VIN 11408, getting it back on the road!

[DMC-Ron]

Something else not engine related... Taillight boards. I tried out my stock ones and they worked terribly and I need to feel confident my brake lights are going to work! So I measured out the board and cut it out of 1/16" aluminum and riveted bulb sockets to it. Snaps in like the the original boards and I replaced the flaky connector with a weatherpack connector. All the red lenses have dual filament bulbs so they are park and brake lights.

Josh,
Bringing up an older post here, but I'm in a similar process of replacing the taillight boards. I know new boards are not that expensive, but I want to do some things with dual filament sockets. When I saw this, I was in the middle of meticulously measuring the stock board. Now I'm wondering if you might have a CAD file for the aluminum replacement you made and would be willing to share?

Sincerely,
Ron

[Josh]

Josh,
Bringing up an older post here, but I'm in a similar process of replacing the taillight boards. I know new boards are not that expensive, but I want to do some things with dual filament sockets. When I saw this, I was in the middle of meticulously measuring the stock board. Now I'm wondering if you might have a CAD file for the aluminum replacement you made and would be willing to share?

Sincerely,
Ron

Hi Ron,

Here is the .DWG file for the taillight board. Be mindful of the thickness, I think I had it cut out of 14ga instead of 16ga, so the clips on the end didnt fit very well. It is a starting point for you at the very least.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tS...A5QztGh1hQskGD

For the bulbs, the stock lights use single filaments across the board. I used dual filaments for the brake and tail lights, as a effort to increase visibility. You can see this in the picture the sockets with the two wires. The dual filament sockets also have a wider base so I had to clock the sockets off the other holes a little and drill new ones.

All in all it works very well and I was able to increase the light output in the rear, something you cannot do with the stock tail light boards. I wired everything to a weatherpack connector to further ensure the lights have a solid connection. Something you can never be sure of with the stock setup.

[DMC-Ron]

Hi Ron,

Here is the .DWG file for the taillight board. Be mindful of the thickness, I think I had it cut out of 14ga instead of 16ga, so the clips on the end didnt fit very well. It is a starting point for you at the very least.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tS...A5QztGh1hQskGD

For the bulbs, the stock lights use single filaments across the board. I used dual filaments for the brake and tail lights, as a effort to increase visibility. You can see this in the picture the sockets with the two wires. The dual filament sockets also have a wider base so I had to clock the sockets off the other holes a little and drill new ones.

All in all it works very well and I was able to increase the light output in the rear, something you cannot do with the stock tail light boards. I wired everything to a weatherpack connector to further ensure the lights have a solid connection. Something you can never be sure of with the stock setup.

Josh,
I was about halfway there with the measurements then would've needed to CAD it up. So this saved a bunch of tedious work. Thanks a bunch.

I'm not sure I follow the wider base issue. Out of curiosity, I miked an 1156 socket against a 1157 socket and they were basically identical. Also miked a new 1156 bulb against a new 1157 bulb and they had the same diameter base (about 15.15).

Wait a second. I think just caught on. It's the mounting tabs of the sockets where the securing holes were wider with the 1157. I've noticed there are quite a few Chinese suppliers and they have a variety of mounting tabs. There doesn't seem to be a real standard for the mounting.

Thanks again,
Ron

[Josh]

Josh,
I was about halfway there with the measurements then would've needed to CAD it up. So this saved a bunch of tedious work. Thanks a bunch.

I'm not sure I follow the wider base issue. Out of curiosity, I miked an 1156 socket against a 1157 socket and they were basically identical. Also miked a new 1156 bulb against a new 1157 bulb and they had the same diameter base (about 15.15).

Wait a second. I think just caught on. It's the mounting tabs of the sockets where the securing holes were wider with the 1157. I've noticed there are quite a few Chinese suppliers and they have a variety of mounting tabs. There doesn't seem to be a real standard for the mounting.

Thanks again,
Ron

Sounds like you have it figured. These are most certainly Chinese; ebay specials.