I'm working on a 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner and realized that I don't have the 16 screws needed to mount the rear tail lights lenses onto the car. Does anyone have an example of the type of screw (length and thread type/size) that's needed to mount the rear tail light lens?
Does anyone know what type of screw is used to fasten the tail light lenses onto a 1971 Roadrunner?
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themechanic
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FITS 68 Plymouth Roadrunner & GTX OE Correct Tail Light Housing Mount Kit | eBay
(Make sure it fits. Having trouble finding parts for your Mopars?. Partsmix can help! from manufacture).
www.ebay.com
Unfortunately, those aren't the correct screws needed to mount the 1971 Roadrunner tail light lenses, which are quite different from the 1968 setup. There are 16 screws needed to affix the two tail light lenses to the car. Does anyone have an example of the type of screw (length and thread type/size) that's needed to mount the rear tail light lens?
themechanic
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Sorry, misread.
Thanks. That's getting there. Looks like those are pretty basic screws and there appears to be two different lengths. Does anyone know what the thread pitch and lengths are of the two different screws? If so, I should be able to source these locally...
MCODECUDA
Well-Known Member
They are not basic screws. Use the correct ones even if it means buying the screw kit from Metro. Think of it this way. The kit is cheaper than it would be if you crack a len or screw up the housing.
I'd really like to try to find out what the length and the screw pitch is of those screws, as I'd really be suprised if they are "special" screws, based on the photo from the earlier post. Hopefully, someone will chime in on this that has these screws on their car. One of the lenses is already chipped in one corner, so it's not critical to chase down OE style screws, unless truly required.
Ronnman
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I pulled one of the screws on my 71 RR tail light lens and it is a #8/32 TPI screw, 1-1/4” long, and the head is .265” diameter.
Ron
Ron
Thank you, Ron! Really appreciate the info. One last question - are all of the screws the same length? In looking at the MegaParts kit someone posted earlier, it appeared that half of the screws might be a different length.
Ronnman
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I am not sure. I will pull one side tomorrow and get back to you.
Ron
Ron
Ronnman
Well-Known Member
I just had a little time and pulled all 8 on one side. They were all 1-1/4” long.
Ron
Ron, thanks for the update. I also stuck a 1-1/2" long 8-32 screw through all 8 holes on one of the tail light lenses and had the same experience. I went ahead and picked up 16 1-1/2" long 8-32 screws and will try to carefully install the two tail light lenses on the car as time permits and report back to this thread in case someone else needs this type of information. Thanks again for your help with this screw identification.
Ronnman
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Glad to be of some help.
Ron
Ron
Robinl1
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Talk to Tom at R/T Specialties. He has them I believe.
MCODECUDA
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Make sure that they are stainless steel since the original ones were act chrome plated.
themechanic
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This message is not directed to the OP or anyone else in particular.
I have replaced several fasteners on 3 cars that someone used instead of factory correct hardware. If you value your car and really appreciate this hobby you should use the correct fasteners. Besides, they're not that expensive. Especially, if you shop around. Some fasteners can be just common stuff readily available frim hardware stores. But there are many screws, bolts, nuts, etc. that are special. So, in that case, only the correct factory fasteners should be used.
It's your car. So, do what you want. But just remember, we're only caretakers and someone else will have to deal with your decisions when you're six feet under.
I have replaced several fasteners on 3 cars that someone used instead of factory correct hardware. If you value your car and really appreciate this hobby you should use the correct fasteners. Besides, they're not that expensive. Especially, if you shop around. Some fasteners can be just common stuff readily available frim hardware stores. But there are many screws, bolts, nuts, etc. that are special. So, in that case, only the correct factory fasteners should be used.
It's your car. So, do what you want. But just remember, we're only caretakers and someone else will have to deal with your decisions when you're six feet under.
Last edited:
Just to follow-up regarding the use of standard 8-32 1-1/4" long screws - each tail light uses 8 screws to hold it to the tail light housing - the standard head of the screw works well in 4 positions of each tail light - in order to use the same 8-32 1-1/4" long screws in the other 4 positions of the tail light, the heads of those screws must be ground down a bit all the way around for them to fit properly in the tail light. Also, given that this car is 51 years old, I found that each of the screw holes of the tail light housing needed to have the threads cleaned out with an 8-32 tap, then blown out with compressed air. Once that process has been completed, the screws worked without issue.
Thanks again to Ronnman for the providing the information needed to resolve this issue and to help keep this hobby truly affordable!
Thanks again to Ronnman for the providing the information needed to resolve this issue and to help keep this hobby truly affordable!
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