Assembly-Line Correct 1969 Trunk Lamp (RPO U25)

[Steve Shauger]

Here's a few pics of the trunk lamp on my orange Z. Disregard the orange overspray from a repaint years ago.

[69Z28-RS]

My apologies Tim.... (and maybe I'd NEVER previously seen a '69 Camaro trunk lamp!)..     Probably the ones I've seen on Chevys over the years WERE dealer installed accessories.   I suppose I wasn't even aware of a 'factory installed' trunk lite'...??

Were there also similar factory installed 'hood lites'   Does anyone have one?  I'd love to see photos of these trunk/hood lites 'as installed'..  so at least I know what to look for when I see Camaros..

[Steve Shauger]

Gary the aux lighting package ZJ9 included; under dash(foot well L&R), under-hood and trunk, ashtray, glovebox. My rs/z's were optioned with this feature and will take pics.

[ko-lek-tor]

Gary the aux lighting package ZJ9 included; under dash(foot well L&R), under-hood and trunk, ashtray, glovebox. My rs/z's were optioned with this feature and will take pics.

And I'll add, the under hood light is located on the Right side of the hood on a BB car, opposed to the Left on a SB and (assuming Six Cyl. goes on Rh side as well?) It's in the AIM.

A little unrelated, apologies Tim, but one of my cars has foot well lights with all the other Aux. lighting package. I only thought Verts got that? I should start a new topic and may just do that.

[ZLP955]

No apology necessary Gary, there's so many things we may never learn about who supplied what and how it was all put together by each assembly plant. That's why I asked the original question, and Bentley's lamp could be OE too. But I'm very glad to see Steve's pictures above! As well as the trunk lamp, my car has under-dash courtesy lights, and remains of wiring that appears to be for the glovebox and ashtray lamps too. So I think it probably came with ZJ9, but can't be sure as most of the wiring was pulled by original owner.
I do have an under hood lamp assembly, although that one isn't from my car (it was an sYc classified ad score). As with the trunk lamp, there are many types of underhood lamp that purport to be correct for '67-'69 Camaros, but each has different details. As far as I can tell, the OE-correct style should have a single black wire, a hole in the back of the curved reflector (heat dissipation?), and two round mounting holes - later versions, possibly service replacements, seem to have at least one slotted mounting hole, and no hole in the reflector.

[69Z28-RS]

Gary the aux lighting package ZJ9 included; under dash(foot well L&R), under-hood and trunk, ashtray, glovebox. My rs/z's were optioned with this feature and will take pics.

Hi Steve...  my car has the glovebox light and ashtray light, but I don't think it has any of the others... can't remember about the footwell... but I suspect those came on with the o/h light when the doors are opened (we always disabled those lights in the cars we drove)..  so the lights would NOT come on when the doors were opened..  

[BULLITT65]

Gary the aux lighting package ZJ9 included; under dash(foot well L&R), under-hood and trunk, ashtray, glovebox. My rs/z's were optioned with this feature and will take pics.

And I'll add, the under hood light is located on the Right side of the hood on a BB car, opposed to the Left on a SB and (assuming Six Cyl. goes on Rh side as well?) It's in the AIM.

A little unrelated, apologies Tim, but one of my cars has foot well lights with all the other Aux. lighting package. I only thought Verts got that? I should start a new topic and may just do that.

they go on the same side as the dip stick for the motor, so you can read the dip stick under the light right?

[ZLP955]

Austin I think the only exception to that is with ZL2, based on the AIM (U26/A1 view 'C'). Otherwise small block was on the driver side, L6 and 396 on the passenger side - and 396 with AC required the lamp to be relocated 4" to the left.

[ZLP955]

Here's a few pics of the trunk lamp on my orange Z. Disregard the orange overspray from a repaint years ago.

Thanks very much for posting those pictures Steve. Do you know if 'BP' was the manufacturer?

