47-55.1 Rear fender mounted turn/tail lights. What fits good?

[suburban99]

What fender mounted turn/tail lights fit? 50 chev sedan? Something that kinda matches the curve of the fender.

[mr48chev]

i know I have seen some but have no examples any of the photos I went though.

I had thought about frenching some lights in the fenders but Unless you are pretty close to straight on behind the truck you don't see both fenders Meaning that it is going to be hard for someone behind you to see both tail lights.

[dsraven]

yeah, I'm with mr48 on tjis one. you gotta think about the driver behind you being able to see the brake and signal light. you could install a light in the fender but it will only be seen if the driver behind is in the right spot. better off to install more rearward in my opinion. there are also little button LED lights that could be added to the side of the fender to discreetly show the truck from the side. princess auto sells them relatively cheap. you might think about a motorcycle fog light with an LED truck light installed in it that would have stop/turn/tail/back up ;ights in it. one stop shopping at the grote site, check it out. 4" is a common size for the LED sealed beam style light, maybe look for a housing that size. tractor lights may also work if you don't mind spending some time painting.

https://www.grote.com/signal-lightin...-backup/55162/

[joedoh]

how about 49 plymouth?



or 49 mercury



my all time fav taillights on any of the trucks i have done were the 36 truck taillights. i would do them on every truck except by the time I buy the housings and then buy the 36 car LED panels, i was like $400 all in. for TAILLIGHTS. but mannnn do they look good.

[mr48chev]

I've seen photos of the 49/50 Merc tail lights on an AD probably 40 years ago. They looked ok but it took a lot of work to get them molded in.

Back a few years ago this truck showed up at the Iron Angels car show here in town. 48 car taillights turned 90 degrees.






It is a good example of what I said previously about not being able to see the lights very well from straight beind the truck when following it.

There are several more photos of that truck in this album from the show. That was in 2013 and that truck will hold it's own at most shows now but I have never seen it except at that one show that I can remember. https://photobucket.com/u/mr48chev/a...b-cce572d4d754

[mr48chev]

A local friend of mine used 59 Caddy bullets in his GMC lowrider .





I'm not sure what this light is on this panel. 2005 photo.

[leegreen]

Hard to do custom fender taillights with that patina vibe you got going.

Circa 1936 chevrolet cars had tailights on this stalk sticking back from the fender. Kinda weird but it'd be different

or lights on a housing like an old VW beetle that you could modify to fit the curve of the fender then bolt on
(pre '61 the taillights were all red)

What about some 61 impala / biscayne round bullet taillights but on your roll pan? mounted upside down since the curve is reversed

or maybe just 4" round led lights mounted in the roll pan, all the old car options are going to be spendy unless you happen on a deal

[mongocanfly]

I'm like Russ, I like the 30s style tailights... but Russ, you can buy them already with LEDs
https://www.finditparts.com/products...oaAuIeEALw_wcB
I have a set in my stockpile of parts I've been collecting for several yrs..
I didnt give this much for mine, but that was several yrs ago..

[joedoh]

just a small note mongo, those are car taillights, the truck housings are slightly larger, so i use the car led lens inside the truck housing and behind the truck lens. they still look good! but I like the larger truck housings.

its a fiddly chore but I am ok with it.

[dsraven]

a lot of those tail lights look really good and a lot of work has gone into fitting them into the fender. in my opinion the lights are there so the cars behind you can see you there and have some idea what your next move is and when you are braking. if the lights can only barely be seen from the rear then they have lost their original function and become eye candy. lets face it, with the distracted drivers of today we need all the help we can get so we don't get rear ended by some star gazer or texter.
like said, my opinion. put the lights where they will be seen.
your truck, do what tickles your fancy but make sure to post pics here. lol.

[Tempest67]

here is a pic I found, but don't know what the light is from, sorry

[mongocanfly]

Ahhh..thanks Russ,, didnt know there was a difference

[dsraven]

I was behind a guy the other day. black car, black windows, black wheels, black everything AND blacked out tail lights. you couldnt see the lights when he braked or signalled (or maybe they just didn't work or were like those spendy cars that don't have signals, lol) let alone the tail light part. when I got up really close in the next lane over I could see a little glow but only because I was looking for it. the headlights were super bright though.

[mongocanfly]

I dont really care for the look personally, but didnt someone use vw taillights on AD fenders .?

[leegreen]

tailights in tempest67's picture are sweet, but those jack stands welded to wheel skates just look like an accident waiting to happen. Even on a smooth floor

[1project2many]

I know this doesn't answer OP's question, but why not install lights in the cab? Up high, easily visible, reduced wiring. They could be used to complement lights in the fenders.

Here's a cool set of lights, easily visible:

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Tempest67

here is a pic I found, but don't know what the light is from, sorry

thats a 49 dodge, similar to the plymouth, they cut a lot of the "tail" off that one

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I was behind a guy the other day. black car, black windows, black wheels, black everything AND blacked out tail lights. you couldnt see the lights when he braked or signalled (or maybe they just didn't work or were like those spendy cars that don't have signals, lol) let alone the tail light part. when I got up really close in the next lane over I could see a little glow but only because I was looking for it. the headlights were super bright though.

That nonsense is a big thing around here. My OT daily =98 BMW 528I had cheap aftermarket smoked taillights and dark tint on the windows and cheap "halo" headlights when I bought it and I boght stock tail lights and headlights for it and shaved the tint off.

Personally I am getting to like the idea of AD burb or 37 Chevy car tail lights and housings fitted to the posts on the bed. A clean look that is custom but blends in well with the rest of the truck.

Following a truck with the lights in the back of the cab rather than at the back of the bed would be like following a truck pulling a flatbed trailer that didn't have lights on it. you don't know where the back end really is at night.

[dsraven]

being a guy that wipes down the vehicle after a wash I would say be sure to leave clearance around the light so the area can easily be washed and wiped down. then again, if you're a patina guy, I guess that doesn't matter so much maybe? do patina guys wipe down after a wash?

[dsraven]

personally I'm not a big fan of those frenched in long slender caddy lights, they look outta place to me. kinda taking away from the rest of the truck back there.

[leegreen]

looking at another view of suburban99's truck, I like those light buckets and they match the ones on front fender. I would not change them. Maybe add a stick on blue dot at the rear to jazz the lens up.

this is the same truck from an earlier post:

[my56chevytruck]

Te each their own, I like the different styling that each of us put into our trucks. I chose not to use fender mounted or even the round taillights. I saw this idea on a truck years ago and liked the idea of the visibility and unique idea so when I bought my 56 this was on my mind; to use the taillights on the truck bed pilar.

[dsraven]

That looks more correctly sized, in my opinion.
Like you said though, to each their own. Personal style is important.

[leegreen]

that light shape does look OK on that truck.....with the tailgate chain lifted up out of the way

[my56chevytruck]

Originally Posted by leegreen

that light shape does look OK on that truck.....with the tailgate chain lifted up out of the way

I ultimately removed the chains for a slide locking mechanism