Adding ritght side tail light

[DNLs1930]

SOOOO had a little rear-ender (@VERY SLOW SPEED) and the driver stated they did not see any stop lights or in my case light as I only have the left stop light. So I will be adding the right side. I have the mast, light and inner fender support now my question is are there any ways to make sure the lights are evenly spaced lined up on the right fender? I was thinking about removing the left side and making a fender template to overlay on the right (upside down) but totally second guessing my thought process.


Any ideas or experiences/lessons learned out there I should know about BEFORE I drill holes in the wrong place on my 93 year old car?

[Phil Brown]

Put some blue painter's tape on the fender to protect the paint then take some measurements from the left side light to start with. Have an assistant hold the light and you stand back and just look at the rear of the car. have your assistant move the light assembly up, down, left, right until it matches the left side. When you're happy with its position, mark the tape and trade places with your assistant you hold the light on the marks and have them look from at the light placement.
The placement might not match the left-side measurements due to variations in the tail light bracket and or shape of the fender but if it looks correct from the rear who will know if the bolt holes are a bit higher/lower or a touch to the left or right

[old31]

If you measure from the ground up to the left bracket to get the hole placement, make sure your car does not have a sag to one side. Meaning, if you car has a 1" sag to the left your measurement will be 1" off on the other side when you mount our new bracket.

No need to remove the left bracket. Just order a new right bracket, mark the holes and drill.

Also, change the rear bulbs to led's.

[nkaminar]

The LED lights for the rear tail lights are more reliable and brighter. To the untrained eye they look original. Test your brake lights often by applying the brakes in the garage with the overhead light off. You can see if they are working by looking in your rear view mirror. If your garage is too bright, try it at night.

[Big hammer]

Measure and check with a level, re-measure and re-check with a level, and again. This will get you in the ballpark, I used masking tape to hold the tail light assembly to the fender and stood back. When it looks right by your eyes, it’ll look right. Kinda like hanging a picture

[Chris in WNC]

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on the two or three occasions when I began to drill holes in an original fender to install that second tail lamp it was somewhat traumatic.

but I never regretted doing it.

and remember the right and left brackets are different.....

[BVZ24]

They are fairly common for modded jeeps, have you considered a spare tire mounted auxiliary brake light? Works for driving, removable for the car show.

Edit: Momentarily forgot not everyone has a rear mounted spare.
One could still fashion a temporary brake light using a magnet. I would reason a higher mount center light is more visible than a second fender light.

[California Travieso]

It seems to me that making a template from left fender and transferring it to the right fender would be more accurate.

I have two reproduction fenders from Brookville that don’t have the holes. I guess I’ll call Brookville to se if they have a template.

David Serrano

[Cape Codder]

Although I did as Chris in WNC noted , "and remember the right and left brackets are different...." mine still is just off a bit but noticeable after much measuring! I suggest take your time and measure a LOT!

[AzBob]

The P.O. installed the right side tail light on my A. Visually, the right TL appeared lower than the left. Corrected angle and height of right TL by placing shims underneath the two lower bracket holes between the fender and the bracket.

[TerryO]

Unless they have changed the design you cant match left and right lights. I bought lights and brackets a few years ago and the right light was cockeyed when compared to the original so I installed a repro on the left and still didn't match so I remounted the original one and I still run only 1 taillight. I'm glad I didn't drill holes. I have a buddy who has a bracket from a RHD and he modifies left hand brackets to use on the right side. I haven't installed them although he has in the past.


TOB

[Dick M]

This is an easy one. Using construction paper and tape, make a templet surrounding the three sides of the drivers tail light bracket and run it up against the quarter panel. Continue the construction paper along the edge where the fender and quarter panel meets to the bottom of the fender. Using this method requires no cutting of the paper.

The trick is to pick a reference point along the left quarter panel. For example, I used the point where the fender meets the bottom of the quarter panel on my coupe. Use the same reference point on the right quarter panel. All you will need to do is flip over the templet when lining up the right side. It is also very helpful to have the tail light gasket to place in the void of the templet for perfect hole locations. Absent a gasket, you can also place the new tail light bracket in the void and get the same results.

[Phil Brown]

I don't care how you measure or how many times you do it you better stand back and look at the lights before you drill any holes because the light brackets or mounts are not going to set the lights the same, even if the holes are exactly the same fender to fender
The repo light bracket may even point the light slightly down instead of straight back(time to cut and weld )

[David in San Antonio]

A few weeks ago one of my Model A buddies pointed out that my right taillight is actually a left taillight. Sure enough, it has the little window thingie on the underside to illuminate the nonexistent license plate. I’m surprised I didn’t notice it considering I installed LED panels in the taillights when I first got the car. I never considered whether the two lights are symmetrical.

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by David in San Antonio

A few weeks ago one of my Model A buddies pointed out that my right taillight is actually a left taillight. Sure enough, it has the little window thingie on the underside to illuminate the nonexistent license plate. I’m surprised I didn’t notice it considering I installed LED panels in the taillights when I first got the car. I never considered whether the two lights are symmetrical.

Same here, the right taillight housing in my '31 is actually a left housing with the clear bottom. Yet another thing that the "restorer" didn't get correct.

[Cape Codder]

When I installed mine I thought the Right one had been stamped with an "R"!

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by Cape Codder

When I installed mine I thought the Right one had been stamped with an "R"!

Yes mine is stamped "R". The OP might also consider installing a third brake light. Mine is mounted high on the spare and has a module the flashes 5 times to get their attention, then stays solid.

[Randy in ca]

As others have said, the final check before drilling the first hole should be to have a helper and eyeball it from a distance against the left light position. A very small difference in location, bracket, etc. can have a huge visual effect.

If a closed model, a third light in the rear window is very effective.

[Bruce of MN]

I added a RH light and a rear window LED: https://www.brattons.com/6-VT-BRAKE-...uctinfo/19431/

[rackops]

This is a timely post as I also plan on adding a second tail light to my car. However, my car is RHD, so I've got the original tail lamp on the right side and will be adding one to the left side.

My car is a Phaeton, and I was able to pick up a very nice original left side tail light bracket for the project. My intention is to simply measure and mark where the right side tail light is currently located, and then match that on the other side.

Luckily (and what gave the impetus to do this) is that my new wiring loom came with wires for both tail lights, so there was no need for any major changes to the loom.

The only issue I have is that I have drum tail lights, and unfortunately there doesn't appear to be a right or left side single tail light. So, I plan on simply mounting a second tail light with the license plate holder...I don't think I have any other option. I've thought about cutting off the license plate holder to make it more aesthetic, but haven't wanted to butcher any of my original Duolamp holders. Maybe at some point I'll get a reproduction or one in relic condition and try it out.