ADDING SIDE MARKERS TO A '67 BARRACUDA - Locations and wiring

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soonercruiser

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I'm going to add side markers to my 67 Barracuda, for safety/visibility sake.

I have looked at may Barracuda 67-69 pictures, and the rear side marker seems to be placed in several different locations.
(Either even with the tip of the rear bumper; or, slightly above.)
Is one or the other correct?

I have looked at my detailed 67 Wiring diagram and do not see a pigtail wire indicated for a side marker.
So, I am assumng that was not OEM for the 67.
I would then plan to tap into the taillight running light wire.
Any problems to anticipate? What color wire?
 
How much night driving do you do?

As for wiring.

Mymopar.com has wiring diagrams and Factory Service manuals.

Just duplicate what the factory did.

67 no side markers
68 round side markers
69 up rectangular side markers

Some year rectangular markers just need a rectangular hole others need a recessed rectangular hole.

Personally if you add side markers you are opening yourself to 1,000,000 comments

IMHO one of the things that make the 67 beautiful is the lack of side markers.

but ultimately your car your choice
 
Can’t help you with the placement, but the ‘68 markers are by far the easiest to add. All you need is a round hole with a notch, nothing recessed.

A harbor freight step bit
IMG_2391.jpeg


File a notch
IMG_2394.jpeg


And voilá
IMG_2393.jpeg
 
Plymouth did not add them because they wanted to. Gooberment made them do it. It makes the 67 cars that much more special
 
soonercruiser said:
(Either even with the tip of the rear bumper; or, slightly above.)
Is one or the other correct?
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Correct for what? 1967 had no side markers, so there is no correct location for 1967. Just pick a spot you like and go with it.
 
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I've seen lots of side markers removed... It's kinda rare to see someone add them.... As mentioned just how much driving at night are you planning to do??
 
Could always add a magnetic beacon light. I wonder if there is any concrete collision statistics as to a benefit from the addition of side marker lights. There is always the same amount of dumb Folks out there.
 
Bodyperson said:
o Side marker lamps annually prevent 106,000 accidents
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I would wager that the driver that was saved by side marker lights was not driving defensively, seems to me that side marker lights are a T-bone reducer.

And how do you get in a T-bone situation...

You pull out in front of oncoming traffic

OR

a distracted driver runs a light or stop sign ( side markers would not necessarily reduce that type of commission)

Just my 2 cents
 
Dana67Dart said:
How much night driving do you do?

As for wiring.

Mymopar.com has wiring diagrams and Factory Service manuals.

Just duplicate what the factory did.

67 no side markers
68 round side markers
69 up rectangular side markers

Some year rectangular markers just need a rectangular hole others need a recessed rectangular hole.

Personally if you add side markers you are opening yourself to 1,000,000 comments

IMHO one of the things that make the 67 beautiful is the lack of side markers.

but ultimately your car your choice
Click to expand...
The topic of ANY SUBJECT on this Forum has not been an excuse NOT TO REDICULE someone, from my perspecitve!
Just sayin'! I didn't come on board thinking it would be any different than any other car forum. :rolleyes:

I do respect the reasonable objections. And I appreciate the opinions.
But, I do plan on night driving, cruises and night car events, etc. So, I am safety conscious.

**BESIDES: Once you have changed anything on the classis car, aftermarket stuff like radios, or non-matching numbers motors, what's the point, except your personal taste???
My 67 Notch has a 318 in it. And the previous owner liked the 68 grill better. (On that I agree) But not the 68 trunk trim.

One of the reasonable responders a while back said, "fix it up like you want an enjoy driving it"!
Even when some of the crap on it was not yet fixed, I woud get horn toots and thumbs up from other brand car owners!
 
68's or 69's weren't illuminated electrically were they? Whichever route you go, 68 or 9, cut out a thin magnet same size as the marker light and try it in different locations for preference.
 
4spdragtop said:
68's or 69's weren't illuminated electrically were they? Whichever route you go, 68 or 9, cut out a thin magnet same size as the marker light and try it in different locations for preference.
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Yeah, I thought they were.
 
'68s are electric, but the '69s are reflectors. Apparently there was a loophole that Chrysler discovered and exploited by using reflectors for '69. I don't know about 1970. The loophole was closed no later than 1971, and illuminated side markers were here to stay.
 
S'cuder said:
'68s are electric, but the '69s are reflectors. Apparently there was a loophole that Chrysler discovered and exploited by using reflectors for '69. I don't know about 1970. The loophole was closed no later than 1971, and illuminated side markers were here to stay.
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Loopholes create shortcuts, and reduce cost for mfgrs.
:(
 
68 and 70 are lights, 69 was reflectors.... If you want markers feel free, your car, do what makes you happy...I would definately use the 68 markers considering you have a 68 grill, not to mention the round bullets are the coolest marker lights ever...
 
If you're using the 68-model year as a guide, you'll need to wire it because they're illuminated and it's just a hole you'll be drilling for each. If you're using 69, then they're just reflectors but I believe the recess may be more difficult depending on if your car is painted already or not. To keep it really simple, go to your local Harley dealership and look at the reflectors that they use. They are pretty nice, (I put the red and amber on my Ram running boards) and if you decide to change your mind down the road, no harm no foul. Just my opinion.
 
