the doors and above the edge of the tailgate. These small bullet shaped lights were actually from a 1939 Chevrolet passenger car. It appears GM dusted off the ten year old car taillight tooling and kept expenses on this option to a minimum. The letters "DURAY" are stamped in the top of the painted housing. The chrome bezel retains a 2 5/8 inch diameter red glass lens. Due to a small water drain hole, there is a right and left on these turn signal lights."

Tim

The truck data books for 1950 and 1954 show pictures of RPO 249 (available on panel body trucks). They describe two bullet tail lights for panel truck bodies (for both panel-type doors and end-gates in 1950 and 1954).

There were a few other accessory tail light kits (at least in 1954), including bullet-style lights, that a dealer or owner might have installed on any body.

The 39 "bullet lights" and a few 37/38 variants used by Pontiac and Oldsmobile popped up here and there through 55. NORS glass replacement lenses are readily available on eBay. For a while, someone was selling new glass lenses in clear and orange for them, but I haven't seen them for about a year.

There are a few not quite accurate statements in there. The Harley-Davidson use of the panel truck lens didn't start until '54 or '55, and ran through '72. Harleys used glass lenses, rather than plastic (and the glass lenses are available through Harley restoration houses). The panel light could EASILY have been matched with a matching light on the passenger side - both doors have an access hole in the same spot. I'm planning to do this with my '54.

Does anyone have a picture of an originally-installed rooftop bullet light?

Restoration pack says:
Lights.......2 head, 2 parking, and 1 tail and stop.

In the other section that lays out the specs in more detail:

TAIL AND STOP LIGHTS
Make and type..........Guide, combination
Number and location: Two-unit bodies.........One, attached to rear end of frame left side member
Canopy Expresses and Suburban Carryall.......One, centered on tail gate (linkage automatically adjusts light for tail gate position)
Panels......One, on left rear door.

RPO 249: Panels, Canopy Expresses, and Suburban Carryall......Two, extra combination tail and stop lights, one at rear of each body side panel.

So, there you go! In GM's own words. For the 1952 models.

That's right. The two, extra combination tail and stop lights, one at rear of each body side panel. These are the bullets, one on the rear of each body side panel.
[img]http://ares.cs.siena.edu/~lederman/Web%20images/PanelTailLightRPO249.jpg[/img]

Howdy folks! Looks like I've been away too long. You guys are having good conversations over here. I don't have anything major to add to this other than what has already been stated. I have the bullet signals on my 54 panel. They're up in the attic right now and I can't recall if they were a dual filament but, they will be by the time I'm through.
I do have question though. I can't seem to find REAL glass replacement lenses. Any idea who carries those? I'd prefer that over the plastic lenses. The other question is where can you find the rubber gasket that goes between the bullet housing and the body. I saw some on ebay last year and I should have jumped on them...they were only around 3 bucks.
Thanks,
Jon

Check with "chevs of the 40's" they have glass replacement lenses. Spec the ones for the 39 chevy. I bought 2 along with the chrome bezel rings and gaskets. They fit good on my bullets pulled from a burb in the boneyard many many years ago.

http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/

"Chevs of the 40's is the world's most complete supplier of 1937-54 Chevrolet car and truck parts."

That is what they claim anyhow!

Oh BTW - The bullets I pulled from the boneyard had dual filament sockets in them.

Good Luck,
Jim

Check eBay. Original "Cat Eye" glass replacement lenses sell there all the time for the bullet lights, usually $3-$9 each. Look for 1937, 1938, 1939 Chevrolet, Pontiac and Oldsmobile tailight lenses.

Now if someone can finde me stainless bezels for those things (and the barn door taillight)...

Chevs of the 40s and/or Steele Rubber used to have far better (than the original) rubber gaskets/seals for between the bullets and the body.

Chevs of the 40s has a new on-line catalog/order-system and a few items are misnumbered/mislisted and it is harder to search than their old catalog. They do not seem to have the bullet-to-cab rubber seal (it may be in their auto section).

Here is a fiberglas bullet body that is hidden in their on-line catalog (a new item?).

Here is the page that has lenses, bezel and bezel-to bullet/lens cork gasket.

Steele Rubber does not list the Panel-body bullet-to-body seal but have a seal that I think is for the '39 bullet (60-0122-15).

Tim

The '39 bullet is the same light. Any parts for the '47-'54 will interchange.