I have repro 39 tail lights that are flat on back. My 31 roadster rear panel is curved so there is a gap top and bottom.Do I need different lights or is there a way to fix this?
We held the glass lens up on the body and traced around it with a sharpie,,the did a little hammer and dolly work,,probably took less than a hour to do both lights. HRP
Like above you could use a gasket to fill the gap.. or possibly try and find an original housing for the light and use that with the repro bezel and lens? I installed '39 lights into my '28 Roadsters rear panel which has a bit of a curve to it and simply used a template i got with the lights, traced it (it just had a big oval shape for the guts of the housing to go through, and the top and bottom mounting holes), cut it out with a air saw and used a dremel to finish it off and bolted it straight to the panel. If you can find an original that'd be the easy way, but i'm sure using a rubber gasket will also be fine. You may find as you bolt it down tight it might flex just enough to curve to the shape of the panel?
Thanks for the responses. I have a rubber gasket,cut the holes with an air saw, and the lights look good. I will work on the fit or use an original base. I will start by bolting them down and see what happens. John
The factory 38-39 Ford teardrops are flat on the back too. They mount on a dead flat pad at the rear of the fenders.
Early replacement/reproduction 38-39 taillamps had a small round "can" projecting out the back slightly shorter than the originals large rounded rectangular can.
You can always 'French them in' using your own fabbed-up can, or buy one already done from a vendor such as Midnight Prowler. A nice touch if you're willing to go the extra mile. Not too deep, just enough to sink the edge for something so subtle it'll take an extra look to realize that's what has been done. Just sayin'.
The Jalopy Journal
