[68ragtop]

Anybody know what type of fasteners originally held the plastic housings to the bumper on the 68 GTO's? Mine had been apart before & had generic hardware when I took it apart. The assembly manual has no pictures of the 68 rear bumper, just 69. Nut & bolt, spring clip nut?

Thanks, 68RT

[68ragtop]

I found a few picts that 68gtoMN posted about 4 years ago.

Thought I would add them to this thread. Looks like I have my answer!


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[Greg Reid]

My car is no survivor but to the best of my recollection, that's pretty much the way it was assembled when I took it apart..

[dataway]

I've got an NOS housing .... don't think it has any hardware on it though.

[68ragtop]

Mine had metal galvanized straps on for the grounds. I was surprised to see such heavy braided straps on these. Wow!
Wondering if that was a supplier issue in this case?

[kk68]

Originally Posted by 68ragtop

Mine had metal galvanized straps on for the grounds. I was surprised to see such heavy braided straps on these. Wow!
Wondering if that was a supplier issue in this case?

Mine had galvanized metal straps as well. I'll try to find a pic before disassembly and post.

[kk68]

Here’s a few photos of my tail light housings with hardware, one before two after restore.

[68ragtop]

Boy, you started with some nice ones. They look great! Did you touch up the bulb sockets, or did they clean up that nice? The plating on mine only survived under the rubber seals. My parts should be back this week & maybe I will be able to put mine back together as well.

[kk68]

They’re not replated. Probably just hit them with some gold paint. Looks ok, but up close you can tell not gold cad plating.

[dataway]

If I get a chance tomorrow I'll take some photos of the NOS right side I have ... it's kind of dusty, and wasn't stored in the original box so it's not perfect.

[dataway]

Was just looking at my housings. I have one NOS right side, and one original right side ... years ago I didn't know they were different so I just threw away the worst one ... which was the left, so now I'm stuck with two rights.

Anyway, I may end up restoring and selling, or trading my original right side for a left ... I'm wondering, do the sockets come out of the housing without destroying things?

Is there a physical difference between right and left housings other than the placement of the sockets? Obviously right side has three wire turn signal socket on the far right, left side on the far left. If I could swap the sockets could I turn a right side housing into a left? Or is the mounting and shape different?

[68ragtop]

I was able to remove them. I ended up carefully bending the inside edges of the sockets, then I machined some simple tools. one to fit the inside of the sockets to work the metal edges to straighten them back out, then two other to re-install them. I should be getting mine back from plating any day & I'll let you know how it works out as I have not re-installed them yet. But, all that being said, I had thought both outside bulbs where wired the same with parking & turn/brake 1157 bulbs though. I can test fit my housings and see what really different for you.

[dataway]

Yep, you are correct. Both outside bulbs are 1157.

Makes me wonder what the difference is between left and right. Looks like the curve at the end of the housing might be slightly different. Or could just be the way the wiring loom is arranged.

My original right side is definitely restorable .... it would save me the trouble of finding a left side.

Are those funny little "cup" nuts that push on the posts available anywhere?

[Peter Serio]

To me, those flat metal straps look like the way GM would have done it back in 1968.

Those braided copper grounds look like either a campaign or an owner added fix from the late 1970s or early 1980s.

I know there can be issues with those sockets. I have seen a GM field repair kit for the end terminals specifically for 1968 GTOs. It had 4 or 5 of those tiny copper ends where the bulbs touch inside of the socket.

[68gtoMN]

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

To me, those flat metal straps look like the way GM would have done it back in 1968.

Those braided copper grounds look like either a campaign or an owner added fix from the late 1970s or early 1980s.

I know there can be issues with those sockets. I have seen a GM field repair kit for the end terminals specifically for 1968 GTOs. It had 4 or 5 of those tiny copper ends where the bulbs touch inside of the socket.

Hi Guys, I have multiple sets of these light housings and I believe multiple bumpers with them still attached. Now that the arctic portion of our MN existence appears to be over, I will venture up to my attic and to my stash of rear bumpers to see if I have others that will show different grounding. I will post as I can find parts to take pics. Note: Rear bumpers are not in same location as the housings so I will need to make a trip or two for that.

[dataway]

My original 68 housing has the metal strips. I suspect it was a supplier difference or something ... hard to believe anyone would go to the trouble of making their own custom fit braided grounds.

68gtoMN ... yep, addition information is always good!

[Peter Serio]

In the past 4 or 5 years I've noticed a resurgence of interest in the '68 GTO. For a long time sort of the in-between year between the early bodystyle and the later more rounded design. And for the 1990s and 2000s not a lot of interest in the '68 GTO but that seems to be changing. I think there are the die-hard early people and then the 69 (Judge) and 70-71 people but not always the 2 mix. And it's getting pretty hard now to find any year GTO that's decent enough to fix up and drive but there does seem to be some 68s around that you can still find at a fair price.

There's a lot of unique parts and things about the 68s which are to just that year. Great to see people really getting into it on the forum. What could you do before the internet, as far as even this topic, for example? Really glad to see people posting photos and sharing to help keep these cars on the road! I recall that there was a GM bulletin about the tail lights for 68, something about ice forming under or around the housing and then the wires getting pushed or pulled out of shape relative to the sockets? The result is that either your brake light or your taillights stop working or go intermittent.

[68ragtop]

Originally Posted by dataway

Are those funny little "cup" nuts that push on the posts available anywhere?

Funny, I need one as well. Sent parts out for plating & I now am short one.

Originally Posted by Peter Serio

I recall that there was a GM bulletin about the tail lights for 68, something about ice forming under or around the housing and then the wires getting pushed or pulled out of shape relative to the sockets? The result is that either your brake light or your taillights stop working or go intermittent.

Seeing the wires go up from the bottom through the socket housings to the bulbs with small springs keeping the connection, I could see ice chunks building up around those wires & the weight of them hanging could pull the wires down & compress the springs breaking the connection. I would never have thought of that, but living in Wisconsin I could see that happening very easily back in the day. Interesting!

[68ragtop]

Looking at my housings & the only thing I am noticing different so far are the 2 notches on the inside that won't allow the L&R lenses to interchange. That and the obvious "L" & "R" embossed on the housings the angle of the inside bulb area is slightly different leading up to those notches, but would not make a bit of difference otherwise. I will un wrap my bumper & see if they fit the same on both sides, but it appears they would.

[68ragtop]

Data,

I test fitted them to the bumper & did find a difference. They did fit when I swapped L&R sides, but if you look at the outside edge of each housing, they are shaped slightly different to accommodate the sharper edge of the transition from taillight to bumper edge. So, they fit, but a little different contour. Otherwise they are hard to tell apart.


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