[sspddmn]

Anyone done a refresh rear bumper and tail light swap to a 2016-2018 yet? Just tossing the idea around because I like how cleaner the lines are on the rear bumper of the refresh and I do like how the 2019 tail lights are too. To me it’s a modern refresh of the 2010-2013 5th gen tail lights. Has anyone done it and is it a straight up plug and play swap? I probably would never pay to do this but if the opportunity does come up I wouldn’t mind meaning if I had to repaint or replace my current rear bumper for any reason. Thanks in advance for any knowledge.

[BluePhoenix]

Hopefully someone who's done the swap will chime in. I'd imagine it's likely a matter of just the rear bumper and the tail lights. I would want to know whether the wiring harness connectors are different on 19+ cars because that seems to be a consistent change GM makes in refreshes with new headlights & tail lights, I know this swap has been done before on 16-18 cars so that would make it sound as if they are likely the same.

[neenja_jenkins]

I've been wondering the same thing.
I love the 2019 tail lights, and have certainly entertained a bastard 2017 ZL1/2019 tail lights situation.

[BluePhoenix]

I have seen a 2017-2018 ZL1 either here or on the Facebook group with 2019 tail lights and rear bumper installed. There was just no build thread only pictures of the car.

[UnknownJinX]

There is a 19-style taillight that you can retrofit onto the 16~18 models.

If you want to do the whole thing, I know you will have to rework the connectors on the OEM 19 taillights since they are different.

[sspddmn]

Originally Posted by UnknownJinX

There is a 19-style taillight that you can retrofit onto the 16~18 models.

If you want to do the whole thing, I know you will have to rework the connectors on the OEM 19 taillights since they are different.

I've seen the aftermarket 19-20 taillights that will fit 16-18. I really don't like them. They stick out way to much for my liking while the oem ones are recessed.

[neenja_jenkins]

Originally Posted by sspddmn

I've seen the aftermarket 19-20 taillights that will fit 16-18. I really don't like them. They stick out way to much for my liking while the oem ones are recessed.

Yeah, I much prefer OEM in this case.

[Dragon08]

Heads up on the rear park assist sensors. The 19's have a different sensor than the 16-18. IIRC, the sensor port diameter is a bit larger on the 19+s. So you will need to order at least the little caps as well and paint them with your fascia. (If they do not come included.)

May need to get the sensors too. Worst case is the harness too, but I am not nearly smart enough to know that.

Could not find the sensor part numbers online. If you order the rear fascia and it does not come with sensors, then double check the sensors will work out.

Somebody let me know if I am entirely incorrect, too.

[Bumbleboy92]

Originally Posted by BluePhoenix

I have seen a 2017-2018 ZL1 either here or on the Facebook group with 2019 tail lights and rear bumper installed. There was just no build thread only pictures of the car.

I believe I saw the same car, I remember it being an auction car though

[sspddmn]

Originally Posted by Dragon08

Heads up on the rear park assist sensors. The 19's have a different sensor than the 16-18. IIRC, the sensor port diameter is a bit larger on the 19+s. So you will need to order at least the little caps as well and paint them with your fascia. (If they do not come included.)

May need to get the sensors too. Worst case is the harness too, but I am not nearly smart enough to know that.

Could not find the sensor part numbers online. If you order the rear fascia and it does not come with sensors, then double check the sensors will work out.

Somebody let me know if I am entirely incorrect, too.

Wow sounds like more trouble and expense than its worth. Thanks for the knowledge.

[Spaceme1117]

Curious if anyone had any updates on this?

I see that Gen5DIY sells an adapter to connect the 2016-2018 harness to 2019+ tail lights.

[sspddmn]

Originally Posted by Spaceme1117

Curious if anyone had any updates on this?

I see that Gen5DIY sells an adapter to connect the 2016-2018 harness to 2019+ tail lights.

I saw that too. However you would either need to use the 2019+ rear bumper along with the 2019+ rear tail lights. Otherwise you would need to cut and modify the 2016-2018 rear bumper to fit. A guy on IG who has a 2016-2018 red camaro and made it look like a ZLE used OEM 2019+ tail lights on his 2016-2018 rear bumper. When i asked him how he did it all he told me was that he took it to a shop and they will know

[Jerry6]

Hey not sure if this helps but, there is a guy on tiktok who has a 2018 camaro ss and swapped the rear end to a 19+. I will leave a link to the video. He also lists all modifications he has done to the car. You can probably contact him as well to ask about the conversion. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT81g9dRX/

[The Maverick]

This swap is very doable - in a car without the backup sensors, it is just a parts swap: the taillights, taillight brackets, internal "absorbers," and the rear bumper cover. You also need a custom wiring harness to adapt the taillights - I used one from Gen5DIY. The lower valance [diffuser] above the tail pipes retains compatibility between the pre- and post-refresh cars, so that part can be retained or swapped out, depending on whichever look you prefer.)

There's more details in my de-fresh thread, which covers the opposite swap from 19+ to '16-18: https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608035

I am not sure if the different sized back up sensors are plug-and-play swappable, as I retained the 19+ ones when I reverted to a '16-18 back end. I have a couple photos in my de-fresh photo album that show the sensors: https://www.camaro6.com/forums/album.php?albumid=22510