The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Taillights

Has anyone tried to convert the stock taillights to use a standard bulb like a 1157? My truck is 12 volts than you don't have to have two bulbs in there ,I'm thinking of fabbing up a new bracket out of some scrap and see if it will work.


Pete

Went out to the old garage and fabed out two new brackets to convert to a single 1157 looks good and is much brighter on stop and turn sig. Now I just have to carry 1157 for front and back.Pics on photo bucket

Pete







http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss39/sparky52/tailight%20conversion/

We talked already Pete, but once again, that's the way they orta be in the first place. Nice job and it just makes sense to have the same type bulbs at each of the four corners and one spare in the glove box.
Denny G

Well done indeed. There are conversion brackets commercially made but they are flimsy.

Thanks ,Denny and Tiny,the lights are done and they are brighter on stop and turn.

Added some pics of the bracket insalled and some lit.
http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/ss39/sparky52/tailight%20conversion/

Pete

Not wanting to be a smart patooty but your housing is upside down. If you notice the slot next to (above in your pics) the lens mounting screw bracket, it's to let water out that accumulates in the housing. Kind of hard to do that with it on top. It really doesn't hurt anything but you might want to drill a small weeping hole on the "bottom" of your housing to let water out. Additional info on your style of tail light and getting more light output.

Tiny, that is a design flaw in the after-market housings. I pointed it out to Jim Carter when I got mine, but don't know if it has been fixed yet or not.

Oh, so the only way it mounts is upside down??? Made in china strikes again. The RH car tail lights of that design don't have that problem so this is a first for me.

Yep! the left is fine but the right is upside down.

Yep, pondered that for days when I added the right hand tail light to my '50 four years ago. And nope they haven't bothered to tell the manufacturer about it, why bother, we're still buying them even if they are up-side-down!!!! The conversion brackets are not only flimsy but they don't fit right and I don't believe they are made for a single 12v bulb but rather the two 12v bulbs and they put the bulb right up against the lens.
Denny Graham

I thought that when I put them on the truck ,but I wanted both to have the screw on top or bottom ,so there it is upside down and the gasket does not fit that well so there is no need to drill a hole ,never had water stay in there,junk, but I didn't have any else to put on but the repo junk.


Pete

So it's not just me. When I first got my '51 last year I saw the upside down tail light and it drove me crazy. I thought the PO was an idiot but, after after spending countless hours researching it I could not come up with any other explanation that what has been stated above.
Does anyone know if the original taillight had a bottom clear lense for the licence plate? That's the only thing stopping me from putting right side up - other than that and re-working the bracket.
Very frustrating.
I am now doing battle with replacement outside door handles which is a whole other story.
P

Yep, here is an original 1950 left side tail light:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/135350652/large
DG

I have two original right hand taillights, one was NOS in the box, and the drain holes are "upside down" compared to the left hand one on an AD pickup. So if you're worried about the drain holes, the left will have the garnish screw at the top and the right will have it on the bottom.

I had quite a few discussions with experts several years ago about this, including Carter and several others, and the only reasoning we could come up with was the fact this taillight design was around well before the AD's were produced. The older pickups had the lights mounted the other end up. Since the right lights were an option and were dealer stocked for several years worth of trucks, GM just never redesigned the right one when the AD's came out.

Bob

Well hoooooowdy Bob. That sounds reasonable, and I for one have missed your logical input. I've been wondering what ever happened to ya.
I'll bet you've been busy making a trophy room up for that new truck right????
I'd sure like to see it, and I'm sure a lot of the other old timers here would also.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Hah, still kickin, Denny. The 51's getting close, but I haven't had much time in the last year or so between working on the new place and the resto of my Dad's old Cub Cadet that I got a little carried away with. That's done now, so maybe I can sneek a little time and get back to business.

Bob

Well welcome back to the flock. Sounds like that sidetrack bug bit both of us last year. I'm finally getting back at it, hope you do also.
Back to the lights though, I did what Pete did on his. The holes and slot in the right bracket will not allow you to turn the light housing right side up. You have to offset the slot at the top so there is clearance for the wire cable.
The original bezel has a very pronounced eyebrow where the retainer screw seats. It just doesn't look correct with this at the bottom and the original bezel has a 1/8" drain hole at the bottom, the repros have a slot where the bezel hooks into the housing.
If I take myself back 60 years to a saturday morning visit to the Chevy Parts department. I'd probably be asking the parts man these very same questions, that is why the bracket is upside down?? Then when I got home I probably would have done the same thing that I did with mine in this day and age. And that is, get the rat tail file out and rework the slot in the bracket so I could mount the light right side up.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Pete, that's a sharp pair of skives.
http://s559.photobucket.com/albums/...on/?action=view&current=P6060006.jpg
lol

Now Jim you mean to tell me that it never gets up to 100° in Texas???? Bout everybody was running around in their swim suits last week in that heat.

Denny G

LOL Denny
It reminds me of the many times I've run down to the garage in my undies to take a picture someone wanted. From now on I'll remember to check the reflection.

Me Too,never thought about it!!!!

It was about 90+ out that day.


Pete