Yes, all 1968 Plymouth and Dodge models had round side lights. On 1968
Chryslers, the Chrysler 300 had round lights in the rear fenders, but the
rest of the line had square lights in the rear fenders. All Imperials had
square lights in the rear fenders, while all Chryslers and Imperials had
square lights in the front bumper.
It is not difficult to place these lights on another year. I have seen a
1966 Chrysler Windsor with round lights. All you need do is drill a hole.
And the lights wiring could be spliced into main harness easily enough.
Cover up the joint with electrical tape and you are done. Given the way the
wiring twists and winds its way around the front end, it would not be hard
to hide, and the dress-up in the trunk hides the wiring from view.
But I sincerely doubt that any 1967 model came from the factory with side
marker lights. I cannot see Chrysler paying someone to drill holes in the
fenders for a light, and there is no way they would spend the dollars to
modify the tooling to accept side lights for a few dozen or even hundred
cars. Not to mention the cost of having the wiring harness revised to have
the wiring in place for the lights.
As for the 1969 models, the government regulations mandating lights and
reflectors on the side did not come into play until the 1970 model year.
Thus Chrysler could use lights only in 1968 and reflectors in 1969. The
reflectos may seem a step backwards in 1969, but remember reflectors can be
seen at night when the car is parked and the car's lights off. My mother
had a 1969 Dart GT hardtop, and I could see the reflectors at night when I
pulled into the yard.
Bill
Vancouver, BC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher Hoffman" <imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2003 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: IML: 1967 with 1968 side markers
> Boy, would I love to see this and find out how it happened! Keep in mind
> that no Chrysler product used these lamps in 1967, so presumably they
> weren't yet manufactured at this point. It'd be like finding a
> factory-installed CD player in my '78 New Yorker Brougham. Did they reach
> into a parts bin from the future? Or were these a test set used for some
> sort of research?
>
> Or did someone just drill convincing holes and use the harnesses from a
'68
> to hook them up. Keep in mind that a '67's front parking lamps don't
> (normally) stay on with the headlamps, so the front side-marker lamps
would
> have to be wired either to the headlamp switch or the taillamps. I wonder
if
> the front parking lamps illuminate with the headlamps on this car, too?
>
> Just as a side note, I'm pretty sure that all Mopars used the same round
> lenses for the side markers in '68, but Chrysler Division and Imperial
> models put them inside squared-off trim bezels. Anyone with a '68 want to
> corroborate or correct this?
>
> (And am I the only one who's always been puzzled by the backwards step to
> non-lighted reflectors for the 1969 model year? This has bugged me since
Mom
> brought home her new Dart Swinger in 1969.)
>
> Chris in LA
> 67 Crown
> 78 NYB Salon
>
> mullic5@xxxxxxx (mullic5@xxxxxxx) wrote:
>
> > Hi all; The 67 Crown coupe Dick referred to has the side marker mounted
in
> > holes in the fenders. The lights are square on the outside, but mount
through
> > round holes.
> > Larry
>
>
>
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network