Hi there

I'd posted in this category previously, asking about tail light lenses for a 1967 Belvedere I 2 dr sedan re: compatibility with Satellite and GTX.

Well, I decided to go with the "custom" (cheaper) route and purchased some 4" round utility lites made by Grote. I got the LED versions with 6 diodes, which happen to be arranged in a pentastar pattern (5 arranged in a pentagram and one in the middle).

I removed the taillight lens, moulding, and light pot and fabbed a rectangular-ish cover out of 3/8" lexan (I say rectangular-ish because after careful measuring of the driver-side opening, I discovered that it is not a perfect rectangle-arg!). Initially, I used a sawz-all reciprocating tool with a fine blade and high speed to cut the lexan. Unless the lexan was clamped super tight, it would flex and make it difficult to cut a straight line. My dad has a a 12" blade, 220amp radial arm saw which I found worked the best for a straight line and left a nice finished edge.

Using a Dremel tool and the circle-cutting add-on, I cut a round hole and fit the light in.

The lights are grommet-mounted and come with a stainless-like trim ring and weather-pak terminal harness. Alternatives included a lite with a flange mount, but it was a lot more $$$. Besides, the gromet provides some shock resistance and with the stainless-like (plastic) trim ring, you can't tell.

The LED's work quite well and can be seen well from over an 1/8 of a mile! Also, the flash of the lights are instant on and off (like you see on the new Lexus and Cadillacs) and do not flash too fast, as I still have filament-type bulbs up front which provide a proper load for my flasher (which is a multi-load flasher, designed for 1 to 6 bulbs). Plus, as mentioned, they have the pentastar pattern! I finished up the lexan with some faux-carbon fiber decals for the semi-modern euro/ricer look (which some may not like, but hey, it's a cheaper alternative and I did it myself).

chris

ps. sorry for the long story and lack of pictures; i have them on my work computer and can't post them to a publicly accessible site. will have them up soon or could email if you're interested. the lights are the same design as dart270's post: http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9455

_________________
chris
1967 plymouth belvedere I
/6