I mean, wiring the '68 markers is really simple. It's just a single wire pulled from the parking light circuit to each marker. So, right front parking light to right front marker, left front parking light to left front marker, so on and so forth.

Granted, that's harder than just sticking an adhesive backed reflector to the outside of the fender, but it's still pretty simple.
 
Yeah, it's your car. Recognition for other drivers, lights or no lights, Moot. Look at how all new vehicles headlights are so damned bright and aimed high, glad that they can see, everyone else is blinded and can't see anything, but that won't be your problem.
 
CRUZE 418 said:
Yeah, it's your car. Recognition for other drivers, lights or no lights, Moot. Look at how all new vehicles headlights are so damned bright and aimed high, glad that they can see, everyone else is blinded and can't see anything, but that won't be your problem.
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Honestly that's not true, it's not moot. There's literally an entire DOT study linked in this thread that says side markers reduce accidents by 100,000+ a year. That's significant. Maybe they aren't the high speed, driver runs a red light kind of accident since the fatality number wasn't effected, but being able to see the side markers clearly prevents some lower speed fender bender type accidents. Not everything is a high speed intersection, starting from a 4 way stop in the dark a side marker might just be enough to keep that other lane from rolling through out of laziness, and that could be all it takes.

His car anyway. My Duster obviously had side markers on it before, but adding the '68 markers is about as easy as it gets to add an actual marker light. They're Mopar parts, they light up, and you can do the work on a painted car if you're careful with some masking tape and use a sharp step drill.

For colors and wiring the '68 Plymouth service manual is available on mymopar.com
 
soonercruiser said:
The topic of ANY SUBJECT on this Forum has not been an excuse NOT TO REDICULE someone, from my perspecitve!
Just sayin'! I didn't come on board thinking it would be any different than any other car forum
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My friend..

No one is ridiculing you.

I asked a straight forward question, and gave accurate info.

I pointed out that you will be hit with comments if you add side markers. Which you are getting and taking offense to.

But my last line "said your car your choice"

Stepping down off my box.
 
Won't agree or disagree with the DOT's findings, but I do question them. Not all of their findings and numbers are true, no one can claim that, no one, too many variables. People every day get paid to say things, truth has nothing to do with it, and remember, they are from the government.
The Op's car will look good which ever way he chooses.
 
S'cuder said:
'68s are electric, but the '69s are reflectors. Apparently there was a loophole that Chrysler discovered and exploited by using reflectors for '69. I don't know about 1970. The loophole was closed no later than 1971, and illuminated side markers were here to stay.
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Ok. Thanks. Learn something new everyday.
 
>It's not a loop hole


Effective January 1, 1968, all passenger cars built for sale in the United States were required to display amber lights or reflectors on the sides of front fenders, and red lights or reflectors on the sides of rear quarter panels.

Standard No. 108 - Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment - Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks, Buses, Trailers, (except pole trailers and trailer converter dollies), and Motorcycles (Effective 1-1-68 for vehicles 2,032 mrn (80 or more inches) in width and effective 1-1-69 for all other vehicles). This standard specifies requirements for original and replacement lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment. Its purpose is to reduce traffic crashes and deaths and injuries resulting from traffic crashes, by providing adequate illumination of the roadway, and by enhancing the conspicuity of motor vehicles on the public roads so that their presence is perceived and their signals understood, both in daylight and in darkness, or other conditions of reduced visibility.

Basically, what this says regarding side marker lights is that effective on all vehicles made on January 1, 1968 or later, amber side marker lamps or reflectors that can be seen in profile are required to be included near the front of the vehicle, and red side marker lamps or reflectors that can be seen in profile are required to be included near the rear of the vehicle.

Initially, the regulation for 1968-1969 required lights or reflectors, which is why some cars in 1968 had amber lights in front and red reflectors in the rear (1968 Ford Motor Company cars, for example). Chrysler vehicles used lights in 1968 and reflectors (on most models) for 1969. This regulation was later amended to require lights and reflectors on all vehicles made on January 1, 1970 or later, which is why most lines had changes to their side marker lights for the 1970 model year.

The regulation required that the side-facing lights and/or reflectors make the vehicle's presence, position, and direction of travel clearly visible to other drivers approaching the vehicle from the side, or at any angle where the headlamps or tail lamps of the vehicle being overtaken cannot be viewed. In other words, other drivers should be able to see your car in darkness regardless of the direction from which they are approaching, and from the color of the light or reflector, be able to tell at a glance which direction your vehicle is facing or moving.

The amended regulation for January 1, 1970 also included the requirement that the parking lamps remain lit during headlamp operation, and that side marker lamps be illuminated whenever the vehicle's parking and tail lamps are on. The parking light revision to the regulation was to make vehicles with a non-functioning headlamp more noticeable to other drivers, and lessened the chance that it might be mistaken for a motorcycle by oncoming traffic.
 
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