Side marker upgrade.

So today’s mini Sunbird resto project was to put some new front side marker lamp assemblies in. The originals were all cracked, beat up, and coming apart at the seams. The stamped-sheet-metal-self-threading-nuts that attach them (via plastic studs) are a huge pain to work with because they rust, are rounded and hard to get a tool on, and also a little difficult to get at;  so I decided to go a different route. I used a 1/4-20 die to thread the studs on the new parts, and then used washers and wing nuts to attach them. The front one has to be put on either first or before everything gets tightened because it’s hard to access, but knowing that, it works sweet.

Now for one they look better, and for two pop on and off easy with no tools. I used some standard steel hardware because it was available, but plan to replace it with nylon wing nuts and washers – they won’t rust and should hold them on just fine. I took a picture of the threaded studs, but it came out terrible so I’m not going to bother…