Tail lamp assembly removal, 64 Fleetwood

[Logan Robb]

This weekend seemed as good as any to try and rehab my tailights with some fresh chrome paint. 

How does one remove the lamp assembaly? I am certain there is a hidden screw I am missing. 

I removed the lenses and found the one large bolt INSIDE the trunk. But that still wont release the part I need out to paint. 

Does the bumper have to come off? If so, I am NOT doing that. 

Thanks!

[Kurt]

I'm not sure about removing the taillight assemblies, but another solution to restoring the reflective surface is to use aluminum tape. The tape is typically used for A/C duct work. I did mine several years ago & it works great.

[Logan Robb]

Great idea! I had thought of this but had seen some very promising results with spray paint. I thought that would be a slightly more durable finish and easy to touch out in years to come if need be. 

[Dennis P. DiBari]

Hi Logan,

     I did some work on restoring the wiring in my tail light assembly this winter on my 64.  I'm pretty sure you can access the two bolts that hold the assembly on.  They are tough to get to from behind and up through the rear bumper.  Very little space to work through to remove the entire assembly.  I got by without removing the entire thing, but did see the bolts that held them on as I did the re-wiring.  By the way, nice picture of you two on the last Self-Starter.

Dennis DiBari, Cottekill, NY

[Logan Robb]

I discovered this. The bolt I thought I was getting at was NOT the correct bolt. I just taped everything off really well and sprayed it in the car. No biggie. 

And thank you! It’s been fun to see us on the front! 

[Jason Edge]

There are two serrated flange nuts that secure the tail lamp fixture to the bumper end bar from the back. With the bumper assembly installed in the car, you have a pretty easy access to the upper nut through a 3" or so gap. the problem is the bottom nut. Once you remove (or pull back) the masticated rubber splash apron you will see only a very narrow gap to access the area of the lower nut. The lower rear of the qtr panel also blocks access. I might take a stab at that upper  nut but no way in Hades would I even attempt that lower nut. It would be easy to unbolt the entire rear bumper assembly. 

The rear bumper assembly comes off pretty easy if you have a helper (or like me have just pulled so many you know how to support it):

- flip license tag door down and unplug the left and right tail lamp connectors, and one gas sending unit connector. 
- remove the 6 large bolts 1/2" hex bolts (3 each side) securing the large steel brackets to the frame. This is where PB Blaster will become your best friend if never removed.  Leave two bolts still through the hole in bumper and frame with nut only hand tight. 
- remove that 9/16" top lock nuts that hold the top of bumper via a rubber mount with stud. Take your body and push the bumper toward the car just enough to support. Now remove that two nuts at bottom, leaving the bolts in the hole. now lift up on the entire assembly and pull up and off the back of car. 

The upper mounts will actually support the entire bumper but you need to keep pressure on the bumper to hold in place.

The hardest part removing the bumper if never removed is going to be the large bumper bracket to frame bolts, especially if never removed before.  Soak with PB Blaster. With a short stubby 1/2" impact wrench you can get the 2 side bolts. The heads are all 3/4". You can 1/2" ratchet and hold bolt from inside while you power it off with a 1/2" impact or cordless wrench. The 2 bolts on the rear often require wrenching it off, but you can sort of get a 1/2" U-Joint and extension but I usually end up just hand wrenching them off. If they give me to much trouble the cutting wheel comes out and they are off in 10 seconds. :-)

Below is a picture showing location of tail lamp mounting from rear (red arrows, lower arrow relative, as it is behind that masticated apron), large bracket to frame mounting (blue arrows for one side), and one of the tail lamp connectors that simply unplugged with license tag door open (yellow arrow).

[Logan Robb]

This is incredibly helpful information! Luckily, I don’t plan to remove my bumper any time soon. It’s unfortunate the lower bolt for the tail lamp is nearly unreachable. That would be a huge plus! Oh well, I got the parts painted in the car, so no worries!