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| 850 Tail Light i wanna look like a Ferrari from behind conversion | |
| dave potts forever changed the way i viewed my X from the rear after i saw these photos of the butts of his X's: | |
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unfortunately, i saw these pics after i had done
some bodywork and had the car painted so if i wanted to do something like
this, i needed a process to minimize any damage to the new work. over a beer
with my friend tony
natoli, we discussed some possible solutions. the original spec included
placing a panel over the entire tail light section from end to end. i
altered this design, limiting the conversion to just the tail light section
itself, leaving the license plate lighting and plate in place. this is my
first pass at it, mainly to test materials used and to develop a
procedure...i plan on going back to the original plan (aka "the beer
spec") after determining that it is doable; combining it with the work
i've already done thus far.
ok, enough of the boring details here's how it went down! |
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first i acquired 4 tail lights from an 850 Coupe...it's only fitting to go retro to this since the X was the model to replace the 850 (boring side note):
at first, i could not get a consistent glow from all four lights. some only worked at one position (brake) and others functioned as both parking and brake. i had to disassemble the bulb housing and sand away all the rust from the metal connectors, then rebuild it. now they all function the same...(parking/brake/signal) OK--- moving along... |
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| first, i cut out a section traced from the tail light assembly onto cardboard, then traced that pattern onto a 'peg board-like' material...i was originally going to use this material for the project, but i switched...keep reading... |
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| ok, too much detail...i used jig saw... |
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| ...to cut it out and make sure it fit... |
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| ...i traced the outer rubber-'thing' :) to determine where the holes needed to be and the size... |
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| ...drilled a couple of holes to help with cutting... |
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| ...now, this is where i switched materials...i went with a sheet of .093-12x24 acrylic - the stuff used as window replacements. i found it to be very easy to work with, although i cracked it when i tried to use the jig with a plastic bit. i had to switch over to the rotary tool which worked great....the sheet is more than enough to form the 2 new tail light assemblies... |
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| ...next up was cutting a 1/2" x12"x24" sheet of 'expanded' or 'distressed' metal in the shape of the acrylic... |
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| ...both sections were checked for proper fit and finish, then cleaned for painting...i used the duplicolor flat black...you can see the crack in the acrylic... |
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| ...OK! now i've done something...after assembling the taillights and checking the fit, it's ready for the finishing touch... |
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| i picked up some 'truck door edge molding' from pep boys. you get 2 lengths that are 46" each - just enough for one to do an entire assembly... you get about 2" leftover...use it on your door or something...the molding fits over both the acrylic and the distressed metal perfectly. inside the molding is an adhesive (comes with it) to ensure it sticks in place.... |
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| ...the finished product! oh, guess what? i forgot something...the reverse lights...i suppose a smaller, round light could be fitted in there...there is certainly enough space for that...if you want one...not sure if it's illegal to go without it or not...check with your local authorities....j/k... |
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| ...here you can see for yourself...it looks pretty decent! |
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| ...what a difference! |
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| i did not explain how i bolted it in. i'm still working on that. i have brackets that i am fitting into the housing that should work quite nicely though. just haven't done it yet. also...the new wiring spec for this still needs to be finalized. i am testing... | |
| here's a run-down of the costs. most of the materials were available at home depot except for the door edge molding, which i got at pep boys. oh, visit your local junk yard for the lights... | |
| .093-12x24 acrylic sheet----$2.98 | |
| 1/2x12/24 expanded metal sheet----$8.62 | |
| truck door edge molding----$5.99 | |
| grande vanilla-non-fat latte----$3.20 | |
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