206 GT REAR BUMPER/BACKUP LITES

Aloha from Maui....
I finally found 2 back-up lites for my 206.....on an earlier model 206 the lites are mounted at the inside edge of the bumper through some holes (see yellow car). There are no holes on my bumper, but there is a cut-out about 6 inches in from the same edge. At first I thought my bumpers weren't original because some 206's have a chrome cap at both ends that the rubber goes into. Then I found the foto below from the Ferrari owners site that shows a 206 with the same bumpers as mine......so......anyone have any rear view fotos of a 206 after #00350 or even an L model? Maybe they mounted in the cut out....I'm assuming that all 206's came with back-up lites.........Gregg Blue
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Attached are photos of my rear bumber and lights. If you want some pictures taken below the bumper, I can do so this evening and post them tomorrow.

Cheers...Keith
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thanks......I can see the holes through your bumper........so why are there no holes in mine assuming they are original to the car? Check out the foto of the underside of my bumper...........
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You know that cutout which gives you access to tighten the bumper t-bracket to the body? Your cutout is 2x as long as mine so it appears that they cut out the portion of the bumper with the holes for the lights. I had 3 holes on each side - one for each of the 3 things that stick up from your reverse lights.

So now you need to:

Disassemble your bumpers
Take the plating off the bumpers
add metal back to your bumpers
drill the appropriate holes and reshape the cutout
rechrome bumpers
reassemble bumpers with lights, rubber
install bumpers on car

I can recommend metal work and chrome shops in Seattle if you can't get it done locally. It won't be cheap but it will be done right.

...Keith

 

Ferrari's are not meant to go backwards! As Ettori said, (at least I think he said), "My cars are meant to go fast, not to stop! " Who needs backup lites? Actually, 00160 has no holes in rear bumper for backup lites.

 

so......maybe all 206's did not come with backup lites.....anyone else have a 206 without the holes or lights?

 

Gregg: I just e-mailed you some pics of the said 206 undergoing restoration. Hope the pics help. I have some closeup shots of rear bumpers showing the bottom view. Backup lites fit this underneath hole of the bumper. From your pics, you seem to have the 246 bumpers, which are different than the 206. Hope the pics help. w/ smiles Jimmy

 

Forgot to mention one more fact of interest. Euro models came with two backup lights, whereas US 246 models came with single backup light positioned in midcenter. Maybe this is the reason you do not have holes in your bumper if those bumpers came from US version. Jimmy

 

Mine were lost (?or stolen) during restoration/replating. If you want to sell yours, name your price! Did you get them from Dennis MCCann?

 

Got your mail, Gregg. Hope it helped. As for the shift know, you should have no problem acquiring it via net vendors. If you still need help, I'll be more than happy to find one for you here in Japan. Regarding the originality,I myself is no Picky picker, but I do like things the way they were. Saying this, it is up to the owners to switch things around as they please. Everyone's their own judge. You may know very well already but 206 has less torque than 246, but is lighter overall, and your 206 would be happiest in high rev situation. Overall length is a bit shorter than 246 also. You can check all these stats and specs in those Dino sites. She's a beauty no matter how you slice it. In the future, if you ever wish to find a new home for her, remember me ! Happy driving. w/ smiles Jimmy

 

I've just spent the last hour looking through about 30 books, docs and mags and here's the scoop from what I can see. The 206GT brochure does not show any reverse lights on the bumpers. Even Sergio Pininfarina's '68 206GT does not appear to have reverse lights on the bumper. Some pictures in the books feature 206GT cars with bumper reverse lights. Gregg, if your bumpers don't have holes for lights but have the proper flares on the ends, I'm guessing your car did not have reverse lights and it should stay that way. Check with Dennis - he will probably have some insight. Sorry this isn't more black and white.

 

I just looked at all my 206 articles and found this foto in Sports Car Graphic, March 1969 by Etienne Cornil. It's Enzo's personal 206 GT with 18,000 kilometers on the clock. In the photo you can see the reverse lites mounted more towards the center of the bumper where my cutouts are. A few other 206 fotos I found show the chrome end cap on the rear of the bumper only, not on the side, so I still assume my bumpers are original. The wiring diagram shows the reverse light switch hooked up at the shift lever......as to whether my car came with the lites....who knows? Guess they have a bunch of different bumpers and what ever ones they grabbed went on the car.......
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Yep. That's one of the articles I cam across too. Note the lights are placed in a different location than on "L" series cars - further from the center line of the car. Do you have the reverse switch on your gear lever box?

 

reverse switch is there............maybe someone took the lights off when it was repainted in Italy in the 70's.....or it never came with them......guess I'll never know.......for now I'll just stash the lites and keep on driving my 206 as much as I can...........I'm off for a town run....thanks......Gregg

 

So, what remains unclear to me is :

- What's the right shape for the 206 rear bumpers ? Perfectly parallel, or in a trapezoidal shape ?

Pls see pic of parallel bumpers.
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What remains unclear to me too is when 246s left the 2 backup lights to get only one ?

Here is a pic of my L-series, w/ trapezoidal shape rear bumpers.

It's not got the twin reverse lights but has really the holes in the bumpers (will post pic tomorrow), so supposed to be fitted with a pair.

And it's one of the last 30 made L.
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Hello Pascal,
your L-series had original the same two backup lights.
The single backup light started with M-series.
Regards Matthias

 

Hallo Matthias,

Dänke !

Then, I only have now to find them out...

Any help out there ?!!?

Another question : are the rear red lights such as mine or the ones mounted on the yellow 206 above regular or a mistake when changed ? (no reflectorized center part)

THx.

 

the backup lights should be no problem to find, also reproductions available..
correct rear lights attached
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Most of The Alfa Romeo aftermarket dealers in Germany stock them.

Salut, Alberto

 

The backup lights are the same as on some old Alfa Romeos e.g. the "Duetto" Spider (66-69), or even used as turn signals on front bumpers on the 2600 Sprint Coupe.

If your back lights have no reflector in the center they are "normal" for US Cars as they have the reflector separated. The lights without the reflector are also on 308GT$ or Daytonas. The lights with center reflector are on all European Dinos.

 

Definitely clear on that point.

Thx !

 

Gracias, Alberto.

A friend of mine found them (expensive) in Italy and Switzerland.

Which German dealr could have them pls ?

 

My 1072 rear bumpers w/ the evidence that maybe till the end of the L-series, they were fitted w/ a pair of reverse lights.
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Right side...
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