Technical Tail lights

I am building a 53 chevy truck and looking for some custom tail light ideas besides 59 caddy lights. Anyone have some ideas?

 

I like 49-50 Merc tailights bolted to the rear fenders of those old pickups.

 

Is it repopped -37 Chevy taillights on this one , I like the video and hope my -52 Chevy pu will sometime in the future look somewhat like this one :

 

Ford repop lights mounted on the fenders of my '50 Chevy. I also ran small bike lights in the ends of the bedrolls.
More pics on my Website.

 

going to run a rear bumper? if not, can run lights in panel below tail gate. by recessing lights into fenders it limits visibility of lights.

 

1959 Cadilac are my first choice

 

If you want to run with todays urban traffic, brake lights in the bed roll ends are a good idea.

 

Back in 1960,the 59 Cady lights were already hot thing,the wow of new stuff to put on our customs n rods. I guess I still love them having been in that time and even used them on my Henry J full custom ,I won a lot of shows with my J,but some didn't know I had Cady's on it,I had done some custom work to them as well myself;
I cut the pointed tip off an polished the edge so no cut marks showed,put the point up inside the light=now looked like a red hot jet engine. I though they were super cool that way,but still never seen my mod repeted anyplace. My "J" I built was in Car Craft mag in Jan 1963

 

Here's is an idea for you. So-Cal sells the 1937 stainless brackets, and Speedway Motors sells the 1937 LED taillights. I used them on My speedster and they worked awesome....and they are very bright. You will need to order two of the lights with out the lens for lighting the license plate. I ordered wrong and had to send one back. Gary

 

I used the repop '37 Chevy lights on the tops of the fenders on my old F1.

 

Ayala shop truck (from Rik Hoving's Archives).

 

'Mo's visuals on the truck are spot-on perfect. Remember, this is a truck you're talking about, with big rear fenders that just "cry" to have a good-sized taillight in 'em...for both visibility AND style.

Another great taillight that would fit, and look, perfect on those large fenders would be '41 Stude. Where the Merc lights look awesome and take a Horizontal approach, the Stude goes Vertical...and looks very cool in the process.

Also, FrankenRodz suggestion about adding small lights in the trucks bedroll ends is a good safety idea.

What ever you choose...best of luck to you !

Jonnie www.legends.thewwbc.net

 

I like what 'mo suggested a lot as that truck looks gorgeous.

There is a lot you could do with the tailights, but generally when I think of a traditional custom I think it makes more sense to see a newer model year light than an older one. Back then guys were trying to adapt newer styles into older vehicles like what Dana Barlow said. IMHO it depends how custom your truck is going to be. You could go wild and put Edsel boomerang tailights on reshaped rear fenders, or mild and just fit some 1953 Chevy or 1949-51 ford tailights. On a rollpan, on the fenders, into specially shaped housings sculpted to the fenders etc...

There is a ton of options. You should get a solid plan for the whole trucks general style in your head, and then look at tailights and play with the idea of how they would fit with the whole truxk

 

I always liked '49-50 Lincolns on these.... Big enough for good visibility, fairly easy fit, and not so common as to be a cliché....

 

I put repop 50 poncho tail lights on my 52 f-1 . Simple, easy to install, and look better than the lame trailer lights them trucks came with .

 

I was thinking '41 Stude placed horizontally.

 

Completely different idea (and I am only slightly biased......)

1962 Merc Monterey Tailights. You could mold them into the top of the fenders to give a true custom vibe. No one is repooping them that I am aware of, so you will have to search e-bay or scour a junk-yard or two (or 10, they are only slightly more common then hen's teeth and a bit rarer then dichfors).

Original.


On a HAMBer's custom Chevy.

 

If you don't like caddy lights and do like frenched lights in the fenders '59 Corvette lights work well.

The lights on the Ayala truck are perfect and were commonly used on all kinds of boat fender vehicles, very traditional.

if you are into work '49 Ford tail lights can be used. But it is work to make them look right.

 

I've always thought those would look good on something else....I was right! They look great on that car!

First time I've seen them used.

 

48 Chevy taillights on my 53 Chevy

 

Those 62 mercury lights look bad ass in that Chevy!

 

See if a pair of '61 Dodge Polara taillights would be "different" enough for you?

 

Beehive Harley taillights

 

Just a FYI, what you guys are calling 37 Chevy are actually 39 Chevy taillights. 37 (and 38) Chevy taillights look like the stock taillights on the 47-55 trucks. The rounded rectangular shape.

I used the 48 Chevy style lights on my 52 GMC, mounted in the panel below the tailgate. Got some flush mount LED, so only had to drill a few small holes.

 

1950 Pontiac tail lights with blue dots on my A Sedan.

 

Couple ideas here if you are a facebooker. Some traditional, some not even close. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.461210703918392.102459.328667563839374&type=3

 

Depends how 'custom' your truck is, but I really like the '46-48 Ford passenger car lights since they are nice and clean looking, but still a bit utilitarian looking. you could mount them on or french them into a roll pan or bumper. I'm using them on my Stude Pickup...

 

My uncle had a 55 chevy pickup with 58 belair tail lights mounted vertical. sure was cool.

 

49 merc tail lights on my old 48 pu with a 3rd brakelight in the rear window.