[bluestang67]

Thinking of some 67 Stang lites for the sedan. Looking for a larger lite for safety mostly for my G-babies will be in the back seat at some time. I placed them verticle and wife suggested horizontal . This looks good size is not proportinate but close. What do you guys think of this idea .

[MARTINSR]

Are you asking what direction to put them or if you should use them at all.

If I you were to use them, putting horizontal would be best I guess.

On using them, NO, NO they are ugly on a Mustang, on a Model A sedan they are hideous!

There are all kinds of cool lights with LED inserts available that are actually brighter than those, MUCH brighter. Add a third brake light and you are cruising safely.

Brian

[bluestang67]

Martin its a all around question . But for brightness they have LED for these also. I am not a fan of the common 39 48 Ford -Chevy taillights.

[MARTINSR]

There are a zillion other lights that would fit the back of that car better. For instance, why 67? Even 65s would work better. Do you plan on sinking them into the back of the body?

Really, it is like putting a pair of swim shorts on with a tuxedo. Somethings don't work and are more than "taste".

Brian

[BIGSKY]

IMO, the only taillights that look good other than original looking ones, is a light that is not so identifiable as being from another popular model.

I can't help but thinking of those motorhomes you seen with headlight clusters from late model pickups. Like we are going to be fooled!

If your concern is safety, the third brake light would be safe and cool.

[plymouth_man]

60's plymouth tail lights.

[bluestang67]

Martin i allways liked the 67 for the reverse (slight french look to me) effect the lights have hence me having one . Actually would like them flush and not protruding out from body .Yes i'll get a tail light panel and sheet them in for a factory look.


Staying with the norm is common with every other build . Rodding is changes to vehicle seen widened fenders dont look good to me but they did , Mods of all types are done this is just a tail light i know would look good and im sure will be the only one .

Plymouth what model they off . Brother had a 63 that i liked with the square lights in the back .

Bigsky most lights on a rod are from a popular model 39 Ford -40 Ford- 48 Chevy - and then the stock but they add one to right fender. Seen some old rodding books the used some Vega lights back years ago also. I even passed some thought on 69 to 72 Novas there a good looking light.

[SHIFTY101EASY]

i agree those don't work...they have concave and will be like almost impossible to make work unless u make concave in the metal panel.....the 65-66 ones are flat and would work better, although, i still think they wouldn't look that good....

i do disagree that they look ugly on a mustang though.....even though my 68 has Shelby style lights, they don't look like "bad".

id not do those and look at other ones...try using photo shop or something to try out differnt ones....

if you think it looks good though, then really, go with what you think, because in the end, its YOUR car, and your going to want it to look the way YOU WANT...not what other people want....and if your not happy with it, you wont enjoy it to the fullest cuz u will always have that little voice of regret in the back of your head.....

[plymouth_man]

I am pretty sure they came off of a 60 or 61 Valiant. If you wanted to french them in,they wouldn't be to great for that,because they have the lens benzel about 2'' thick. The 57' plymouth had a neat long skinny triangle light that can mount straight up and down.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by SHIFTY101EASY

i do disagree that they look ugly on a mustang though.....even though my 68 has Shelby style lights, they don't look like "bad"......

Your right, I LOVE those Mustangs, 65-66 Fastback is one of my favorite cars of all time, including the Tail lamps. When I see them on another car I just get shivers because they are SOOOOOOOOOO recognizable. A tail lamp swap should be smooth, it should look like it was made for the car. Those 64-66 Mustang tail lights were WAY over used in sixties and seventies on everything from Model A coupes and sedans to F-100s and custom Vans. And every single time you saw them on another car all your mind thought was "Ahh Mustang taillights" because they are SOOOOOOOO recognizable. When the tail lamps looks like it belongs there and people have to ask you "What did those tail lamps come from?" THAT is when it works. Its like having big lamb chop side burns, you look like you are trying to be Elvis. Other people wore them, but it screams ELVIS. To make these 67-68 Lights work you even have to almost cut the tail panel out of a Mustang and do a bizare morph of it into the back of a Model A, it just doesn't "work".

By the way, you don't have 68 Shelby tail lights on your car, you have 6? Thunderbird, because that is what the Shelby used!

Originally Posted by SHIFTY101EASY

if you think it looks good though, then really, go with what you think, because in the end, its YOUR car, and your going to want it to look the way YOU WANT...not what other people want....and if your not happy with it, you wont enjoy it to the fullest cuz u will always have that little voice of regret in the back of your head.....

You know, I am thought of as being harsh on this subject. People will say "you think you know it all" or "it isn't your car" (DUH). I agree, if I walked up to a car and a guy asked "How do you like my car", I wouldn't tell him his Mustang tail lights don't look good. But we are being ASKED, "What do you think?", while still in the planning stages, "What do you think?". I am just telling it the way I see it, I'm sorry.

I thought of this very subject while watching the first rounds American Idol. There are a LOT of young people who go there who simply can't sing. They can't carry a tune in a friggin bucket. Yet SOMEONE has told them they can. They will have family members supporting them telling them how wrong the judges were, all the while they SUCK. So they go there thinking they are the next Aretha Franklen and get their hearts ripped out of their chest on national TV. They have parents and grandparents who want to be "nice" and tell them that they sing well.

