Front Turn Signal Lights

As you can see the 1969 front turn signals housings were plated zinc dichromate and the 1970 housings were silver zinc. The bracket/housing consist of two pieces spot-welded together. The rear section of the two-piece housing used to mount the lens is the same between the two years (except for engineering number) but the bracket section used to mount the assembly is very different (see picture). The lenses are exactly the same except for the SAE year code. The only lens reproduced today is the 1970 lens. The 1969 lenses are very difficult to find today since they only were serviced for one year until they were superceded by the 1970 version. The 1969 wire harness has three wires, one extra wire for a ground. 1970 versions and later 1969 NOS (service parts) only came with two wires. Only real early 1969 Ford Autolite service versions had three wires. This is the easiest way to tell if you have true production 1969 front turn signal lights. The 1970 production wire harness had a blue rubber socket. 1969 production wire harness came in three slightly different configurations but they all had three wires and black rubber parts. Many collectors are confused when it comes to determining the correct plating for their front turn signals because over the years Ford would service both years with silver zinc brackets and then later service them both with yellow zinc brackets. This is another good example why you should always question anyone who uses NOS parts to prove a correct finish or construction.