Customs Custom Taillights on Pickups

Lets see how many different taillights transplants there are for pickups. It's always amazed me about F-100 owners spending a lot of money on their trucks then leaving the ugly looking stock taillights.

I'll start out with this 56 F-100 ...

 

OOlav Kvipt's 1955 Ford pickup

 

‘49-‘50 Merc taillights on the rear fenders of a Ford F1.
Thought I had a better picture but you get the idea.

 

Fender mounting looks best but might not be acceptable in some jurisdictions where both taillights must be visible from a certain distance and angle from the rear. I personally like them fender mounted. Making up a roll pan and mounting them under the tailgate is the next best thing, but limits you to fairly narrow, thin lights or universal semi truck lights.

 

On mine, originally done decades during its life as a working truck not by me. I intend to keep the theme, and lights but make the rear panel a bit more profiled during the winter overhaul. I am keeping the utillity look.

 

I am amazed that some people hate the sexiest tail light ever made. Screw the haters

 

This is what I was saying about being able to see both lights from a given distance/angle from the rear... Bullet lights are cool, but these are far from ideally mounted IMHO

 

In this region, custom pickups are everywhere. Many are well executed as far as engine bay, interiors, wheels, and cool paint and then, walking around to the back and, Wah-wah... The ugly, oval shape of the universal big rig rubber mount, available at any truck stop, farm implement dealer, U-haul rental outlet and many more. Sawing large holes into sheet metal may be req. Nothing could be more hideous.
To me this lacks imagination, under the excuses of: " It's too hard" or "nothing else was available".
It's as if tens of thousands were spent on the build and the tail lights were an after thought. "We went over budget, so we took these off of the silage wagon".
I agree with 62Rebel in that the light should be functional. Some years back a fellow had a '30 Tudor
at the shop with the Caddy bullets (which I love) installed, so deep that they provided no lighting except a dim glow during darkness, and nothing in daylight.

 

Excellent point. Even at a slight angle you can only see one of mine. I still love em though.

 

BUT that has a big third brake light to help out! ^^^^^^^^ Cool looking too

 

I got my F100 in '72, 'theft recovery'. No taillights, all the glass was broken out, tuck-n-rolls slashed, but the thieves had left a chrome grille, handbrake, and some other stuff. Engine & tranny gone, driveshaft in the bed.
Got it back together, threw a pair of Ford shields on it, left side license plate bracket.

Found a pair of '50 Mercs for it, small wrecking yard had 'em. $12 the pair!!! Looked like NOS, wrecker told me the car was garaged for years.
Almost drilled the fenders, my bud Larry had a '55 F100, begged me for the Mercs.
I relented, and put my '55 pickup shields back on...they're still on there...
Maybe some '50 Lincolns. Always liked those canted, rounds with their 'star'...

 

I saw these on a PU at an event this year. Creative.

 

I kind of did the same thing with the 63 Chevy Stepside I had. I was working for a mobile home manufacturer and used some taillights they put on the trailers to haul them. Once they were set up in a park, they removed the lights. Hard to see in this photo but they were under the bed on each edge. Later on I added a step bumper that went between the taillights and a fold down step so we could get into the home made camper (more mobile home parts).

 

I thought about widening the face of the stake pocket sides to allow for long, narrow taillights but never got far with it. Only had a couple of trucks where they'd have worked

 

'48-'50 Hudson on my pal's pickup

 

Here is one from a local show.

 

A dodge.

 

Not really custom but got the A's off the fenders

 

If it was mine, I would consider these.

 

1937 Ford tail lights. HRP

 

60/61 Chevy passenger car lenses modified to fit ‘58 housings…

 

^^^^Great pic!

 

Tear drop tail lights seeem to be the hot likc here locall yand these may have come out of the same shop.

 

Pontiac cups, early Vette bullet lens, '38 Packard light stands

 

Certain irony here….the ‘53 F-100 lights fit perfectly using the stock model A brackets.. and the third brake light is a Ford logo light for a receiver hitch

 

Here are a couple more that were posted on the Customs thread ...

 

What the ? I'm glad I haven't eaten yet.