..Any HAMBers ever made this swap??..59 Pontiac Bonneville tailights into a 60 Chevy..I really like this look and I've been considering it myself..I don't have the Pont. tailights yet to compare..I'm concerned about cutting the rear panel if necessary...My 60 is a Biscayne so I'm thinking the swap may be a LiL' different than the Impala w/6 tailights.....Any input or maybe pics. would be appreciated.....deedster
My friend and I both have '60 Impalas with Bonneville taillights. He's using the inside ring of the taillight and I'm using the outside ring. Because '59 Bonneville lenses are very hard to find and expensive ($1,000 on eBay for the lenses) we're using flat red plastic with a diffuser backing. Here they are: Post more pics of your car. -Mike
I believe all '60 Chevys sould have '60 Merc grills and '59 Bonneville talilghts. I'll post pics tomorrow of my 4dr Impala with the tail lights. I bought mine off of ebay $55 for a complete set. Be paitent you'll find them....... Happy Trails, Mick
Mike....Thanks for the pics..They look great both ways..I sorta figured that the orig. Pontiacs would be high dollar..I'm somewhat creative so I can probably handle making my own when the time comes for that....
Impala Mike,....What is your plan for mounting the license plate?..Maybe a station wagon rear bumper?.....What grille are you using?......
The tailights look good in there...What modifications did you have to make ?.....I always liked the roof and rear glass on the 4 dr. hardtops....deedster
it does look badass! I wanted em for my '60 Biscayne when I saw this old lil book that showed a Barris kustom. I really dig it but I'm starting to see it more often. Been looking for an alternative but have had no luck yet. I was thinking of these (see pic) but not exactly sure how it'll look. They're not as slick as the pont. though. ANY OPINIONS???? Anyone know exactly what they are off of?
Exactly! Also, the fuel filler was moved to a trap door in the trunk. As for grille, I'm using a '59 Chrysler Imperial with chrome expanded metal backing and Lucas lights with clear lenses. Also, a shaved '59 Impala front bumper with the license plate portion filled and a roll pan. See pics. Thanks, Mike
What kind of taillight are in the first pic? The little books is where I got the idea too. The guy that owns the orange and silver car the I posted bought a '60 new in '60! And added the taillights then.
They're expensive because they will crack down the middle (from top to bottom) with age. I have a set and one is cracked right in half, the other not quite all the way up. I wish now I'd saved some of the intact ones I saw on cars about 18 months ago. I had no idea they were going for so much money - Star Chief and Bonneville both had the wide lights, except the wagons, and they made around 145,000 of them between the two - it's not like 60-61 Chrysler wagon taillights that there were all of 2500 pairs to go around. Anyways the point is a cracked set aught to be dirt cheap and get you the guts to them. You can run them cracked if the car needs paint, or use them for templates to make something if your car is nice. I'm trying to think now if the one '59 I know of with those lights, were any good. I like '59's so I kind of pay attention to them when I spot 'em -
I had a feeling they were buicks but wasn't sure what year. thanks. My dads homeboy came across em for me. What do you guys think? Will it look good in the '60? I haven't made up my mind yet.
Not to hijack, but anyone have a pic of '60 Chevy with a Merc grill? I'm about to tear into my 60 Buick and am looking for grill ideas. Thanks- Rob