Recessing Taillights
Text and photos by Bob Klowak

Well the taillights looked great and a friend Robb Strawson was over, looking at the lights and wanted to see them lit up. He was interested because he is doing a 34-sedan delivery. We noticed these lights did a good job of lighting up the ceiling. Oops! Well since the license place is recessed, what the heck!

Well we started with some flat pieces of fiberglass and cut them out to the desired angle and size to fit the light. We left a little space around the light just in case things went wrong. About a 1/16". Then the inside was taped to hold it all together.

Then a batch of fiberglass resin mixed to be used as glue. Just enough to hold it rigid while its being glassed in. When your doing this kind of procedure, grind a little of the surfaces where they are going to touch.
After the resin hardened, the face was put on the belt sander to get it flat and uniform. The surface of the gas tank cover was fairly flat but did have a slight curve but it was not a threat.

It was a good thing that the hole was to be enlarged instead of being made smaller. A regular flat file was used to slowly bring it to the proper size.

After the hole was gently caressed to fit the recess, another batch of resin was added to hold it in place until it was glassed it. The light was put in and tried and we were pleased with its results.
After four layers of fiberglass matting and resin were added around the housing it was shaped and ground smooth. After it was cured properly we checked it for strength and it appeared to be ok after we ran over it with the 4x4. Just kidding.
As you can see the angle was changed approximately 15 degrees down. This pretty well matched the angle of the license plate recess and it solved the problem of shining on the ceiling. This also gave a little more detail to the rear. It also was brighter behind the car.

Well hear it is lit, the lights I mean. Just in case you haven't been following this build up, this is not a corvette but it should give one a run for its money.
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