[BULLITT65]

I haven't seen one with the ZL-2 hood. I would almost think the hood insulation and how hot that light gets would be a fire hazard.
(I have seen guys at shows with the lights, and they removed the bulbs as not get them to hot, or wear down the battery)

[ZLP955]

one of my cars has foot well lights with all the other Aux. lighting package. I only thought Verts got that? I should start a new topic and may just do that.

Bentley, I missed this part of your earlier reply until re-reading it just now. As I understand it, under-dash courtesy lamps weren't available on convertibles. Possibly because there's no interior dome light? (although I'm not familiar with convertible features).

The CRG PDF 'Option' list doesn't mention courtesy lights for 12x67 (convertibles) under the RPO ZJ9 description, but does for coupes. Plus although each type of lamp in ZJ9 is also available separately under U25-U29, the courtesy lamps U29 are listed as requiring 'coupe'.

Also interested to see the reported production numbers of each RPO U25 to U29 listed, some are very close to the total for ZJ9, but I believe those figures reported separately are in addition to ZJ9 totals.....

[ko-lek-tor]

one of my cars has foot well lights with all the other Aux. lighting package. I only thought Verts got that? I should start a new topic and may just do that.

Bentley, I missed this part of your earlier reply until re-reading it just now. As I understand it, under-dash courtesy lamps weren't available on convertibles. Possibly because there's no interior dome light? (although I'm not familiar with convertible features).

The CRG PDF 'Option' list doesn't mention courtesy lights for 12x67 (convertibles) under the RPO ZJ9 description, but does for coupes. Plus although each type of lamp in ZJ9 is also available separately under U25-U29, the courtesy lamps U29 are listed as requiring 'coupe'.

Also interested to see the reported production numbers of each RPO U25 to U29 listed, some are very close to the total for ZJ9, but I believe those figures reported separately are in addition to ZJ9 totals.....

I would guess that I am probably way off Tim and really need to brush up on my "Auxillary Lighting" facts. I thought that because a Vert. did not have a dome, as mentioned, that all of them had footwell lighting. I have not seen coupes with footwell (other than the one I have). Admittedly, I have not seen an iota of cars that William, Kurt and others have observed and the ones I have observed, I did not pay that close attention to those details. Either I read that on this site or in a publication, but my understanding was that footwell was not in a coupe. Yet, I have seen other Chevys with footwell that were hardtops. Going on my own track record, statistically, I am probably wrong with my information and I don't like to post with erroneous information, so, perhaps a retraction until vindicated is in order. Cheers down under.

[cook_dw]

I know of 2 pace cars that had them (under dash lighting).. 

[X33RS]

My Z has the footwell lighting on both sides, as well as ash tray and glove box.  It didn't have trunk lighting originally from what I can tell but I added it anyway, it's a pain to load things in the trunk in the dark when you can't see anything.  I couldn't tell you if it had hood lighting because the hood was swapped long before I bought the car.  However it had a flat hood originally with hood insulation (deluxe houndstooth car) so I'm not sure they would have offered a hood light with that stuff, as mentioned those lights get pretty darn hot.  Maybe hood light only available on flat hood standard interior cars (no hood insulation)   Just thinking out loud.  I was thinking the hood and trunk light came as a package though, but probably exceptions to that.....?
     I kind of think all the interior lighting is a bit much.  With the foot well, dome, and rear console lighting up when you open the door.  At night it's almost blinding with white interior, lol.

Another hard top car I have also has factory foot well lighting, my 70 Formula.  Odd how GM did these.  Originally only the passenger side works as standard equipment.  If you ordered aux lighting then you got a driver side foot well light.  Strangely though that driver side light is there regardless, it's just taped up in the harness with no bulb from the factory.  Order aux lighting and they simply screwed it in place and installed a bulb.   My Formula didn't come with auxiliary lighting option but I removed the tape and fastened it to the dash and installed the bulb.

[ZLP955]

To respond to a point several made, the AIM shows a detail of removing hood insulation (where fitted) locally to allow installation of an underhood lamp bracket.

Bentley, interesting point - maybe all 'verts got courtesy lights as standard, thus explaining why that wasn't available as an option?