Rusty Driver
Posts: 195
Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm
Sun Feb 25, 2018 1:56 pm
KB5 Tail Light Fabrication
My brother's 1948 KB5 box truck was originally fitted with a single dual element brake/marker tail light at the top left rear above the door. It is a round red domed lense set on a 1" metal ring that has about a 2" cutout on the right side that allows the marker light to illuminate the license plate which mounts right next to it. Along the way the wires were cut and the light no longer works.
In its place were installed two Model A tail lights below the diamond plate step bumper which look out of place and don't reflect the "era" of the truck - and I don't like them.
Gathering items to rewire the truck, I wanted a tail light that would be more fitting of the truck and somewhat match the original brake/marker tail light ( which I will get working again). Doing a web search I found the perfect tail light at Speedway Motors. It is a 1950 Pontiac tail light which is round, has a chrome outer ring, with a domed lense that is glass - not cheap plastic. Speedway part number is 911-37050 at a cost of $24.99 each. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway ... ,3079.html I originally bought 2 to see how they looked, but will need 4 of these as you will see. I will have a left turn signal, right turn signal, and 2 brake lights. All 4 lights will be hooked up as marker lights as well.
I work for a major tractor-trailer trailer manufacturer at one of their branches (like a car dealership) where we sell new & used trailers, parts, and have a big service shop to work on them. Looking at the size of the tail lights I got to thinking. They looked almost like the same size as the round tail lights found on the back of our trailers. These lights pop into a round rubber gasket that is set into the cut out hole at the rear of the trailer. We also have trailers with a plate that gets welded to the trailer and tail light assembly fitted as above - which we were cutting off to do some custom installation work.
I brought home one of the plates that had been cut off and the round rubber gaskets to see if I could work with it in fitting the 1950 Pontiac tail lights. Bingo! They are a perfect fit when inserted into the rubber gaskets just like the trailer tail lights. What I had to do is remove the rubber seal/gasket supplied with the 1950 lights in order to press them into the gaskets. To secure them, I will fashion a clip that will slide over the mounting stud on the back of the Pontiac light and tighten it down enough to keep the light from popping out. A simple oversized stainless steel fender washer might just do the trick with a locking nut.
I provided photos of the plate, rubber trailer tail light gaskets, and Pontiac lights. My crude drawing gives you the dimensions of the plate which is 3/16" steel, the hole diameters for the tail light gaskets, and the spacing of these holes. The rubber gaskets can be had at any trailer repair shop or parts supplier and should be the same from trailer manufacturer to another as all the tail lights are the same size and generally pop in (although the higher priced LED lights are now being secured with pop-rivets to prevent theft). Mine are from Great Dane Trailers and have all the necessary "lips" to fit into the cut outs and fit the Pontiac light down into them.
Should be better functionally, look good on the KB5, and be more "era correct" than the Model A tail lights.
In its place were installed two Model A tail lights below the diamond plate step bumper which look out of place and don't reflect the "era" of the truck - and I don't like them.
Gathering items to rewire the truck, I wanted a tail light that would be more fitting of the truck and somewhat match the original brake/marker tail light ( which I will get working again). Doing a web search I found the perfect tail light at Speedway Motors. It is a 1950 Pontiac tail light which is round, has a chrome outer ring, with a domed lense that is glass - not cheap plastic. Speedway part number is 911-37050 at a cost of $24.99 each. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway ... ,3079.html I originally bought 2 to see how they looked, but will need 4 of these as you will see. I will have a left turn signal, right turn signal, and 2 brake lights. All 4 lights will be hooked up as marker lights as well.
I work for a major tractor-trailer trailer manufacturer at one of their branches (like a car dealership) where we sell new & used trailers, parts, and have a big service shop to work on them. Looking at the size of the tail lights I got to thinking. They looked almost like the same size as the round tail lights found on the back of our trailers. These lights pop into a round rubber gasket that is set into the cut out hole at the rear of the trailer. We also have trailers with a plate that gets welded to the trailer and tail light assembly fitted as above - which we were cutting off to do some custom installation work.
I brought home one of the plates that had been cut off and the round rubber gaskets to see if I could work with it in fitting the 1950 Pontiac tail lights. Bingo! They are a perfect fit when inserted into the rubber gaskets just like the trailer tail lights. What I had to do is remove the rubber seal/gasket supplied with the 1950 lights in order to press them into the gaskets. To secure them, I will fashion a clip that will slide over the mounting stud on the back of the Pontiac light and tighten it down enough to keep the light from popping out. A simple oversized stainless steel fender washer might just do the trick with a locking nut.
I provided photos of the plate, rubber trailer tail light gaskets, and Pontiac lights. My crude drawing gives you the dimensions of the plate which is 3/16" steel, the hole diameters for the tail light gaskets, and the spacing of these holes. The rubber gaskets can be had at any trailer repair shop or parts supplier and should be the same from trailer manufacturer to another as all the tail lights are the same size and generally pop in (although the higher priced LED lights are now being secured with pop-rivets to prevent theft). Mine are from Great Dane Trailers and have all the necessary "lips" to fit into the cut outs and fit the Pontiac light down into them.
Should be better functionally, look good on the KB5, and be more "era correct" than the Model A tail lights.
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