1953 tail lights in a 1954 chevrolet

are 54 chevy tail lights a direct replacement in a 53? if not what goes into switching them out? thanks

 

'54s are a direct bolt on for a '53. Just remove the 53 units and bolt the '54's on.

Tony

 

So I get in a slugfest with a friend at a show. "Its a 54" "No 53", "Bite off, 54!" ... and on and on it went. I had it when people screw with our minds like that.

 

thanks

 

You want to hear some funny shit about that?.My dad has a 53 210 Club Coupe with,at that time the stock grille,now he has 54 teeth in it.
That screws guys all up.They never made a coupe in 54.....

 

Yes, the '54 lights will bolt directly to the '53 fenders, but you'll need to change the sockets slightly because the '54 has a dual-element bulb and if I remember correctly from 10 years ago when I put '54 taillights on my '53, the '53 has separate bulbs for tail and brake lights?
It is a really simple swap and really improves the looks of '53 Chevies in my opinion.

 

53 pontiac wagon will work as well, they look a little neater in my opinion.

 

the 54s are so much better looking than the 53s...the 53s are way busy looking...I'd also like to suggest using a pair of Lee lenses,,,makes the 54s even better in my opinion...

 

That is correct. The bulb sockets need to be swapped around, although the light bezel bolts right in. I put '54 lights in my '53 when I had it, much cleaner looking.

 

my latest arrival...53 Chevy Belair

 

with 54 tail lights

 

Bob i think next time i am in your area i will be checking that 53 out

 

For those of us that don't know, here's a '53 tail light, just for comparison.



I think the '54's are too modern.

 

I agree with "wsdad". A 53's styling is different than a 54. The tail lights match the grille teeth, the front bumper and headlight rings all go together. The same applies to a 54. Mixing up the parts makes them a little schizophrenic to me.

 

what are lee lenses?

 

I thought it was just me that thought like this. Seems like all the custom guys swap the 53 lights with the 54 lights to be different - just like everyone else.

53 Pontiac wagon lights??!! I gotta look into that ~ sounds interesting!

 

I like and will keep my original 53 lights in my 53..why would I want it to look like a 54? ..if I wanted a 54, I'd a bought one

 

http://www.leelenses.com/products/

 

I didn't swap my taillights to be different, I swapped them because I hate '53 taillights but like '54s. And since I also changed my grille ('53 vette), grille surround (homemade) AND headlight rims ('54 merc) it wasn't really an issue.

'53 Pontiac station wagon lights are beautiful if you can find a pair.

 

Another option is mid 60s International Travelall tail lights..

 

"Back in the day" 1960 I liked to put one 59 Cad tail light len's in the center of my stock 53 tail lights. Just needed to cut the back about 1 of 2 inch's short and they fit right in the center.They were like $8.00 each back then at a dealer.