This one's directed mainly at Dan:

I've been contemplating some custom headlight bezels for my truck, but one thing that's been holding me up is the turn signals; currently, they're integrated into the bezel and will have to be replaced. I want some that are DOT legal and safe, which I'm assuming means constructing my own is out of the question. Is there an aftermarket alternative that I can use and not sacrifice visibility? This project has been in the back of my head, but what got me thinking about it again was Dan's Cibie headlight w/ integrated "parking light." I'm assuming it woudln't be safe to use them for my primary turn signals as well? Do you know of or offer anything that would work for this?

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Used to own:
'82 Dodge D150
Erson 270 Cam, O/S valves, mild port work, ~9.5:1 compression

Currently fighting with an '85 VW Cabriolet

My other passion

I've got similar bezels on my '89, so I know what you're working with.
Glad to read you're thinking it through carefully from a safety perspective. Yes, making your won won't result in effective or safe signals.
There are lots of them. Do you want something that's more or less the same size/shape as what you have now, so you can make your custom bezel and install the new signal and be done with it? If so, you can use a flange- or grommet-mount 6" x 2¼" oval amber LED front turn unit. The only one worth buying, in my opinion, is Dialight's. It's also very tough to find, as it seems; it's not in their catalogue but there are a bunch of Toronto Transit buses using them, and they are fantastic. I've been meaning to call 'em and find out the P/N, if I don't get round to that in the next couple weeks I'll ask them when I'm at the auto parts expo in Las Vegas at the end of the month.

Or, do you want more of an individualised setup? If so, you could use three of these 55mm round units, arranged horizontally:




If you want to get flashy (har har), you could control them with a sequential turn signal module such that they'd operate like these duals on the front of a Dakota:



Or, you could eliminate the in-bezel turn signals altogether and run a two-faced "lollipop" atop each front fender like the big rigs do.

Lots of options, these are only just three that occur to me right now.
Correct. They're parking lamps, plain and simple. They don't work as turn signals, daytime running lights or anything else.

If I missed the idea you're after, shout back.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Nope, you pretty much hit the nail on the head with the 6 X 2 1/4 LED units. I'm wanting something that still looks similar, but will allow me to make custom bezel to mount it in. I have seen units similar to this made by Peterson Manufacturing (all over the place down here), but always thought they were designed to be marker lights on trailers. Are we talking about the same thing here?

_________________
Used to own:
'82 Dodge D150
Erson 270 Cam, O/S valves, mild port work, ~9.5:1 compression

Currently fighting with an '85 VW Cabriolet

My other passion

OK, we're on the same page with the oblong units. If you were OK with regular bulb-type lamps, they'd be easy to find. But the bulb type units would look kinda hosey; if you ask me it'd be better to do the work/spend the money to find and buy LED ones. Amber front turn signal units in this size format are strangely hard to find. Peterson, Truck-Lite and Grote have amber LED lights in the right size, but only as low-intensity side turn signals, not legally-bright front ones. (Also remember that rear turn signals aren't legal as front ones, even if they're the right amber colour). American SuperLight claims to have amber fronts, but for the moment I remain skeptical of their quality/performance. The Dialights are just so far and away much better than anything I've seen outta the other majors, which is weird: we're not dealing with super-secret, difficult technology here any more, so I don't know why Dialight has figured it out and Peterson/Grote/Truck-Lite haven't. Anyhow, gimme a couple days and I'll try and point you at some specific sources.

The bulb-type unit looks like this:


The LED-type units look more or less like this (except you need amber front turn, not red rear tail/brake/turn):


And here are the dimensions on one of the LED types:

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Well, if you could find a part number and source for that Dialight unit, I'd be very interested. Let me know if you find out (no rush, this won't be happening until next summer, I'm sure).

_________________
Used to own:
'82 Dodge D150
Erson 270 Cam, O/S valves, mild port work, ~9.5:1 compression

Currently fighting with an '85 VW Cabriolet

My other passion

OK, found it. Horizontal grommet-mount LED front turn signal from Dialight is their P/N 67131AB. Cost is around $75 apiece (steep! But lifetime guarantee...remember these are aimed at the heavy-duty truck/bus market) so might be more than you want to spend. You can order from BusStuf. Note this unit does the turn signal function only, not the parking lamp function, so you'd need to use the headlamps with the built-in parking lamps (no problem, just letting you know).

I will be at AAIW (big automotive aftermarket trade show) in Las Vegas next week and will make a point of checking with the other reputable makers to see what they might offer in this product category. Will report here in this thread!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.