BODY / PAINT

Installing Flush Mount Taillights in a Stepside Pickup Fender: A Better Light in a Better Location

Back in the day, when pickup trucks were actually used as trucks rather than boulevard cruisers, many of the trucks had rear fenders. These separate fenders that could be unbolted from the truck's bedside worked very well. If you bashed in a fender, you could unbolt it and hammer it out over a tree stump and bolt it back on, or if it was real bad, bolt on a replacement. Since the fenders could be somewhat easily removed from the truck, the taillights were typically mounted in a simple bracket that was commonly hung off the stake pockets. While this all worked from a utilitarian standpoint, it left a lot to be desired if you really wanted to have a cool truck. And, who wouldn't???

While lots of these stepside trucks now have taillights that are mounted in rolled pans beneath the tailgate, that location is sometimes too low to be of any benefit to the driver behind you. Perhaps a more suitable location is to mount the taillights on the back face of the fenders themselves. This gets the lights more inline with the line of sight of other drivers, which is a good thing if you are not in favor of someone plowing into the back end of your truck, whether it is your pride and joy or merely a beast of burden.

The most difficult portion of this swap is to determine a suitable candidate for the taillights to be used. On my truck (a 1968 Chevrolet stepside), lots of the bodylines are straight, with rectangular side marker lights. Not being able to find suitable rectangular lights, I decided that round would be a suitable shape since the tires and headlights are also round. I then realized that taillights from a Chevrolet HHR are basically round… they are elliptical, but when mounted in their angled sheet metal appear round. Closer inspection revealed that their stock mounting location is very similar to the angled mounting surface of the rear face of my trucks stepside fenders.

After acquiring a pair of taillights from the local dealer, it was time to install them. I talked Keith Moritz at Morfab Customs into doing the work for me while I documented the process. I'm sure that Keith probably did a better job than I would have, but it is admittedly a pretty easy process. The photos document the entire process for one side of the vehicle, but after you get one side done, you're halfway there. Follow along as we improve the taillights on a stepside pickup.

After looking at several vehicles for ideas for custom taillights, I decided to utilize taillights from a Chevrolet HHR. They have a similar mounting angle as the rear face of my truck's stepside fenders.

Although the surface area of the lens is larger, the body of the taillights is compact and enclosed. By using a drafter's circle template, I determined that the housing will fit into a 3 1/2 inch diameter hole.

The previous owner of this truck had mounted some less than ideal taillights that have already been removed and discarded. However, the mounting holes are still evident and dictate somewhat where the new taillight will be placed.

Since there is already a hole where the center of the light will be, the area is covered with strips of masking tape. Even if there were no holes, using masking tape would be a good idea when determining the location.

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