1979 Taillight Louvers..Where to find?

[Andy]

Hi All....I have 2 C3's (pre 1980) and cannot locate any taillight louvers from any aftermarket company. ANY ideas? Would appreciate..

Andy

 

[Eric]

Andy,

The only ones I could find were for 80-82 sharks. Custom parts of any kind for older Vettes are getting more and more hard to find. Sounds like the kind of thing you might find from one of the small mom-&-pop vendors at Carlisle.

Any chance of modding the 80-82 louvers to fit?

Good luck in your search!

 

[ruby76]

Why wouldn't one fit from an 80-82? Round taillights is round tailiights right?

 

[Dave Z]

For '74 thru '79 the centers of the tail light lenses are raised while the '80-'82's are flat across the lens. Would an '80-'82 lens have the same bolt pattern? If so, you could use those and the louvers.

 

[Andy]

I went ahead and ordered the lovers last week from ecklers. I'll let u know what i find out, but i think the screww holes on the louvers are not in the exact same sports. I guess i could try and customize some how.

Andy

 

[ruby76]

For '74 thru '79 the centers of the tail light lenses are raised while the '80-'82's are flat across the lens. Would an '80-'82 lens have the same bolt pattern? If so, you could use those and the louvers.

Good point, but I would just use the lenses an all. Maybe the sockets too if the bolt pattern is different, but i would doubt it was any different. - probably just a subtle styling change for 80-82.

 

[Dave Z]

Good point, but I would just use the lenses an all. Maybe the sockets too if the bolt pattern is different, but i would doubt it was any different. - probably just a subtle styling change for 80-82.

After looking at some pics of the various years, that's exactly what I'm thinking too...I may even try it.

 

[Andy]

The Louvers FIT!!!!!!!!!

I went ahead and ordered part number A6871 from Ecklers. The parts are for an 80-82 taillight louvers, but they came today, and I installed them right away on my Greenwood! They look great...The only thing that you need to do is get different length screws..instead of the 3 inch screws holding in the taillight, buy 3 1/2 inch ones..Thats what I did and they worked great....Now to order another pair for my '76!!! Good luck guys...

Andy

 

[Eric]

I went ahead and ordered part number A6871 from Ecklers. The parts are for an 80-82 taillight louvers, but they came today, and I installed them right away on my Greenwood! They look great...The only thing that you need to do is get different length screws..instead of the 3 inch screws holding in the taillight, buy 3 1/2 inch ones..Thats what I did and they worked great....Now to order another pair for my '76!!! Good luck guys...

Andy

Well Andy, how about some pics!

- Eric

 

[Andy]

I went ahead and ordered a pair for my 1976. When i tried to install these, they simply don't fit!!..So, bottom line is that on a 1979, they fit fine with some slight mod, but the 1976 doesn't work...

 

[ruby76]

So, what prevents them from fitting? I have to admit I haven't looked closely at the taillight differences on C3s.

 

[Andy]

On a 1976, the top portion of the taillight area is OPEN..their is no rounded top portion..On my 1979, their is a top portion of the taillight opening..They look much better. Also, the '79's went right on..the rounded openings are wider..The '76's were a narrower opening and i couldn't even FORCE them in, so unless u want to modify them, they won't work and if u did modify them they just wouldn't look right without the top section of the taillight..BUMMER...


Andy

 

[Andy]

Take a look at my post "vertical doors on a 79". You can see the taillight louvers.
Andy