NOS Avant II Park Housing

[1inxs]

Also posted on SDC forum! I have located a NOS set of front park light housings for my 1981 Avanti II. They didn’t come with the light sockets. I have currently come up with two choices for the socket installation. 1st option= I have located a socket with 3 leads which I would drill out the hole in the housing, so I could install the socket from the inside. This would have to be done due to the location of the socket flange. 2nd option=I have located a socket with2 leads which I would need to solder a ground wire to the socket housing and install from the rear side. This is because the socket flange is located at the bottom of the socket and allows to protrude into the inside of the NOS housing for bulb insertion. I am seeking advise from those in the SDC forum that have experience with the Avanti II sockets and recommendations on how I should proceed. Thanks for your input!

[studegary]

To me, the three wire one looks like it is made for installation from the back.  The three wire one looks best, EXCEPT that it is meant to snap through thin sheet metal and would not stay in your housing with the long wall on the opening.

How about removing, reconditioning and reusing your existing socket?

[arkus]

jb weld

[1inxs]

studegary and arkus, I appreciate the comments. I don’t think that the old sockets can be removed from the original housings without damage. At this point I’m leaning toward using the 2 lead socket and soldering a white ground wire to the casing and using JB Weld or similar to fasten the socket to the housing. I’m also considering drilling and tapping the housing and using a set screw to attach the socket to it. I’m trying to do it like original if possible. All input is appreciated!

[mfg]

You were fortunate to find NOS housings!

[1inxs]

1 hour ago, mfg said:

You were fortunate to find NOS housings!

True. Patience and perseverance! And enjoying searching until I find what I would like.

[1inxs]

Okay, I have finished my NOS Avanti II front park light housings. I ended up using the two (2) lead sockets. I used Part #36N from Sherco  Auto, but a NAPA #LS6388 is the same socket, just not as good a quality. I pressed them into the housing and made sure to install an 1157 bulb to check for fit. They were snug, but I was able to install and remove the bulb. I used POR 15 Epoxy Putty to for a solid semi-permanent socket installation. I installed an additional wire that mounts to the stud at the rear of the housing for my ground. Installed push pins and the wiring for the socket and the front directional wiring harness of the 81 Avanti. 

An interesting note to the whole front park/signal project. It uses an 1157 two (2) filament bulb. The challenge was to find out which while led to which bulb filament. What I ended up doing was reading the resistance of the two leads and writing it down.  The lead with the higher resistance is the dimmer filament and therefore goes to the park light circuit. The lower resistance lead is the brighter filament and is for the turn signal circuit. For those that may attempt replacing their socket without the use of an ohm meter, you can simply ground the socket to your 12 volt battery terminal and one at a time touch the two leads to the positive terminal. Record and mark which lead lit the bulb brighter and which lead lit the bulb dimmer. The bright is turn signal and the park is the dimmer. A look at the completed housings, you will also notice that I fabricated new fastening brackets for the assembly to the body. Thanks for those that commented on my post!