I've got an '02 Sunfire coupe with the spoiler that has the integrated 3rd brake light. If I take off the spoiler which includes the 3rd brake light, is that legal? And what is the best method for covering up those unsightly holes left over afterward?
yes it is technically illegal. you could rewire the light and stick it in the back window like car without wings. cheap way to cover the hole is pug plugs in them other better way is to weld up the holes grind smooth body fill and paint
best thing to do is find a car without a spoiler because you and many other refuse to have an updated profile i can't tell if its feiseable for you
95 had wingless coupes hard to find them but they are out there but depending on colour it will also be hard to find such as if you have a silver 02 you wont find one without and your colour as silver was a 99+ thing
update your profile
JBO since July 30, 2001
Mines a 97 and it came wingless, it also has the older 2.2. i vote for new trunk lid im sure u dont wanna go through the hassle of grinding,welding,grinding,filling,sanding,primer,wet sanding, and paint..just for a few holes...
As far as the third brake light goes, just get the rear deck from a spoiler-less Sunfire (will probably be pretty difficult to find) or a Cavalier Coupe (will be much easier to find) and run the wires into the interior. There won't be any need for actual re-wiring, just disconnecting the wires from the underside of the trunk lid and running them up under the rear deck. I'm not sure on years and all, but some Sunfires have a plug under the rear deck for the third brake light wiring so you would just have to unplug the one on the underside of the trunk lid and plug it into the one under the rear deck.
Here's the rear deck with third brake light in my former '02 Sunfire GT:
When I went spoiler-less on my '02 Sunfire GT, I managed to find a spoiler-less trunk lid in a junkyard, but when I dropped it off at the body shop they ended up looking it over and said it would have taken a lot of work to get it to look decent (it had a bunch of very small dents, etc.) so they said it would actually be cheaper and easier to weld the holes and all on the original trunk lid. I took the spoiler-less trunk lid back to the junkyard and got my money back. I believe it ended up being around $300.00 to paint the door handles and remove the spoiler (weld the holes, etc.), keep in mind that this was back in like 2005 or something though. The price will also obviously vary by location and shop. It's well worth it in my opinion though:
i go to junk yards pretty regular so if i find 1 maybe we can work something out
J TO ENVY wrote:As far as the third brake light goes, just get the rear deck from a spoiler-less Sunfire (will probably be pretty difficult to find) or a Cavalier Coupe (will be much easier to find) and run the wires into the interior. There won't be any need for actual re-wiring, just disconnecting the wires from the underside of the trunk lid and running them up under the rear deck. I'm not sure on years and all, but some Sunfires have a plug under the rear deck for the third brake light wiring so you would just have to unplug the one on the underside of the trunk lid and plug it into the one under the rear deck.
Here's the rear deck with third brake light in my former '02 Sunfire GT:
When I went spoiler-less on my '02 Sunfire GT, I managed to find a spoiler-less trunk lid in a junkyard, but when I dropped it off at the body shop they ended up looking it over and said it would have taken a lot of work to get it to look decent (it had a bunch of very small dents, etc.) so they said it would actually be cheaper and easier to weld the holes and all on the original trunk lid. I took the spoiler-less trunk lid back to the junkyard and got my money back. I believe it ended up being around $300.00 to paint the door handles and remove the spoiler (weld the holes, etc.), keep in mind that this was back in like 2005 or something though. The price will also obviously vary by location and shop. It's well worth it in my opinion though:
So the cavalier deck is a direct swap no modding required? What year coupes came with it? the only rear decks I can find all say "without 3rd brake light". Its annoying as hell.
Volt wrote:So the cavalier deck is a direct swap no modding required? What year coupes came with it? the only rear decks I can find all say "without 3rd brake light". Its annoying as hell.
You can find the rear decks with third brake lights (without child seat hooks) in 95-99 Cavalier Coupes. It may take a while to find one, but they're out there.
J TO ENVY wrote: Volt wrote:So the cavalier deck is a direct swap no modding required? What year coupes came with it? the only rear decks I can find all say "without 3rd brake light". Its annoying as hell.
You can find the rear decks with third brake lights (without child seat hooks) in 95-99 Cavalier Coupes. It may take a while to find one, but they're out there.
Thanks! i made my first trip ever to a junkyard. By a stroke of luck had one! bad news was the deck was smashed and pretty much unusable. very disappointing but now I have hope!
Volt wrote:Thanks! i made my first trip ever to a junkyard. By a stroke of luck had one! bad news was the deck was smashed and pretty much unusable. very disappointing but now I have hope!
You're welcome! I love junkyards! Unfortunately I haven't had a reason to go to one in quite some time, but when I had my Sunfires I used to go all the time. It's fun seeing all the different kinds of vehicles. It's also a rush when you find what you're looking for, especially when it's in usable condition!
See... I told you they're out there! If you do come across a usable one, be very careful when you go to remove the bulbs from the third brake light assembly. When I was getting the one that was in my former 02 Sunfire GT, I pulled the bulbs out of the third brake light assembly and one of them shattered (I'm sure from sitting out in the elements in the junkyard). It ended up cutting my finger pretty bad. I wrapped the sleeve of the hoody I was wearing around it and continued getting the rear deck and third brake light. I also scored a graphite headliner (which I believe ended up with a little of my blood on the backside of it) that day as well. I'm really surprised I didn't bleed to death in the middle of the junkyard
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