The 87 and 88 Firebird convertibles used a 3rd brake light which was smaller than the 89...does anyone know what vehicle the lens for these lights was originally designed for? I would like to replace mine but theres really no info on the lens itself. "86" is the only clue...guess it was designed in 86. Attached is a pic for reference (sorry about the quality).

 

Is it the same one as a regular 87-? firebird hardtop or t top car with the pedistal spoiler?

 

Unfortunately no, For some unknown reason, As far as I can tell, ASC decided to use a unique housing and brake light for under the spoiler. I am still confounded because the wing spoiler was actually a factory unit with the ends cut off and filled in with bondo, then painted to the desired color. I am not sure why ASC used a unique third brake light, the only thing I can come up with is the shape of the hatch and the shape of the trunk was different enough that the factory brake light either had a gap or it was too tight... IIRC the spoiler for the Camaro Convertible is different than the hard top/T-top cars.

Until 10 min ago I had no idea that the 1987-1988 3rd brake lights were different than the 1989.

Do you have the complete lens, or at least all of the pieces to glue together??

It may be possible to glue it together, and make a mold from your piece and then make a casting... I have the stuff here to do just that... One of the process' that we do where I work is to make small urethane castings...

It may be worth a shot...

 

John,
The lens on my 88 is in perfect shape. Should you decide to make a casting.

 

My lens is in good condition, but it has small cracks in the surface of the lense where the screws hold it in place...just wanted to have a nice, new lens if possible. My tail lights look great and then I have this dull, weathered looking brake light.

 

Hit with some plastic polish...You can find several different brands at Pep Boys etc, Little TLC and it will look great.

 

I am not sure about this, but it would not surprise me if there was another car that the piece was used on. Keep in mind that ASC made the conversion for the Riviera, Corvette, Eldorado, Cavalier & Sunbird...

It is like the trim piece on the bottom of my 89 Formula 350 convertible, it is the same piece that they used on the Cavalier & Sunbird without ground effects... The difference is it is cut shorter for the F-body...

John

John

 

Well, I researched the 3rd brake light styles for the cars you mentioned, but no luck. It seems like all of the brake lights in the 80's on those cars were rectangles or squares. The one on my car is rounded on the ends, convex, and smooth. Guess I'll give the plastic polish a try. Thanks for the responses!

 

not positive on the Firebird's and TA but the lens from the 87 camaro is from a ford mustang. (at least that is what the guy that worked at ASC in the 80's told me) 87 is supposed to be different than all of them.

 

Thats awesome! I checked up on the Mustang 3rd brake light (79-93) and it appears to be close to the one I'm looking for! I'm going to remove mine and compare to the pics at this website (screw holes look off a bit)http://www.americanmuscle.com/3rd-brakelight-7993.html prior to ordering.

Thanks for the help!

 

check and see if maybe the mclaren mustang might be exact I think I recall him saying that but not positive so I didn't want to post it earlier.

 

THe real funny thing is my 1989 Vert brake light has DOT 87 on it. So it was approved in 1987...

All I need is the trim piece that goes under the housing to the trunk and I think my car would be complete... I suspect they were made from a non UV stable rubber and they simply fell apart.

John

 

Been living this dream since '87 -- the third brake light lens is from a similar vintage Ford Pickup so far as I can tell, ASC used whatever was around.

I have an extra kicking around my basement. When I went to replace the bulbs (mine were toast from the exposure, long story) I had to go to the Ford dealer to get them.

Good luck!

 

So the third brake lights are actually from other production cars?

It would make sense...

John

 

Is the 87 Camaro's Third Brake Light the same as on the 87 Firebird?

 

I do not think the lens' were the same...

John

 

Yes, they tried to use as many production parts as possible -- they had already been tooled and tested, so they are ready to go and cheap to buy.

Dunno on the IROC/Camaro lenses, tho. They wouldn't want to spend a lot of money for a part like that.