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i have a 1977 C3, i need to convert the taillight system over to the European style lights........... a YELLOW/ AMBER turn signal that operates independently of the brake lights.
Can ANYONE point me in the right direction.........?? a set of yellow lens would work, or a manufacturer that supplies a complete "kit"..... i have seen them on C4,5 and 6's, but am having no luck finding the conversion for my car.
What European country do you live in? Do the regulations allow a car to be grandfathered in if the standards at the time of manufacture did not require the Amber rear turn signals? I lived in Belgium during the late 80s/ early 90s. My family owned and imported a 1984 Ford Tempo which only had red lenses in the rear. We were only required to add a red fog light to the rear. We did not have to modify the turn signals.
i live in Kentucky, but i have a friend who lives in Sweden. the car is going to him. Swedish law mandates that any car, 1975 and newer convert the lights to Swedish standards....... at least my friend says that is the case
You already have wiring going to the rear lights for: BRAKE lights, TAIL lights, TURN SIGNALS (R & L), and BACKUP lights. The 1977 Corvette wiring diagram will provide the wire colors for each. Remove the 4 lenses. Move outer lenses to the inner positions and put amber lenses in outer position. Available sockets/wiring/bulbs for BRAKE/TAIL lamps should be routed to the inner lens positions. The outer lens sockets only need to be a single pin turn signal type having one power wire and ground. For BACKUP lights, I suggest that you purchase LED type aftermarket fixture that can attach to the license plate holder/frame and connect the BACKUP wiring and ground to it. They are readily available on-line.
Last edited by 7T1vette; Dec 17, 2019 at 03:00 PM.
this kind sir, may work.............. i am an electrician and this is very feasible.......... thanks again..............
an amber bulb in the reverse light socket, worse case, tint the clear reverse lens amber AND use an amber bule
b
You already have wiring going to the rear lights for: BRAKE lights, TAIL lights, TURN SIGNALS (R & L), and BACKUP lights. The 1977 Corvette wiring diagram will provide the wire colors for each. Remove the 4 lenses. Move outer lenses to the inner positions and put amber lenses in outer position. Available sockets/wiring/bulbs for BRAKE/TAIL lamps should be routed to the inner lens positions. The outer lens sockets only need to be a single pin turn signal type having one power wire and ground. For BACKUP lights, I suggest that you purchase LED type aftermarket fixture that can attach to the license plate holder/frame and connect the BACKUP wiring and ground to it. They are readily available on-line.
OP, what country? The UK Corvette club used to make a mod guide on their website but it got moved to member's only section. May be worth posting over there.
Amber turn signals were required in the 1960's. I suspect that any Corvettes imported to Europe needed to comply. Some 'conversion' shops probably did the work once the car made it to a European port, so amber lenses for C3 cars should be available. Do some searching on the web and I'll bet you find them. The other alternative would be to measure the stock lenses and see if lenses from some European car can be adapted to fit.
Can you convert the backup lights to be your turn signals if you use Amber bulbs and modify the wiring as necessary?
Kael
This is what I did and it's pretty simple. A yellow bulb & holder in the reverse light lenses so they become dual functional. I researched it at the time and from memory in the UK cars pre 1965 had no obligation to perform any modifications if they have red flashers. Post '65 it is at the insurance underwriters discretion and stock'ish cars could be left unmodified, customised cars require a yellow / amber flasher. So mine being 'unmolested' could be left as factory. I decided to do it anyway for peace of mind. I left the light arrangement as is on the one below but my yellow one has the lights switched over so the reverse light and combined flasher unit is the outer lights.
Clever solution! If you wanted, you could swap inner/outer lamp housings & wiring so that the turn signal lights would be in the 'outer' position. If you installed a bright yellow LED [and electronic flasher module] in the 'new' turn signal housings, turn signals would be very bright AND backup lights would still be useful.
Clever solution! If you wanted, you could swap inner/outer lamp housings & wiring so that the turn signal lights would be in the 'outer' position. If you installed a bright yellow LED [and electronic flasher module] in the 'new' turn signal housings, turn signals would be very bright AND backup lights would still be useful.
So mine being 'unmolested' could be left as factory. I decided to do it anyway for peace of mind. I left the light arrangement as is on the one below but my yellow one has the lights switched over so the reverse light and combined flasher unit is the outer lights.
Doing the lenses is the easy part. The issue is with the wiring. Since the turn and brake signals same the same wire at the bulb, you need to tap into the brake signal earlier (at the pedal) like Richard posted. Then, you need to run another wire to power the new brake lights all the way back. That way, the turn signal and hazard flasher wiring is still 100% functional.
Doing the lenses is the easy part. The issue is with the wiring. Since the turn and brake signals same the same wire at the bulb, you need to tap into the brake signal earlier (at the pedal) like Richard posted. Then, you need to run another wire to power the new brake lights all the way back. That way, the turn signal and hazard flasher wiring is still 100% functional.
I asked the same question guys at the Corvette Kingdom in UK. They do wonderful work on Corvettes.
They have been very friendly and sent me this diagram and explanation. All thanks goes to them as I still haven't touched my wiring!
The walkthrough posted below is from corvette club UK. All thanks goes to them!
I asked the same question guys at the Corvette Kingdom in UK. They do wonderful work on Corvettes.
They have been very friendly and sent me this diagram and explanation. All thanks goes to them as I still haven't touched my wiring!
The walkthrough posted below is from corvette club UK. All thanks goes to them!
The second diagram is better than the first hand drawn one. The first one uses the reverse light wiring to power the brake light signals. If you do that, you have no way to make the reverse lights functional. Better to cut the white wire at the brake pedal switch and run a new wire all the way to the rear to power the new brake light bulbs. The old brake/turn signal wires become just turn signals. You end up using the reverse lamps as turn signals and the reverse light wiring has to go to new lamps.
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1977 Euro taillight conversion
