Buick Estate tail lights- Can you spot the difference?

I learned something about B body wagons that may be of use or interest to someone:


Two tail lights. The one on the left is from a '77- '79 Estate Wagon. The one on the right, from an '80 or newer.
They're the same, aren't they?




Look closer at the upper left:


The broken one is a '77. The pretty one is an '80.



When you mount an '80 or newer tail light on a '77 - '79, the difference is obvious.



The happy ending:

While the chrome plated die cast frames are different, the plastic lenses and reflectors are identical, and interchange easily.
I would venture to guess that all B body wagons of all years that look the same use the exact same plastic parts, with the difference between a Buick/Chevy/etc. being only the chrome surround.



Many thanks to cadillac kevin for sending the good lense!!
No more tape on my rear end!

That's cool to see and know.

I always hate seeing taped up tail lights. Glad you could fix that beast up.

I had no idea they were different. I always thought they were the same as well. Weird.

Glad the lens worked for you!

scoffman wrote:

I always hate seeing taped up tail lights.

As bad as the tape may look, I always hate having a bright brake light bulb glaring in your face through a broken lens.

Glad to hear that worked out. I remember as a kid the buick lights stuck out at the top like that on dads catalina wagon, but I always thought it was a buick/olds vs a pontiac/ chevy thing (different body shapes/ body lines for different brands) not a generational thing. Good to know for future reference though. When looking the lens over, I did find it odd how the lens did not follow the curve of the chrome on the upper half though. Now I know why.