I am that honest grandmother who tells it like it is because I love you. "Honey, I have to tell you, those tail lamps from a 67 Mustang just don't work on a Model A. No more than the Model A tail lamps would work on the Mustang. That doesn't make you a bad car builder, you're a good car builder. I know you will think of something that is different but will still work and look good so you can be proud that it is YOU without being so different that it doesn't fit the car. You know I love you with all my heart and I know you want a totally cool Model A, and you will have that totally cool Model A, with some totally cool taillights, just keep looking, you'll do it. I love you, you're my little car designer."


Brian

[OneMoreTime]

Just a suggetion but look into the 4x6 led lites that we use on the trucks..and put a lite bar (really thin one) above the rear window..or just below..thos can be frenched in and look like something Henry might have done..

Sam

[powerrodsmike]

I got all warm and fuzzy reading Brian's post.
Awww.
I can tell , without a doubt that Mr Martin has reached that point in his life where he is fully secure in his manhood.

How else could a guy fill half a post with pictures of hearts and smiley faces kissing.

I like these;

http://www.customclassic.com/product...addylights.htm



I know the truck guys are doing them to death, but I think a set of those, mounted vertically, and aligned with the vertical belt ,(with a 1" space) would look good. I would think the curve could be so similar that it would look right at home on your car. Maybe recessed and turned upside down would work.

I love mustangs, but like Brian said, the mustang tail light craze was over several decades ago.

Just my opinion.
Kisses,
mikey

[bluestang67]

Martin i read every word . Its opinions i asked for and i would not bash anyone. As for the taillight panel they are reproduced and can purchase. I can fit it in the sheet metal to look factory . I am not done considering any light as there are a few i like . Its the availablity of the rear panel that makes the decision for me. Finding a car and cutting it out is a chore.

What i mean by flush is a proper install where light fits in its concave position.With a factory panel as doner sheet metal.

One thing on this build is also i want every part to be ford. I have a 5.0 HO engine ,90 gt trans and a Cougar 9 inch rear end.

Even the instrument cluster i thought on useing was from a Tauras or a Probe fully guaged and compact. But this is still in the air for the basic rod guages.

When they used the stang lights it was the 65-66 models flat and easy to place on . These are a different look then those.

Plenty of import lights that will fit the side radius but dont think i can live with a import on the A . ALL FORD

[MARTINSR]

I'm with you on the all Ford theme, keeping with a theme is very important. And if you are after a theme like Johnny Cash's song "One piece at a time".

Artist/Band: Cash Johnny
Lyrics for Song: One Piece At A Time
Lyrics for Album: The Essential Johnny Cash

Well, I left Kentucky back in '49
An' went to Detroit workin' on a 'sembly line
The first year they had me puttin' wheels on cadillacs

Every day I'd watch them beauties roll by
And sometimes I'd hang my head and cry
'Cause I always wanted me one that was long and black.

One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired
I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand.

CHORUS
I'd get it one piece at a time
And it wouldn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is a round.

So the very next day when I punched in
With my big lunchbox and with help from my friends
I left that day with a lunch box full of gears
Now, I never considered myself a thief
GM wouldn't miss just one little piece
Especially if I strung it out over several years.

The first day I got me a fuel pump
And the next day I got me an engine and a trunk
Then I got me a transmission and all of the chrome
The little things I could get in my big lunchbox
Like nuts, an' bolts, and all four shocks
But the big stuff we snuck out in my buddy's mobile home.

Now, up to now my plan went all right
'Til we tried to put it all together one night
And that's when we noticed that something was definitely wrong.

The transmission was a '53
And the motor turned out to be a '73
And when we tried to put in the bolts all the holes were gone.

So we drilled it out so that it would fit
And with a little bit of help with an A-daptor kit
We had that engine runnin' just like a song
Now the headlight' was another sight
We had two on the left and one on the right
But when we pulled out the switch all three of 'em come on.

The back end looked kinda funny too
But we put it together and when we got thru
Well, that's when we noticed that we only had one tail-fin
About that time my wife walked out
And I could see in her eyes that she had her doubts
But she opened the door and said "Honey, take me for a spin."

So we drove up town just to get the tags
And I headed her right on down main drag
I could hear everybody laughin' for blocks around
But up there at the court house they didn't laugh
'Cause to type it up it took the whole staff
And when they got through the title weighed sixty pounds.

CHORUS
I got it one piece at a time
And it didn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around.

(Spoken) Ugh! Yow, RED RYDER
This is the COTTON MOUTH
In the PSYCHO-BILLY CADILLAC Come on

Huh, This is the COTTON MOUTH
And negatory on the cost of this mow-chine there RED RYDER
You might say I went right up to the factory
And picked it up, it's cheaper that way
Ugh!, what model is it?

He followed a theme, all Cadillac but it didn't "work".

Because you could skillfully graft the metal panel into the back of the Model A body it doesn't mean that it "works". Let me put it this way, lets go to the other end of the car. You could install the 67 Mustang grille on the model A as well, right? You could skillfully fabricate nice looking mounting brakets and mount a 67 Mustang grille on the Model A, but it wouldn't "work".

The lines on the back of the body are all flowing and smooth, sticking a sunken hole on each side to hold the tail lamps or running it all across the back just doesn't fit the lines of the body.

Over the years there have been many examples. There is a 50ish Chevy pickup out there that has the front fenders and grille from a 71 Buick Riv, it didn't work. There was a 31 Chevy Coupe back in the early sixties that the guy put 62ish Mercury tail lamps in fins up on the roof, it didn't work. There are times when the idea is just so far out there, one has to take a step back and look at why one wants to so something instead of how to do it.

One does not have be way out there away from the "norm" to be different.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

By the way, I am thinking 49-51 Ford, 52,53 they all have a cool light that could work.

Brian