Backup lights were dealer-installed options in 1965. If your car doesn't have them, you will need to buy a backup-light installation kit (or the individual components) and either buy a new rear valence or cut holes in your existing valence. (The valence is the sheet metal panel that forms the lower portion of the rear end, the piece on which the license plate is mounted.)
Your car should already be wired for the lights, though; the standard taillight wiring harness should include two female bullet connectors that are currently unused (if you don't have backup lights). These will be located inside your trunk, one near each taillight bucket.
The backup light hardware will come with two wires on each lamp---one with a male bullet that fits into the unused female bullet, the other with a ground-wire connector that fits onto one of the bolts that holds the taillight bucket to the car.
When the backup lights are installed, these wires enter the trunk through holes at the bottom of the side cavities formed by the rear fenders. These holes, which are on the inside surface of the cavity (side nearest the gas tank) should be filled with rubber plugs which you can remove. I drilled small holes through mine and reinstalled them with the wiring going through the holes.
The valence proved to be the most difficult part of the process when I installed backup lights on my 65 convertible.
I purchased a reproduction valence with holes cut for the lights (cost: about $45), but it did not fit my car correctly. Tabs welded to the valence at each side (for the bolts that attach the valence to the car) were out of position, preventing the new valence from achieving the close fit of the original.
My options were 1) remove and reweld the tabs; 2) bang them into a better fit with a hammer; or 3) cut holes for the lamp buckets in the original valence. I chose number 3.
I taped a piece of plain white paper to each side of the repro valence, making sure I got a smooth, tight fit over the lamp-bucket holes, and also making sure I could reposition the paper on the original valence in the same location. To do that, I simple creased the paper around the repro valence edges, then used those creases as a guideline when placing them on the original valence.
With the paper taped in place, I spray-painted through the lamp-bucket holes. (If you're thinking, why bother with a pattern, why not just measure and cut, it's because these holes are not oval or circular. They are more of an hour-class shape. You need a pattern.) When the paint was dry, I removed the paper and carefully cut out the holes (including the bolt holes) with a razor knive.
Next, I taped the pattern over the original valence and spray painted through the cutouts.
I then cut out the spray-painted holes in the original valence with a saber saw.
It actually worked well, once I got the technique down. (Had some trouble with the saber saw rubbing off the spray paint before I could get the hole cut, but...practice made perfect.)
I was then able to reinstall the original valence, mount the lamp buckets, and wire them up.
The backup lights are controlled by a switch mounted on the transmission. In the case of a C-4 automatic, this is the neutral safety/start switch. The wiring should be there, but since there were no backup lights the wiring may not have been connected. There are two pairs of wires from the switch---one pair connects to the ignition switch, the other pair to the backup lights.
submitted by a65ragtop
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