Custom Tail Lights Design

[sexual_sushi]

Hi all, after seeing JasonB's custom tail lights over in here http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,4112.0.html I've finally got around to designing my own. I have been looking at custom tail light ideas pretty much since I got my first zed (6 or 7 years?) and as everyone knows there aren't a lot of options out there. I have been briefly researching how to mould your own and I'm starting to believe it can be done. So here is the design I'm working on atm...

 

note that this would be for my project 2+2, I'm leaving old yella as it is:)

[stevo_gj]

I think it looks hot man. If you didn't mind not being the only one on the road I'd get you to make some for me

[lightmaster240z]

Very nice look  8)

[sexual_sushi]

Thanks guys

 

Yeah steve, atm I'm looking at making a plastic mould to make the clear acrylic cover which means I could make quite a few sets. I'm also going to make a mould for a one piece panel (to replace the charcoal grey/black bit) that bulges out with the lines of the car. There will still be a distinction between the body and the tail light panel, but rather than being recessed it will curve out inline with the body. Might be kind of hard to explain, but you probably get the idea.

 

As for the actual lights I'm either going to use some parts from the mazda 3 (the rear lights on the inside) and or make up some surrounds using a lathe etc. Still working out the details

[zedevan]

there's pics of a car that i assume is in america, where the whole panel has been replaced with a peice of perspex type stuff which looks pretty interesting and clean

 

I'd love to do some custom led ones that follow around the outside of the panel shape, kind of a mix between the maserati and the current impreza's

 

its proving hard to find a pic of it with the rear parkers on, but this style

 

 

[zedevan]

i hit the jackpot!

 

http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/tcwrx-rear-lights.jpg

[sexual_sushi]

I can't quite picture yours zedevan, would you fill in the whole back of the car so there wasn't that charchoal trim at all and then integrate the lights into the body? That could be quite cool.

 

Here are a few variations of my design...

[chartoo]

Looking great i love this idea  if these mazda lights dont work out supra tallights look quite good also

 

 

[620Z]

I had looked into doing something different with my rear lights for ages. In the end I go lazy and just sort of modified the original 2+2 surrounds. But the option I thought of and liked the most was the Corvette rear lights. Not the round ones as round don't truly look natural on the slightly square rear of the Zed. Corvette have some squre looking rear lights and indicators (slightly rounded on the coreners) they were a good sized etc all you would have to do is make up some custom surrounds to fit them in. That's just another idea anyway.

[zedevan]

this is what i ment, either leds mounted behind a solid panel, so not really that noticable when not on, or bulging out

 

i'm not really a fan of a completely shaved look, although there are a few exceptions like that gt240 car in america with corvette lights

[Zedman240®]

Evan, that last Maserati pic for some reason works for me.. or the top one. The middle one reminds me of a Toyota Crown... That Maserati look doesn't stand out too much, works with the car too...I like it!

[gav240z]

How about 240z tail lights in your 260z 2+2, would look the business .

[mossy]

KPGC110 tail lights on a Z

 

[gav240z]

KPGC110 tail lights on a Z

 

 

Actually that's not so uncommon. There's been quite a few Zeds that received that treatment. Although I prefer Zeds with Zed tail lights and Skylines with Skyline ones. It does look interesting and period correct and is surely better than the horrible tail light conversions I see alot of the Yanks do.

[gav240z]

Actually that's not so uncommon. There's been quite a few Zeds that received that treatment. Although I prefer Zeds with Zed tail lights and Skylines with Skyline ones. It does look interesting and period correct and is surely better than the horrible tail light conversions I see alot of the Yanks do.

 

Example of yuk tailight conversion

[mossy]

It doesn't look too bad with those lights, but I'm with you Gav, i love the standard z tail lights.

[sexual_sushi]

zedevan i think those would look great with a bit of body work around them, something like that orange and black concept car someone rendered (often referred to as what the 350z should have been). I wouldn't mind actually making a real life version of that, i reckon you could get it 90% close to the design just basing it off a 240z.

 

I love the gtr lights, looks period correct like you mentioned. I think my hierarchy goes

Custom Lights if possible

240z Lights if not

GTR lights for my daily driver

 

So i received a set of Mazda lights of ebay, only problem is that the red lensed version actually has a blue coloured "clear" lens. This lens is actually clear on the clear covered lights but they obviously changed it to blue to counteract the red.

 

 

Another problem I have run into is that the process I was looking into using is actually a resin based process (which I didn't realise). I use resin at work and I imagine these will fade terribly being out in the sun. I think using the amber and red lens would be fine because you wouldn't notice it, but on clear panels... I might buy a batch and do some tests and leave one inside and one outside for 6 months.

 

Also found http://www.klearz.com/ on hybridz

Apparently they haven't got a lot of good feedback. I think the quality is a bit on the lower end of the scale and it looks like they are slowly closing the business down. I might contact them to see if they are willing to share the process that they use

[sexual_sushi]

Oh so the pic of the Mazda lights, I would be using 3 lots of the middle light (the chrome surround with the amber lens) and use a clear, amber and red lens and then house all of these in a clear or smokey cover in a similar shape to the 240z lights.

[zedevan]

isn't the clear part you're wanting to make fairly flat, and therefore able to be bent out of a sheet of polycarb etc?

 

or to get around the issue of it discolouring, could you try to seal the mazda units up and mount them flush onto a flat panel - instead of them being positioned behind it?

 

either way it sounds like a bit of fun, i wouldn't mind getting back onto the rear lights i was modifying, or making up some twin projector headlight buckets, but I have other things i should be concentrating on with the car