- Joined
- Sep 6, 2018
- Messages
- 88
- Reaction score
- 146
- Points
- 33
- Location
- minnesota
- Vehicle Year
- 1994
- Make / Model
- Ranger
- Engine Type
- 4.0 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
- My credo
- If youre gonna be dumb you gotta be tough
After breaking too many tail lights i finally made my own. The plastic is just too brittle in the winter and they shatter with any little tap I feel.
I got my original idea off a guy on Instagram who i cannot remember for the life of me now. This is for an old dodge i believe.
Now on to mine. This is them finished and in my truck. All the hardware is stainless steel, they are painted with steel-it and then Rustoliem Hammered Black over top. The side light are just 6" oval trailer lights and the rear are "3 in 1 sequential led tail light 8" oval" on eBay. I would share a link but the name changes weekly. I used 16g steel metal, two hammers and a 2" pipe clamped in my vice to shape and form these.
For the starting shape i just traced a stock tail light onto cardboard and cut it out of the steel metal. Then I just used that little mapp gas torch to help heat and bend it around a pipe. Id fit in in the bed, mark where to bend it and repeat. Once i was happy with the lights I marked where I wanted the lights and cut the holes out with a hole saw and grinder.
This is the tail lights after I cut them. I had to adjust and re-bend the steel a bit after cutting out the holes for the lights. A major thing is I wanted was the lights to be flush with the metal. I used those stainless screws and some plastic bushing to space the lights back to where i was happy. Each bushing needed to be ground down with a dermal to get the fitment i was looking for.
Now for my favorite part. Wiring!! none of these lights came with wiring diagrams but that was easy to figure out. I just soldered all the grounds together then figured out figured out which wire was brake, turn and running light. Remember to clearly mark what is what on the plug, I did not and it was a headache once i was adding the plug onto my truck I heat shrinked everything in the end to help waterproof all my wiring. I think i hit my picture limit on this post so Ill be making a part two next.
I got my original idea off a guy on Instagram who i cannot remember for the life of me now. This is for an old dodge i believe.
Now on to mine. This is them finished and in my truck. All the hardware is stainless steel, they are painted with steel-it and then Rustoliem Hammered Black over top. The side light are just 6" oval trailer lights and the rear are "3 in 1 sequential led tail light 8" oval" on eBay. I would share a link but the name changes weekly. I used 16g steel metal, two hammers and a 2" pipe clamped in my vice to shape and form these.
For the starting shape i just traced a stock tail light onto cardboard and cut it out of the steel metal. Then I just used that little mapp gas torch to help heat and bend it around a pipe. Id fit in in the bed, mark where to bend it and repeat. Once i was happy with the lights I marked where I wanted the lights and cut the holes out with a hole saw and grinder.
This is the tail lights after I cut them. I had to adjust and re-bend the steel a bit after cutting out the holes for the lights. A major thing is I wanted was the lights to be flush with the metal. I used those stainless screws and some plastic bushing to space the lights back to where i was happy. Each bushing needed to be ground down with a dermal to get the fitment i was looking for.
Now for my favorite part. Wiring!! none of these lights came with wiring diagrams but that was easy to figure out. I just soldered all the grounds together then figured out figured out which wire was brake, turn and running light. Remember to clearly mark what is what on the plug, I did not and it was a headache once i was adding the plug onto my truck I heat shrinked everything in the end to help waterproof all my wiring. I think i hit my picture limit on this post so Ill be making a part two next.
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