jcnida52 Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 Should the opening on the bottom of the bucket be there if the taillight is mounted on the PASSENGER SIDE? I realize a glass lens would go there to allow light to shine down on the license pate, but since the plate is mounted on the driver side it seems like this opening on passenger side should be closed. What did Dodge do in the day? Should there be a piece of glass, a piece of metal, or was the bucket different for Passenger side-- perhaps closed with no cut out or opening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 First off, stock trucks did not come with a passenger side taillight. They COULD be added I'd guess and either the plate light could just shine down or be blocked of in some manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcnida52 Posted July 25 Author Report Share Posted July 25 Thanks for responding to my question. The taillight bracket is stamped opposite the bracket for the driver side. It sure looks like the "real McCoy". Have you ever seen a bucket without the cut out? Also, any suggestions where I could find a glass insert? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Harrison Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 There were two shells for the tail lights. Apparently you could get them in black or chrome. Only the drivers side had the license lens. I have had trouble finding the RH side and have some tail lights I have considered welding in the section or just screwing in a black fabed plate in place of the lens. It looks odd if left with the glass in especially at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted July 25 Report Share Posted July 25 Yah I've never seen a pass side one in the wild....I'd guess even more rare than the B3/4 sheetmetal pass mirror arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanda62 Posted July 31 Report Share Posted July 31 This is interesting, my 53 B4C has the plate on the passenger side. Maybe someone before me switched the tail lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcnida52 Posted July 31 Author Report Share Posted July 31 Interesting. Always saw them on driver side. Do you have a taillight on the driver & passenger side? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanda62 Posted July 31 Report Share Posted July 31 Yes I do have lights on both sides but the one on the passenger side has the cutout for the plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcnida52 Posted August 1 Author Report Share Posted August 1 WOW! Your truck is spectacular! Your brackets are different than mine, though. Plus, I covet thy center tailgate hinge. As owner, operator, labor force, and bookkeeper of Pilothouse Interiors, LLC, I put a lot of interiors in trucks that looked like that. Many of them went to members of the club. My truck (1951 B3C) was respectable, but not as beautiful as yours. Included a couple photos of interiors I did for club members. The brown or saddle colored interior, for a B Model without the corner glass, were harder to do. There was no forgiveness in the fit. I think that was on of the reasons Dodge went to the 5 window design??? The second photo from right shows how I closed the cutout on my taillight. There's a change of angles in the can and that makes enclosing it a bit more challenging. Thanks for the photos of your truck. You should be proud of it. jc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted August 1 Report Share Posted August 1 13 hours ago, tanda62 said: Yes I do have lights on both sides but the one on the passenger side has the cutout for the plate. Those are not stock brackets for a PH truck, likely an aftermarket or homemade part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted August 1 Report Share Posted August 1 5 hours ago, ggdad1951 said: Those are not stock brackets for a PH truck, likely an aftermarket or homemade part. Hard to tell from that pic but they might be the 39-47 brackets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted August 1 Report Share Posted August 1 34 minutes ago, Young Ed said: Hard to tell from that pic but they might be the 39-47 brackets You'd know better than me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcnida52 Posted August 1 Author Report Share Posted August 1 Judging from the three pictures I posted on my taillight & bracket assembly, do you think my bracket is after market? Ggdad1951 knows more about old Dodge stuff than me. If he's willing to volunteer his opinion, I'll rely on his assessment re: whether or not the bracket shown in my taillight pictures is "real McCoy Dodge" from the day. I think the can is original Dodge equipment, but because of the cutout, I concede it was for the driver side. I patched/enclosed that as you can see in picture #2 which shows the bottom of the can/shell. I have it listed on eBay as original equipment. I do not want to misrepresent with an inaccurate description. If you guys think the bracket is after market I'll change the description in the listing... Thanks, jc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted August 2 Report Share Posted August 2 Which are you referring to? The red circles definetly are not stock for a B series. The center (yellow) could be stock, how wide is it and how big is the box? The light is stock, just wrrong side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9 foot box Posted August 3 Report Share Posted August 3 I went and dumped grass and garbage at the container site today. There was a 56-57 Dodge cab and a box. I got these parts off the box. I have an original left light with the adapter plate, so I need to buy a right side light, this plate will align the new light to the bracket with the narrow mounting holes. Parts is parts, so I grabbed the chain closures. The cab had two top corner cab lights, I sprayed with PB and I’ll see if they’re still there tomorrow. The tools are in the truck. DCM Classics show jc’s bracket is for a high side box. I know these parts aren’t right for a W series, but they were there, before they go into the iron pile. Rick D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanda62 Posted August 3 Report Share Posted August 3 Interesting information on my truck. Let me start by saying my restoration of the truck was never intended to be one where it would be completely stock. I wanted a truck I can drive around my town safely and reliably. Hence, it is 12V negative ground, has an alternator, uses a spin on by-pass oil filter, has LED lights, pertronix ignition and all the wiring has been replaced. This truck will never be taken to any shows and presented as an all original version, it is just my fun to drive around town vehicle. As for the tail light brackets and the center hinge the original owner, my father in law, is unfortunately no longer with us to ask about these kinds of things. The truck came to me after sitting for about 15 years untouched. Before that it had lived its life in northern Wisconsin only being used during the summer months while the family vacationed. While the brackets for the tail lights may be incorrect for a B4C, they are Dodge period correct so if they were replaced at some point at least the person replacing them used the right manufacturer. A likely scenario could be the one or more of the original brackets succumbed to the Wisconsin weather and these were picked up at a dealer and used to replace the original. The truck, as far as anyone knows, and judging from the metal has never been in a accident or hit in any way. The center support bracket is correct for the truck I believe as the replacement one listed at the Mar-K website and others is the same and is identified as belonging to a 1953 B4C 3/4 ton. I did paint the bracket silver just to set if off a bit and realize it should be body color. As for its size it is, 4 inches wide and the box is a 90 by 54 highside. I hope this helps. I have learned and I am by no means an expert, that the 53 3/4 ton B4C is quite a unique beast and parts can be hard to find. The 1/2 ton seems to be more plentiful and has more parts available. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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