• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

How to install tail and parking lights??

Share this page

B

BlueRidge1

Jedi Warrior
Offline
Hi, Iv'e been side lined several months doing a kitchen / bath room remodel that escalated to a much bigger project than anticapated. Anyway I finally got around to painting the Healey and am pleased with the results. I am however finding it to be a challenge to fit it back together. The little car fights me every step of the way it seems. What is the process for puting the lense cover and trim rings on the parking lights and tail lights?? It is a 61-62 model BN7.Should I assemble the light and lense then fit the socket in the holes and tighten the nuts .I can't even get the trim ring on when it is off the car.
Thanks Bob
 
Bob, I had good luck lubing the lens and trim rings with dish washing liquid and using a SMALL DULL screw driver in the same fashion as a tire changing machine. The lens should slip in easy, the trim ring you really have to work at. Do all this AFTER the light fixture is bolted to the body. I believe your light assemblies are the same as my 100/6. Bob
 
Bob Claffie said:
I had good luck lubing the lens and trim rings with dish washing liquid
Click to expand...
You can also use Astro Glide. It's safe on rubber!
 
Are you using new rubber boots (for the lights)? They're really inexpensive to replace, and it's just not worth the trouble to work with old, dry and hard original rubber boots.

If they're new(er), you really shouldn't be having any trouble getting them together. Follow Bob's advice above, as that's the same thing I would tell you.
 
randy, ive been using a length of string wrapped around the rubber and just pull it through the opening, no lube, did that the first time in like 1964, works great.
 
GregWYou can also use Astro Glide. It's safe on rubber! [/quote said:
---------------------------
Now why does Greg know this?
Click to expand...
 
Thanks everyone, I will give it a try tomorrow. I am using the new boots and will try the dish soap and string and a little of the tire changing method.
 
I would be very careful using anything metal to probe/pull etc around the newly painted car. Instead, find a cheap plastic screwdriver instead. The soapy water works wonders also.
 
Johnny said:
I would be very careful using anything metal to probe/pull etc around the newly painted car. Instead, find a cheap plastic screwdriver instead. The soapy water works wonders also.
Click to expand...
The plastic tools Victoria British sell for working with the windshield seal (as seen in the MGB windshield page) work very well for this application. One (1) end is tapered to a blunt (broad) point, and the other is more squared off.

Similar tools can be had from Eastwood, in their Five (5) Piece trim tool set, albeit, more expensive.
 
A lot of plastic wedges, etc. can be found at any well stocked paint store. look in their paint section...
 
Back
Top