Exterior Semi-Tech General discussion of exterior for the Ford Ranger.

Putting in caddy lights, need advice.

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Old 06-01-2007
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Putting in caddy lights, need advice.

Hi guys, new to the forum, not so new to rangers. I have a red 02 ford ranger edge 2wd . I've been doing allot of work lately, finished painting my interior (black), frenched in my tag box in my tailgate, molded roll pan, shaved tailgate handle and 3rd brake light and various other things. Now comes time for my caddy lights from an 89 deville. I was taking a look around this morning and just wanted to ask if anyone had some advice if they have put caddy lights in a ranger. Im just wondering about fitment and placement and all that. I got taill light fillers from ebay and they seem to fit good enough. Im still waiting on buckets from grant kustoms and already have the lights. Anyway anyone got some advice to make this as easy as possible to first time around? Anything would be great. Thanks guys. Love the forum btw.
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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it depends on where you want them

ive seen them lined up like the stock ranger taillights, on the tailgate and on the rollpan
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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sounds like a clean truck!
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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haha ok...ill post pics

i want them in place of my stock taillights.
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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*excellent* *in mr burns voice*
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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Not so clean as im still running around in primer, and theres still some fine detail finishing work i need to do, but everythings at least roughed in...it is my daily.

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(2 12" neons inside the cab hooked up the the third brake light harness. Pic is a little blurry sorry)

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(and my gauge cluster...i call her 'kimber') haha


but anyway back to the caddy lights. What am i in for?
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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the red on your gauge cluster is SCCHHWEEEEETTTT!!!!!!! and everything else for that matter
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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Wow thats neat looking!!

I'd have to go with green and orange though.... lol..
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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dash and inside stuff looks GOOD!!

nice shavin job too

get a cut off wheel mark it off..a wet rag cut bout 2" and cool off..and just the panel out and weld it in..just like frenching the plate but on a curve and different shape
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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Originally Posted by HighRollerII
dash and inside stuff looks GOOD!!

nice shavin job too

get a cut off wheel mark it off..a wet rag cut bout 2" and cool off..and just the panel out and weld it in..just like frenching the plate but on a curve and different shape
heh i know that much, but i noticed i may have to cut some stuff even behind the taillight to make enough room for the lights to be deep enough. Anyone have any imput on how to wire the lights up? The ranger has 1 bulb for turn/brake/running light the caddy lights have 3 seperate bulbs. I figure ill just spilce the top two bulbs in the caddy lights to the one set of ranger wires, the third caddy bulb is small and only has 2 wires compared the the tree the other two have, im not sure whats its for.


edit: my plan btw, is to tack in the fillers trace the hole, cut the hole out then tack in the buckets(brackets for lights) double tripple check everything then add some more tacks all around, grind flush, then body filler, polyester puddy, and some ppg k36 high build primer. Sounds easy....but i know ill do some head scratching.

oh and thanks guys. Ill be lowering it soon...well as low as an edge can go. Also have some stock wheels but black waiting to get some new tires before they go on.
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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[QUOTE=wyzat520]Not so clean as im still running around in primer, and theres still some fine detail finishing work i need to do, but everythings at least roughed in...it is my daily.

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Nice tail lights, i have the same ones



I know, but i thought id share how nice i thought the lights were
 
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Old 06-01-2007
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PLEASE don't put GMC lights on your Ford. might as well put a lego Wing on the gate.

If you wanna french in some tails use old Mustangs.
 
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as it comes to wiring..

get a test light and figure out what each wire does..

ground..power for blinker, brakes, driving lights..etc..and just label and tap into the caddy lights for each thing..test everythin before solder, heat shrink crimp whatever you choose todo..

thats what i did when i did the LED strips in my tailgate..
 
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Old 06-02-2007
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Originally Posted by KARPE
PLEASE don't put GMC lights on your Ford. might as well put a lego Wing on the gate.

If you wanna french in some tails use old Mustangs.

PLEASE jump off a bridge, its my truck, ill do as i please. Old mustang lights=blah Oh no if the lights i happen to like come from a GM does that mean they arent as bright or something? haha....


anyway yea thats what i guess ill do is just figure out what each wire does and get it all wired nice and pretty
 
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Old 06-02-2007
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Originally Posted by wyzat520
PLEASE jump off a bridge, its my truck, ill do as i please. Old mustang lights=blah Oh no if the lights i happen to like come from a GM does that mean they arent as bright or something? haha....

Hey, YOU asked for advice on your tailights... don't ask for advice or opinions if you can't take critiscism.
 
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Old 06-02-2007
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How hard was it to MOD that center console for a manual trans? Looks like you did a nice job!
 
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Old 06-02-2007
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Originally Posted by wyzat520
PLEASE jump off a bridge, its my truck, ill do as i please. Old mustang lights=blah Oh no if the lights i happen to like come from a GM does that mean they arent as bright or something? haha....


anyway yea thats what i guess ill do is just figure out what each wire does and get it all wired nice and pretty
I know you will do as you please, I can't jump through the net and stop you ( though I would if it were possible).

If you are truly in love with the caddy tails...so be it. But you are getting into the next level of customization with shaving the stock lighting and molding in your own. Do you really want to mold in a kit that every magazine sells in the back ( read: cheap advertisements)? A kit that can be found on 65% of all " custom 1 off's"?

The mustang lights were just a suggestion. If you Frankenstein your monster with GMC parts on a Ford you are going to catch a lot of ****, so be prepared... just the facts of life. I think if you have the skill you should go for something original, so that the comments you get on it daily are not a mixture of " WTF" and " Sweet".

my old roomate has a Bronco that decked out beyond belief and has the caddy tails frenched in. He likes them but get's tired of hearing all the negative comments. If you have thick skin, then by all means go for it.
 
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Old 06-02-2007
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alright ill take that. But i havnt seen a cheap kit for caddy lights...and for the record i think 'mini caddy lights' are sh*t because well, they arent even real they are made to fit almost. Im ready for anything becaus 90% of the people that have anything negative to say probably didnt do half of their own work. At least in the end i can say, i did that. That and around here you see a truck with caddy lights...hell even a nice mini truck one in a million times cept for shows haha.
 
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Old 06-02-2007
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Which caddy lights are we talkin' about here?
 
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Old 06-02-2007
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Caddy lights are some of the most popular things to put on a mini truck...doesn't matter if it's a Ford, it's just for a look.
 
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Old 06-03-2007
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Originally Posted by Gearhead61
Which caddy lights are we talkin' about here?
89 deville
 
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Old 06-03-2007
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nice lookin truck.
 
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Old 06-04-2007
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Originally Posted by ranger_chuck
nice lookin truck.
thanks, i have a friend who says "it looks so hickish" and "id be embaressed to drive that thing, the paint doest match", and the best "you go to dumb school" (NEIT for Collision Repair) but he drives his parents car, I win by default haha.
 
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