Back up lights

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Tadams

Tadams

Tadams
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I'm not to that point yet, but just curious, My 65 Barracuda doesn't have back up lights. What would I need to do to add them. I have a separate wiring harness for the tail light section that has the plug for the lights. What else would I need to change?
Gathering parts everyday.
Thanks
 
Back lights came as required stock equipment, look again.
 
So far I have found that back up lights were option order code #473 for $10.70.
 
Easiest way is to find an NOS wiring kit: 2587612 (manual trans) or 2587613 (auto). You can also buy a BU switch & bulbs/ sockets and fabricate using the factory wiring harness. The bulk of the wires are included in the factory wiring harness, the main connection is inside the left kick panel.
 
Thanks. The original wiring doesn't have plugs for the back up lights. When the transmission was rebuilt they mentioned there was no switch for that as well.
 
Tadams said:
Thanks. The original wiring doesn't have plugs for the back up lights. When the transmission was rebuilt they mentioned there was no switch for that as well.
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If floor shift and a 904, the switch is on the shifter. If a column shift and 904, it's at the end of the steering column by the floor plate. If a 3 or 4 speed the b/u switch is on the transmission. You might have to run new wiring for the B/U lamps if not equipped.

EDIT: I probably have several used switches and I think 1 NOS and possibly a NOS conversion kit to add B/U lights
 
Thanks for the info. I'll try to check and see what I need tomorrow if I can. I have a brand new grand daughter coming home from the hospital tomorrow. She is 1 day old. My first.
 
Tadams said:
I have a brand new grand daughter coming home from the hospital tomorrow. She is 1 day old. My first.
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Congratulations! She won't be spoiled by the proud grandparents, will she!
 
rumblefish360 said:
My apologies to the OE poster for my reply, and thanks to the 2 quotes above for schooling me.
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That's correct. I had a 65 Falcon years ago that didn't have backup lights. No lights, no harness, no switch.....no nuthin. lol In the owners manual it showed a picture of "optional reversing lights".
 
65 Dartman said:
If a column shift and 904, it's at the end of the steering column by the floor plate.
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Curiously, what did they use for a pin to actuate the switch? The PO of my '67 Dart removed the backup lite switch and replaced it with a toggle switch duct taped to the column. I picked up a replacement switch, but there's just a hole where the actuator goes. Was gonna just thread in a bolt, but the hole seems an odd size...somewhere between a 12-24 and a 1/4-20.
 
kesteb said:
Not in 1965. Extra cost option.
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Correct.

Mandatory after 1966.
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Not quite correct. They were standard equipment, but they were not mandatory.
What happened for the 1966 model year, before there was a mechanism in place to issue national regulations, was that the Federal Government issued a list of safety items required on cars purchased for government use. That was a huge enough number of cars that it had the effect of making those items more or less standard equipment even though the automakers could've continued selling cars to the general public without them. Reversing lamps were on the list.

More detail:
There was no mandatory equipment until the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards took effect on January 1, 1968. Before that, there was a patchwork of state laws, many of them different from each other. Enough states had basic requirements similar enough that things like safety glass were more or less mandatory throughout the country, and there was some equipment standardization (sealed-beam headlights in 1940, front seat belt anchorages in 1962, amber front turn signals in 1963, etc) through industry and state-government agreement, loosely-coordinated by the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association, and the Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. It was a real mess...aside from headlamps, each and every item of lighting equipment (every turn signal...every backup light...every brake light…), every seatbelt, etc. had to be submitted for approval by each and every state's government before it was allowed on sale. The single Federal standards that took force in '68 made life a lot easier and less expensive for the automakers.
 
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