Interchangeable tail lights? (Page 1/1)
Ethan Y NOV 06, 06:39 PM
I am not sure if this falls under body work or not but I had a collision in my 84 Fiero and I am looking to buy a new tail light housing from another Fiero but I am not 100% sure if all the years 84-88 work and are interchangeable. I have located a 86 and it appears it is going to fit but I don't want to spend the money for it not to fit.
Any information helps.
Rodrv6 NOV 06, 07:35 PM
I believe there are only 2 different tail lights, fastback and notchback. The Fiero parts book shows that all notchback tail lights are the same...(All fastback tail lights are also the same)

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Rod Schneider, Ball Ground, Ga.
"You can't have too many toys!"
1988 Fiero GT
1988 Porsche 928S4
1987 Corvette
2016 Mustang EcoBoost
Van's RV-6 airplane

IMSA GT NOV 06, 08:45 PM
Agreed. Only 2 types of lights and they are all interchangable with their own year.
Notchback or Fastback

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 11-06-2022).]

Spoon NOV 11, 08:16 PM
yes 84-88 work and are interchangeable. Just for your information the production year is molded into the lens if you look real close. I have a 1986 SE and that year was on my tail lights. I came across a better set and replaced them so the replacements have 1984 on the lens. Perfect fit.
Even from the factory during model year change but no change in the vehicle you may see the prior year carried over to the new model year.

If you're competing in a car show this may be important for the lens to match the model year but whatever you do make sure both left & right lens have the same production year on the lens. .....Even if one of them is cracked lol...

Spoon

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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut

theogre NOV 11, 11:36 PM

quote
Originally posted by Spoon:
If you're competing in a car show this may be important for the lens to match the model year but whatever you do make sure both left & right lens have the same production year on the lens. .....Even if one of them is cracked lol...

You and Qualified Show Judges almost never find a DOT Lamp Codes that match Model Year of a vehicle. Only often just First Year of model and trim level.

Date is year of a fixture to meet FMVSS 108 version at that time.
GM et al then use same molds to make huge batches of product often to last years of a model/trim for a car + replacement parts.

In Fiero taillights always or near so, 84 for all "notchies," 86 for all Fastbacks. 86 SE notchie would need big change(s) to taillights have a different DOT string on them. The only change I know of is two bulbs active for Turn lights stating on 85 but GM still have same fixtures for these notchies. 86 and 87 i have are 84 taillights that still say (3)T...

So if a "Judge" say points off for mismatch year of taillight is very likely And why many shows hind behind "Judges results are Final" because show operators know many "Judges" are fake experts.

Other DOT codes meaning See my Cave, Lighbulbs at bottom.
(Link to DOT is dead but still find same posters on other sites.)
These Old posters don't cover some new codes for some LED HL etc.
Full J759 doc like others are Hidden by SAE Paywall but I had some new code but can't find the post or notes now.
Some are here when publish an old 1995 copy. https://law.resource.org/pu...5/sae.j759.1995.html This copy have some that are ignored by DOT posters because some code are NA to most truck/bus people.

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