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1948 - 1956 F1, F100 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Fat Fendered and Classic Ford Trucks

Front park lights

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Old Apr 16, 2018 | 10:52 AM
  #1  
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Front park lights

the replacement front park light housings do not fit under the 56 grille, according to midfifty this is the only park light replacement available...

what sort if fitting are are you guys doing to resolve the issue, is it as simple as taking a dremel to the top corner bends or is there a better way?
 
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Old Apr 16, 2018 | 04:41 PM
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I don't know Jake, Mine all fit. I went to a big Ford replacement part vendor's booth at Hershey last fall ( sorry can't remember who it was). Anyway I looked at all the turn signal lights they had for 55-56 because they had different part #'s and I couldn't tell the difference! Also at the same swap meet I bought some 56 inner housings from a used guy as they were in better shape than the ones I had, but they wouldn't work for the 2 wire sockets I have., so I had to use the ones I already had. What I ended up using was what came with my truck but I used dual element sockets that slide into the housings. I ended up brazing the sockets into the housings because they were a little loose. I ordered the sockets from a local parts store after looking thru their catalog. It all seems to work Ok.
 
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Old Apr 17, 2018 | 12:57 PM
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It all depends upon whether or not you want to stay stock or not. I had the same problem with my '50 F2 with '52 front sheetmetal. I have tried several solutions short of converting everything back to a monkey face. These LED flat lights are the best that I have found so far. They are amber on turn signals and white on park. They are very bright but I found a resistor that will dim them a bit.




This video is without the resistor.
 
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Old Apr 17, 2018 | 01:19 PM
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This is the part description from midfifty:
”We have done extensive research on the fit of this park light frame.
There is a combination of problems that all contribute to the fit.
One is a 1/8" difference in height at the front.
A shape difference as it goes around. The original was a nice rounded curve, the reproductions are more angular. Because of this they hit the bottom of the grill instead of laying nicely against it.
Problem is, the frames are all made by the same factory. They are made in China then distributed to various vendors here, including us. The frames have been made this way for many years and our complaints have gone unsatisfied. At one time they came to the US almost flat and were forced onto the assemblies here. Now they are being assembled in China and this is where the more "angled" part comes in. We were able to work with a frame and get it into a better curve which makes it fit better but it takes some hand shaping and finesse.
The height difference, combined with a more pronounced bend outward on the upper edge makes for the "gap" between the grille and park light.
Many trucks are also dealing with gravel pans that are reproductions or in many cases fiberglass, both of which may have variations. *please see our information on bad gravel pans that are not equal on both ends. We have been able to solve that problem and do not sell the defective ones.
At this time we do not have a real solution for perfect park light frames. The manufactures have no intention of making the product better, and we are not planning to reproduce the part ourselves at this time.
As this frame is the only one on the market we must offer it, with the above explanation.”
 
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Old Apr 17, 2018 | 02:26 PM
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Originally Posted by jakevidrine
This is the part description from midfifty:
”We have done extensive research on the fit of this park light frame.
There is a combination of problems that all contribute to the fit.
One is a 1/8" difference in height at the front.
A shape difference as it goes around. The original was a nice rounded curve, the reproductions are more angular. Because of this they hit the bottom of the grill instead of laying nicely against it.
Problem is, the frames are all made by the same factory. They are made in China then distributed to various vendors here, including us. The frames have been made this way for many years and our complaints have gone unsatisfied. At one time they came to the US almost flat and were forced onto the assemblies here. Now they are being assembled in China and this is where the more "angled" part comes in. We were able to work with a frame and get it into a better curve which makes it fit better but it takes some hand shaping and finesse.
The height difference, combined with a more pronounced bend outward on the upper edge makes for the "gap" between the grille and park light.
Many trucks are also dealing with gravel pans that are reproductions or in many cases fiberglass, both of which may have variations. *please see our information on bad gravel pans that are not equal on both ends. We have been able to solve that problem and do not sell the defective ones.
At this time we do not have a real solution for perfect park light frames. The manufactures have no intention of making the product better, and we are not planning to reproduce the part ourselves at this time.
As this frame is the only one on the market we must offer it, with the above explanation.”
Thanks for posting that info!

Then I am glad my parking lights were good and I didn't need to buy repops:
 
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Old Apr 17, 2018 | 09:42 PM
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As I said above I don't need any parking light assemblies. But I looked on eBay to be me there were good used ones you guys could buy.

Well the word is out! Here is a pair of good used frames.... yes, frames only for sale at $150! He mentions that the repops don't fit..... So buy his oem frames!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-Ford-T...5Zxalw&vxp=mtr
 
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