Parking Lense Color?

[64SprintV8]

I finished re-wiring the parking lights into my new bumper yesterday. Since I had to cut them to get the old bumper off. Dumbest design ever, IMHO. Anyway, I changed from amber lenses to clear lenses with amber bulbs. Thoughts?

[Luva65wagon]

I think it looks fine that way. I have a set of clear lenses here too, but I put the amber in the Ranchero. If changing the bulbs in these were not such a pain, I'd try it your way in my 65 wagon.

Just a word of advice - use some dielectric grease in these sockets. Lots of it. They tend to get moisture in them, and the grease helps minimize corrosion.

[falcon cobra]

so why did you have to cut the wires? they do have a connector under the hood. ...jh

[redfalken]

1962-1965 lenses are the same size but to be factory stock, I'm pretty sure that 1962 was clear and 1963-65 was amber.

Laws have probably changed since the 1960s but I doubt Johnny Law would care. I've always ran my `62 with clear bulbs and clear lenses.

One thing on my "to do list" is to wire them so they are on when my headlights are on. From the factory, they go off when you go to the headlight on position and only serve as turn signals at that point. If you run them while the headlights are on too, they will have more of a chance to warm up and dry out occasionally.

[Luva65wagon]

It's funny - I was just chatting with a friend of mine just yesterday about how these were wired up. I want them on with the headlights too. I have not checked to see if I changed that "while I was at it." Don't think I about it. Hind-sight is always 20/20.

But that's a good suggestion. The gaskets are cheap though, so I would have a few sets laying around so that when you change the bulbs you can change the gasket and keep it water-tight from the front. I also smeared silicone on the back to make sure water stays out from behind as well.

[Luva65wagon]

so why did you have to cut the wires? they do have a connector under the hood. ...jh

I thought the same thing, but forgot to ask...

[64SprintV8]

I cut the wires due to the fact that I was "under the gun" to change the bumper out that night so I could take the core back to the gal I got it from the next day at the Monroe Swap Meet, since I was going "under the knife" for shoulder surgery a few days after. I guess I was expectng it to just twist and turn out like the tail lights or other bumpers I had dealt with in the past. Another gem was that the screw/rivet that is in the bucket and is not supposed to turn, was turning. So I had to jam a screwdriver in there to stop the rotation while turning the nut fron the back side. Again, not a great design, IMHO. It could have been shoulder pain, frustration, cramped quarters, etc. that lead to the - "Hey it is only 2 wires, Cut Them Cut Them Now!" scenario too.

BTW, I don't remember my 64 Galaxie having the same design or issue when I replaced her bumper and parking lights. Any insight on that?

[Luva65wagon]

I'm not aware of the Galaxie design, but this design, as used on the Falcon, was pretty common. Just depended on the design of the light socket.

That said, I hear ya. Not the best design - if you were also trying to take into account it should last 50 years. This is just one of many things I've seen that Ford [insert Chevy or Dodge too] could have done better.

The studs you mentioned jamming a screwdriver into, are pushed into very thin aluminum cans, then peened in place with a little sealant to make them water-tight. It was fine and dandy as long as everything was new and the nut never rusted to the shaft requiring more torque than this stud was designed for. But there are other studs you can't access easily that always rust and spin. :doh:

Bottom-line is no car maker cared to make a design that would last 50 years. Or even 10 years for that matter. Most cars were designed for fast assembly and to last at least as long as the warranty. Now everything is plastic. So much for rust.

Having taken many rusty cars apart, I take a lot of precautions when I reassemble them to make servicing them into the future easier to do. But even still, it would be up to me to keep it that way. Lacking all the plating processes of new parts - my guess is I will need to spray a lot of things I restore, like these nuts on the back of the turn indicators, down with WD40 or BoeShield every year or so. But will I do that? Probably not.

:(

[Jeff W]

But there are other studs you can't access easily that always rust and spin. :doh:



:(

... Like the front fender studs you access by removing the interior kick panels. My "painter" cross threaded one nut during re-assembly and I ended up standing on my head and drilling straight through the entire 1-1/2" long stud to get the fender off. Kenny was impressed how straight my pilot hole was.

[pbrown]

One thing on my "to do list" is to wire them so they are on when my headlights are on. From the factory, they go off when you go to the headlight on position and only serve as turn signals at that point. If you run them while the headlights are on too, they will have more of a chance to warm up and dry out occasionally.

This is a super easy mod. The hard part is getting the headlight switch out of the dash. Once it is removed, find the wire that goes to the tail light circuit and the wire for the parking lights. Unhook the parking light wire from the switch and splice it into the taillight wire. If you look closely at a 70s Ford switch, you'll find that it is the same as it always was except for that simple wiring change.