Bonneville Club :: Light-up "Pontiac" on Trunk Lid

I’ve been asked a few times concerning this custom job done on the rear end of my SSEI.. so I decided to do a write up about it. This is going to take a couple of hours to do, so don’t make plans that day. This works for 96+ Bonnies with the Pontiac already engraved into it. For older models or models that don’t have that feature, you can use a stencil to help, but is obviously harder to do.

Things you will need

-The usual tools ( Socket sets )
-Dremel tool ( with drill bits and sanding disc )
-12” minimum neon/plasma tube ( the lettering is 10” but is also curved, so if you got something smaller then 12”, you will not have all the letters lit up correctly )
-clear plastic ( can even use the ones the neons came in.. user descretion on the thickness of plastic.. obviously the thicker the better. )
-heat gun ( not necessary.. but extremely helpful. )
-carpet adhesive spray
-tint film if wanted, but again not necessary.
-double sided tape ( not necessary )
These steps are based on my 97 SSEI, and may vary slightly from model and years.

STEP 1:
Remove the tail piece assembly off the trunk door. There is 5 bolts that holds it in place underneath the trunk carpet, 2 per side, and 1 in the center just beside the trunk latch. ( Since you’re there.. why not move the trunk latch tighter ( up ) if you plan on putting a sub in there in the future or to prevent less trunk rattle ). Carefully unplug the connectors for the lights in the tail end piece.

STEP 2:
Remove the under plastic off the tailpiece, 2 pins per side that can be popped out by pushing a pen through the center, and 4 at the bottom.

STEP 3:
Carefully use a pencil and draw a line straight down to the bottom from the beginning of “P” from Pontiac and “C” at the end. Add ¾-1” inch more per side.. ( you can do that later, rather take a few more passes and cut less then to cut too much off )

STEP 4:
Cut the bottom off using the drill bits to mark all 4 corners.. then the cutting sanding wheel to connecting them all together for the cut. Try fitting the neon tube inside to ensure that it will fit through the hole you’ve just made. If it doesn’t fit.. cut a little extra off each end till it does.

STEP 5:
If you have a work bench this would help out better since you can secure the piece down and have the lettering facing you. Use a drill bit on the dremel tool to follow the engraving on cutting out the letters.. you may have to use a back and forth motion as some of the plastic gets melted and may reform behind your cut. Use the sanding cut bit on the dremel to clean off any burrs off the edges. Be careful with cutting to ensure most burrs are on the inside rather the outside as it will be harder to clean off the exterior. This process will take the longest time.

STEP 6:
Clean off the interior of any plastic debris with either a brush or paper towel or both. Put a layer of tape on the external part of the cut because now you’re going to use some of the adhesive spray, and you don’t want any over run out on the exterior. Cut out a piece of plastic that will fit over the lettering and the corners well. spray the carpet adhesive spray on the inside against the opening and let it tack up for 5 minutes ( or whatever the direction on the spray says ). Put the plastic in carefully.. push down firmly on it. If you have a heat gun.. blow some heat on the plastic piece while it’s in there.. it will cause the plastic to melt a little a mold itself better to the letterings and corners. Let it dry for an hour.. grab yourself a beer or three while you’re waiting.

STEP 7:
Fish the neon lights wire to the marker lights beside it, and tap into the hot and ground wires. ( this is the way I did it, basically when the marker lights come on via sentinal or manually.. the neon lights up. You can obviously run a separate positive hot wire and connect through a switch.. but I’m lazy, so I didn’t )

STEP 8:
Now you have 2 options on mounting the neon tubes.. you can use the mounts that come with it via screws.. or you can use heavy duty double sided tape. I used double sided tape as I doubled them up to raise the light tube up a bit higher from the bottom ( to prevent any water from actually touching the unit. ) Ensure you line it up to how you want it to look from the exterior before securing it down.

STEP 9: Optional
Since I have the unfortune Winter season up here.. I also put a layer of tint on the exterior to prevent any salt / water from entering the cravass of the letters and getting in. This also makes the Pontiac word less noticeable to being cut out. Tint films are also easy to change out if you ever ripped it by accident or summer has arrived.

STEP 10:
Put everything back together on the vehicle ( connectors, bolts ) and enjoy

STEP 11:
Go blow some Rice cars and laugh at them as they see a “PONTIAC” family sedan just handing them their A$$.