shoebox72
03-09-2004, 10:56 PM
I did this swap a few years ago on a 54 hardtop I had. It seemed every 53-54 Chevy had Lee bubble lenses, including mine. So in my quest for something different, this is what I came up with. 51 Ford lenses in the 54 chevy bezels.
You'll need a sheet of dark red transparent 1/8 in. plexiglass, a pair of plastic 51 ford taillight lenses, a pair of 54 chevy bezels & a 54 taillight reflector.
Start off by tracing the outline of the oval shaped reflector from the 54, onto the plexiglass.
Then cut cut the outline you just made on the plexi with a bandsaw. A jigsaw with a fine blade will work also but you don't have as much control, TAKE YOUR TIME.
Put aside the pieces you just cut.
Now the 51 Ford lenses, you'll notice that the mounting surface of the 51 lense is V'd & it wont sit flat on a flat surface. We need to remedy this so it will sit flat on the pieces of plexi that were cut earlier.
I used a belt sander to sand the lense till the mounting surface is completely flat. You need to take your time doing this & check to make sure the lense is held level & it's coming down evenly.
once the lense is flat, put it on the piece of plexi you cut earlier, center it & trace the outline of the 51 lense onto the plexi. Put the 51 lense aside. You now have a reference an oval shaped hole in the center of the plexi. I cut 2 small holes in oppisite ends with a hole saw & used a jigsaw to cut the center out.
Now peel the paper the off the plexi & super-glue the 51 lense on. I super glued the lenses on the one I did 4 years ago & they've never fallen off.
I've got a few photos to put up so please wait till I'm done to to comment or ask questions.
Thanks, Billy
Trace the outline of the 54 reflector onto the plexi.
You'll need a sheet of dark red transparent 1/8 in. plexiglass, a pair of plastic 51 ford taillight lenses, a pair of 54 chevy bezels & a 54 taillight reflector.
Start off by tracing the outline of the oval shaped reflector from the 54, onto the plexiglass.
Then cut cut the outline you just made on the plexi with a bandsaw. A jigsaw with a fine blade will work also but you don't have as much control, TAKE YOUR TIME.
Put aside the pieces you just cut.
Now the 51 Ford lenses, you'll notice that the mounting surface of the 51 lense is V'd & it wont sit flat on a flat surface. We need to remedy this so it will sit flat on the pieces of plexi that were cut earlier.
I used a belt sander to sand the lense till the mounting surface is completely flat. You need to take your time doing this & check to make sure the lense is held level & it's coming down evenly.
once the lense is flat, put it on the piece of plexi you cut earlier, center it & trace the outline of the 51 lense onto the plexi. Put the 51 lense aside. You now have a reference an oval shaped hole in the center of the plexi. I cut 2 small holes in oppisite ends with a hole saw & used a jigsaw to cut the center out.
Now peel the paper the off the plexi & super-glue the 51 lense on. I super glued the lenses on the one I did 4 years ago & they've never fallen off.
I've got a few photos to put up so please wait till I'm done to to comment or ask questions.
Thanks, Billy
Trace the outline of the 54 reflector onto the plexi.