1962 tail lamp bucket removal/replacement

[dbid]

Is there a trick to removing the tail light bucket from a '62 T-Bird? I see no access from the trunk for the back of the unit, and the bucket seems loose on the bottom but won't break free. Does the chrome "Q" bumper unit need to be removed first? My '62 shop manual only addresses the bulb removal and not the entire bucket. Any suggestions appreciated.

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[Hadderz]

They are held in place with a bracket from the back so the whole rear bumper needs to be removed. Its not a bad job, undo the bolts through the chassis legs, support the exhausts and undo the exhaust hangers and from memory, two or four within the trunk in the middle. Not forgetting the wiring plugs.

 

[HDMick1962]

It can be done without pulling the bumper and I have changed the buckets based on the following instructions by Jim Wulf a T-Bird restorer and guru. Follow these instructions, it was really quite easy.

Hi Mick,

Yes, I have the photos but currently have no way to upload them anywhere at the moment so I’ll email them to you in several separate emails tomorrow. Basically, you just need to:

Remove the bezel and taillight lens

Center punch and then drill out the two existing studs and nuts on the bucket

Drill the resulting bucket holes out to 1/4” as necessary to accept new 1/4-20 x 1 hex head screws - from local hardware store

Install new 1/4-20 J nuts on the existing bucket brackets - from your local hardware store

Cut the two wire harness wires leading to the existing bulb socket as close as possible to the existing socket

Strip the two wires on the new bulb socket as necessary - these may already be cut and stripped for you

Fabricate a new ground wire with a male spade on the new bucket end and a large male open spade on the other end. I solder the female spade to the male spade on the new bucket to insure a good ground. The open spade on the other (bumper end) is then fastened securely to an existing bumper bolt of your choice before installing the bucket.

Finger splice and solder the four wire ends - two from the wire harness and two on the bucket. Slide a piece of shrink wrap onto the bucket wire before soldering and then slide back up over the solder joint, then heat and shrink. I will also coat this with 3M liquid tape to give the joint an extra bit of sealing. A lot of moisture is thrown up into the Q from the rear wheels.

Install the new bucket assembly onto the bracket, lining up the holes drilled in the bucket with the J nuts installed on the bracket

Install two 1/4-20 x 1 hex screws through the new bucket and into the the J nuts

Reinstall the lens and bezel

That’s it. Very easy.

Jim Wulf

V.T.C.I. & I.T.C. 1961-63 Technical Advisor

 

[dbid]

It can be done without pulling the bumper and I have changed the buckets based on the following instructions by Jim Wulf a T-Bird restorer and guru. Follow these instructions, it was really quite easy.

Many many thanks to you HDMick and to Jim Wulf for the alternate method to remove the taillight buckets - that tip was a huge time and money saver for my project. I was unable to remove the rear bumper for several reasons, so I followed the drill-out method and it worked like a champ. I bought the new buckets along with the adjoining retainer brackets and gaskets (from Bird Nest Inc., tbirdparts.com), and was therefore able to maintain good solid ground contacts without having to fabricate new separate ground wires. Drilling out slightly larger holes in the new bucket is a big help when trying to line up the new 1" hex bolts through into the clipped-on J nuts (my local hardware store called them U nuts). One challenge was to keep forward pressure on the new bucket retainer bracket when I was trying to bolt in the new buckets - solved that by cutting 2 small wood block pieces to wedge behind the bracket so they'd stay still and tight while I threaded the new 1/4-20 x 1" hex bolts in through the bucket. Another small challenge was keeping the taillight lens gasket in place while I threaded the lens screws into place - solved that with a few small pieces of clear two-sided tape to keep it in place. Didn't know how to properly thank you both, so I paid it forward to upgrading my membership to a Gold level to hopefully help others perform the bucket project more easily. Thanks again for your tips and guidance. (Pics of old and new attached.)

 

[TheRealWanz]

It can be done without pulling the bumper and I have changed the buckets based on the following instructions by Jim Wulf a T-Bird restorer and guru. Follow these instructions, it was really quite easy.

Hello HDMick,
I'm a bit confused, did you use the J-Type Cage Nuts, 1/4-20 Thread so you could use a bolt to not only hold the bucket to the mount but to also push the mount on to the tabs just inside the chrome?

 

[TheRealWanz]

I’m not seeing the black bracket (attached) in the shop manual. Does the post from June 5th contain the solution? I’m not understanding how the bucket works with the bracket.

 

[TheRealWanz]

Hello,
I posted about a month ago that I'm trying to replace the tail light bucket. There's what looks like a bracket that mounts on two tabs (see highlighted pic) and the bucket attaches to the bracket, but how is the whole assembly secured? I imagine there's a way to run bolts through the bucket and bracket that push against the back wall of the tail light space, but I'm not sure how the bucket is secured against the bracket. Suggestions??

 

[74 Harley]

Do the square holes in the bucket line up with the bracket? They look like a carriage bolt should be there...

 

[TheRealWanz]

Yes, the wholes pretty much line up. But I don't see anywhere below the bracket for the bolt to go into. If you scroll up this thread, you'll see an image of the bracket on the tabs. I was intending to 'McGyver' something using a j-clip nut

putting a straight bolt through the holes in the bucket then through the clips on the bracket to push the bracket on to the tabs.