The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Replacement Tail Lites

I just bought a pair of replacement tail lites for my 49 and was stunned as to how poor they were made, most of the items from Brother's have been good even coming from China, anyone found better units I want good items and it seems the suppliers are going the cheap route

I purchased mine for the 52 from Classic parts they have glass lenses and seem to be as good as a re-pop can be.
so far NP's other than they came with 6volt bulbs ...they lasted abought 3 seconds ...lol
after changin over to 12 volt bulbs ...good to go.
Tim

I got the one's from Jim Carter and they are pretty original. I bought six volt dual filament bulbs to install a turn signal switch, and NAPA charged a hefty $4+ per bulb. Found a better version at the hardware store made by GE for $2.39 for a two bulb pack.

Yep, the original left side taillight on my 1950 cleaned up real nice had no rust, just dull paint but the lens and bezel chrome was shot. So I ordered new set of glass and plastic lens so I would have a choice and a new bezel from Chevy Duty and I also added a new reproduction right side unit and bracket to the order.
The new unit was very cheaply made, off size, thin material, socket and bracket inside was tinny. The new bezels were very thin, the formed nose at the top was poorly defined and they left a large gap when fit over either the repro or original body. I actually had doubts whether they would stay in the catch at the top they fit so sloppy. Also the opening for the lens was formed to small and you had to force the plastic lens in, I thought I was going to break it or have to file it to fit. The glass lens didn't fit in the opening at all and it looked like you would have to do a little dolly and hammer work to get it to fit.
The holes in the right bracket were in the wrong location and it had to be modified to fit.
All in all I guess it depends on what you hold as a standard. When compared to the original taillights they are in my opinion, poorly made reproductions that look OK from a distance.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

do you remember the part numbers. i cant find any 6 volt dual bulbs, any other suggetions

I think the 6v two-filament bulb number was 1154 (145416).

1154 bulbs are still around. A good 1154 is just as good as a good 1157 and a bad 1154 is just as bad 1157. Being 6 volt has nothing to do with the quality.

i ordered a pack of np1154's from napa, they came in and the pack said they were 12 volts so i didnt get them. should they still work, the ones that came witht the fixture are real dim

53flatbed,

Dim 6v bulbs are usually a result of bad electrical grounding. Our 6v lights do not have a separate ground-wire, so the ground is often provided by the electrical continuity from the light housing/fixture/socket back to the frame (though bolts and screws). These "contacts" corrode/oxidize/rust over the years and provide a weak ground.

I have had success in having bright 6v bulbs after cleaning the screw and bolt holes back to bright metal and then applying a conductive antioxidant "grease" - Kopr-Shield .

Tim

what's the "np" in front of the 1154? #1154 bulbs are 6V and have 2 'buttons' on the bottom with staggered pins so they only go in one way ... 1157 is the 12V version

Bill

1154 - NAPA - 6.4 volts (electrical rating)

All you ever wanted to know about the 1154 6v bulb (including the ridiculous prices this place charges)

i guess its a napa part number