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Mustang Lighting Upgrades - Bright FuturesProject Colt of Personality gambles on modern lighting upgrades From the May, 2012 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords By Steve Baur Photography by Steve Baur
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While we often gravitate toward the tried and true modifications that put a big smile on our faces every time we step on the throttle, vintage Mustangs will always benefit from the technological advances that the auto industry has made since they first rolled off the assembly line some 40-plus years ago. While we have plans to upgrade the handling, braking, and engine performance of our '66 fastback, we've also recently made some safety upgrades in the form of a rollbar, safety harnesses, and modern locking seats with increased lateral grip. One area where any vintage car can benefit regardless of intended use is lighting.  1 We start our conversion...  1 We start our conversion with the front marker lights and headlights. Both were working fine, which isn't always the case with a vintage Mustang or Ford, but we knew there were more intense options to give us a safer view of the road ahead of us.  2 Two screws and the old...  2 Two screws and the old lens comes right out, along with the crusty gasket. You'll want to use a new gasket to keep the water out. In 1986, all automobiles were equipped with a government-mandated third brake light affixed to a high position on the vehicle. This worked to some extent, but as the years have passed and with the third light becoming the standard, the effects have arguably waned. However, automakers have sought to increase driver awareness with the design, location, and type of lightning. While halogen lightning made its way into the automotive landscape many years ago and improved lighting as we knew it, LED (light-emitting diode) lightning is now becoming more prevalent. Thanks to our wonderful aftermarket support, classic Mustang owners can upgrade their Mustang with more current lighting options, which is safer for everyone on the road.  3 You may need to clean the...  3 You may need to clean the socket out a bit if the bulbs haven't been changed in a while. After that, simply push in and twist the bulb base on the pigtail of the LED parking lamps (PN PL66), just like you would the original bulb. Then, use the supplied hardware to secure the LED light to the housing.  4 While our Colt of Personality...  4 While our Colt of Personality was equipped with more modern halogen lamps, their looks were very plain and stock, and the factory vintage Mustang wiring isn't really suited to them. We decided to swap them out in favor of these tri-bar halogen (PN PF700C) pieces from Mustangs Unlimited, along with a new harness (PN HRH1) that is designed to supply the proper voltage to the new halogen lamps.  5 To swap out the headlights,...  5 To swap out the headlights, we need to remove the four screws that secure the headlight door. This allows access to the headlight trim ring, which is held in by three more screws. We went to Mustangs Unlimited for our lighting needs, as the company offers pretty much everything from stock to aftermarket for all Mustangs. While we'd be swapping out most of the factory equipment for new pieces, we had nothing when it came to the taillights, and needed everything—screws, gaskets, housings, lenses, bezels, wiring pigtails, and all. Check out the captions to see how easy it is to upgrade your Mustang's lighting equipment.  6 Now, take out the old headlight...  6 Now, take out the old headlight and unplug it from the factory harness. The new Mustangs Unlimited wiring harness is then connected to the passenger-side headlight plug, and the headlight plug from the new harness is fed into the headlight cup.  7 The tri-bar headlights...  7 The tri-bar headlights are too deep to fit the stock cup, so we removed the rear rubber seal, followed by the bulb, to allow us to cut the back of the headlight housing.  8 Using a cut-off wheel gave...  8 Using a cut-off wheel gave us a smooth cut through the composite housing. We removed approximately half an inch of the housing to give us the required clearance to mount the headlight in the cup and attach the trim ring.  9 After determining where...  9 After determining where we planned to mount the relays, we routed the harness around the battery and up behind the core support to the other side of the car.  10 Having the harness near...  10 Having the harness near the battery will make it easy to attach these power and ground harness leads directly to the battery. Here you can see we also mounted the harness relays right below the starter solenoid.  11 Lightning the area behind...  11 Lightning the area behind our Mustang are these LED backup lights (PN 1142R) from Mustangs Unlimited. Installation is similar to the front parking lamps with regard to the wiring pigtail and bulb base, however the backup lights are an open LED panel that will need to be separated from the metal light housing using the included foam tape. Carefully wrap the tape around the board and then slide it in the housing.  12 A new lens and gasket...  12 A new lens and gasket is included to complete the LED makeover. Per the directions, you'll want to put the car in reverse to verify that the polarity is correct prior to turning on the lights.  13 If you’ve been following...  13 If you’ve been following our Colt of Personality project Mustang, then you know that the car was modified with Oldsmobile taillights by the previous owner. While the car was at Graverobbers Sheet Metal getting the Goodmark mini-tubs installed, we had the staff there replace a number of other sheetmetal components, including the rear quarter-panels, framerails, drop offs, and the taillight panel. The tri-bar taillights are one of the Mustang’s defining characteristics, and we decided right away to bring them back to our project. To accomplish this, we had Mustangs Unlimited send us everything we needed, from the bezels to the buckets. While we’re at it, we’re going with Mustangs Unlimited’s sequential LED conversion (PN CA26) as well.  14 The '65-'66 Mustang's...  14 The '65-'66 Mustang's taillight starts with the housing. To make the lights as bright as they can be, new housings are essential, as exposure to the elements from old gaskets, as well as 40-plus years of degradation can offer less than reflective inner surfaces.  15 A new housing will make...  15 A new housing will make it easier for you to install the bulb base attached to the pigtails, and the LED board simply bolts to the stud sticking out of the base.  16 Per the instructions,...  16 Per the instructions, you'll want to ensure that the board doesn't come into contact with the taillight housing. We were able to bolt our boards directly to the base, but the kit includes small spacers to move the board outward and away from the housing.  17 On the outside, we used...  17 On the outside, we used new gaskets and lenses, topped off with these shiny Scott Drake bezels from Mustangs Unlimited.  18 Inside the trunk, we needed...  18 Inside the trunk, we needed to change out the harness ends, as they had been modified to suit the previous dual-bulb taillights. As the name implies, Mustangs Unlimited has everything you could ever need for your Mustang right down to new taillight wiring pigtails (PN 13A408) for the factory harness.  19 To make the LED taillights...  19 To make the LED taillights go blink, blink, blink--like a good sequential should--we have to install the included flasher module. The new flasher is connected to the old flasher wiring. To do this, click the turn signal lever and locate the flasher under the dash near the kick panel on the driver side. Kill the ignition and remove the old flasher module. There should be a yellow/orange wire and a blue or green wire in the stock harness. Connect the new flasher module's red wire to the yellow/orange lead, and the green wire to the blue/green factory wire. Then run the black ground wire to the chassis.  20 While we had to unfortunately...  20 While we had to unfortunately remove the battery and engine bay wiring prior to completing this installation, and couldn’t show you how the taillights light up from the inside out, we’re pretty sure Mustang enthusiasts are hip to the sequential taillight thing. More importantly, the brighter LED lights combined with the sequential display is sure to keep those behind you alert and aware, making it safer for everyone on the road.
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