Stained Glass Taillights on Vintage Vans and Trucks Are now A Trend in the World of Automotive Art

If you’re weary of the cookie-cutter modifications on high-end cars, consider this a refreshing change

I get that not everyone spends their time browsing cars online. However, there are days when it feels like I’ve seen it all. Hellcat swaps are only exciting for so long before they become mundane. Even the most innovative modifications can start to feel repetitive. But when I saw these stained glass taillights on an old Chevy Van, I was blown away. This, my friends, is true customization.

These stunning taillights are the creation of Lindsey Wonder, a tattoo artist and stained glass maestro who has been perfecting her craft for several years. She began making sun catchers and similar pieces in 2017. It wasn’t until a friend suggested she try creating taillights that she ventured into this challenging new territory. The precision required to make taillights was initially outside her comfort zone, as they must fit perfectly within a fixed frame without room for error.

“Fast forward to 2020, I made a set of taillights for my 1984 Chevy Van,” Wonder explained. “I posted them on my Instagram, and pretty soon, people started reaching out for custom sets for their vans. I decided to run them on my van first to ensure they were roadworthy before taking orders. I drove with them almost daily for a full year, and from there, demand grew rapidly.”

Wonder estimates she has crafted around 50 sets of taillights so far, each featuring unique designs. Every set is made to order, with about 90% of them being one-of-a-kind. This approach aligns with the custom nature of the parts, which are meant to help vehicles stand out rather than blend in.

“My process varies depending on the vehicle,” Wonder explained. “It involves significant research and development, including time spent at junkyards gathering housings and lenses for patterns and test fitting.

“For some models, the bulb housings and lenses are one piece. In these cases, I order a set of taillights, separate the lenses from the housings, and then create new lenses and gaskets before sending out the complete set to the client. For most other cases, I design the glass based on the client’s vision, test fit it on a housing I have in my studio, and often create a gasket to accompany it.”

Wonder has designed taillights featuring traditional hot-rodding themes, such as detailed pin-ups, cobwebs, and skeleton hands. She’s also created stained glass work with musical influences, including the guitar-themed designs shown here. Personally, I’m particularly taken with the Grateful Dead logo—not because I’m a huge Dead Head, but because it looks incredibly cool. The contrasting colors are stunning, much like the scorpion on sand with the sun in the background.

Next up, Wonder is working on a custom set of taillights for her Chevy Luv project pickup. “I’m enlisting a friend to help me integrate the bed corners from a Ford pickup into the Luv so I can use the Ford’s flat light housings,” she explained. “The Luv’s taillights wrap around the bed’s edge and don’t mount flat, but I’m figuring out a solution!”

I might scroll past widebody drift builds all day, but when one of these taillights appears in my feed? That’s something worth stopping for. Seeing them in person is even better, as they’re meant to be truly appreciated.

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  • Ian Sawyer

    Growing up with a father who was a mechanic I had an appreciation for cars and motorcycles from an early age. I shared my first bike with my brother that had little more than a 40cc engine but it opened up a world of excitement for me, I was hooked. As I grew older I progressed onto bigger bikes and...

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