1950s grommets on '56 tail light sockets

[Matt 12861]

does anyone know where to get the grommets that go around the screws that hold the socket?   maybe they aren't important?  Just to keep the bulb from vibrating?
THanks,
Matt Givler

[Cadman-iac]

  When I did my taillights, I just used some small wire harness grommets for that. They worked fine.
 But I believe Cadillac used these to help insulate the bulbs from the road shocks and bumps to make the bulbs last longer, but that's just speculation on my part.
 You could eliminate them and mount the sockets directly to the housing, but I believe you have to use different screws. I didn't pull one out to check if it had a shoulder to it,but if it does, it will have to be replaced if you're not going to use the grommets.
 Here's what mine looks like.








 Hope this helps.

  Rick

[Matt 12861]

yep the screw has a shoulder.  I'll get some grommets.  thanks for the pics!

[Cadman-iac]

 If memory serves, those are spark plug wire grommets for the standoffs, but they could also be just really small wire harness grommets. I honestly can't remember exactly what they were for, I did those probably 5 or 6 years ago and have been storing them until I can build the car. It's been almost 30 years since I bought the car, so this is what you might refer to as a long term project.
 I hope yours goes a lot faster.

  Rick

[Lexi]

Nice work and photos Cadman-iac! Clay/Lexi

[Roger Zimmermann]

And the bulbs are illuminating? The way the socket is installed, you have no ground.

[Cadman-iac]

And the bulbs are illuminating? The way the socket is installed, you have no ground.

  They have a ground wire on the right side of each socket.  I tied those to a small round terminal that sits under the screw so the socket is grounded. I don't remember exactly what the original ground was, if it just used a washer under the screw head or what. But there was enough wire on the socket to put the terminals under the screws for the ground.
Nice catch though Roger.

Rick

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I thought of that (Ground wire), but looking closely, you can see the ground wire in the second picture.   Not a very heavy wire, but it is there.   I would put a heavier, flexible wire in its place.

Bruce.

[Cadman-iac]

I thought of that (Ground wire), but looking closely, you can see the ground wire in the second picture.  Not a very heavy wire, but it is there.  I would put a heavier, flexible wire in its place.

Bruce.

  I thought about that, but because of how it's riveted to the socket, I didn't want to risk damaging it, thus the terminal. Besides, once it's all together, it doesn't move. And the existing wire was good enough for all those years, it should be good for a few more.

Rick

 I was going to mention that wire in the last post, but it slipped my mind as I was thinking of what else to say.