Modifying Taillights and Back-up lights. (cost about $25.00)

This is a mod I managed to do myself. I got rid of of those back-up lights
and doubled up on the brake and turn signal lights. I like it.

You can pick up the extra taillights at a salvage yard or buy them on eBay. The salvage yard will be cheaper if you remove the lights. $20.00 pair in my area. (Takes a 10mm deep well socket.) Three times that much on eBay. Make sure you get the inner housings and as much of the wiring as you can reach. The wiring will come in handy. The inner housing holds the light in place. Get the nuts and the bulbs too. The nuts have a built in washer.

The back-up light is quite a bit smaller in diameter than the taillight although it does not look like it from the outside. You can see the difference of about 3/4 of an inch and you have to cut all that metal out to make the taillights fit.

I used a pair of aviation tin snips and then finished rounding it out with a grinder. You don't really need the 3 notches you see in the top holes. Be careful, one slip and you can scratch the paint. This is the hardest part of the job.

Rewiring is pretty straight forward. But if you aren't familiar with automotive electrical wiring ask a learned buddy to help. I used solderless connectors but you may want to solder them the old way for a permanent problem free connection.

When removing and re-installing the lights, housings, nuts, and bulbs you will drop something - eventually. Not to fear; there are two places or pockets the item can fall into and by reaching all the way into the correct pocket you can find it and you will be able to get it back out.

For the back-up light I bought a small round led light from eBay and installed them in the center of the red reflector. I drilled the 3/4 holes through the reflector and then the fascia and wired to the original back-up light wiring.

Some may say it would be easier to cover the white part of the back-up light with red decal and then rewire. It would - but there would be a noticable difference in brightness of the bulbs and I didn't like that idea.

Good luck if you are thinking about doing this mod.

Boydie

 

Nice mod, but I like the blue dots!!! Thank you! Boydie !!

 

[B]Thanks and yeah I am thinking about putting the blue dots on my panel again.
I had 'em on all four.

They look better on Old Blue though.[B]

 

X2. Nice mod.

 

Nice time tested mod. I remember some doing this back in '07 or so.. Very Cool still..

 

I did this mod last year..love the look. I found if i mounted the new lights upside down and left to right,they would fit the hole much more flush all the way around. It works.

 

Love those Blue Dots too! Unfortunately they're illegal in Arizona for some strange reason?

 

I went into the local copshop and asked if they were legal or not, the desk clerk said I don't see why the would be illegal and gave my a printout confirming there is no law against Bluedot's in my county and signed it. But will that hold up in court? So, far I have driven 12,000 miles thru Ontario, and several eastern seaboard states and had no issues.