Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com - View Single Post - DIY making the afterburner effect tail lights

2SSRS@Gen5diy · 08-09-2010, 11:09 PM

In order to make your own "afterburner effect tail lights" you will need a lot of time and skill to do it effectively.

First is to remove the tail light's out of the car, Once out you need to grind off the outer lens (the red one), Then the inner one which is the light diffuser, There are 3 points that hold the diffuser in place to the housing See pic.

Its hard to see put if you look at the step you see the three points that the diffuser is held in place.

Things you will need are as fallows, In order to remove the step in the housing you will need some fiberglass resin and fiberglass mat you have to cut stripes of fiberglass mat to go around the housing as in the pics here.

1 more.

Now do the same for the top of the housing on the inside, Here is a pic, in the pic you will see a red line that line is 2 1/2" back to give it a look of depth like in the concept car

By the way did you see the 2 new holes in the rear of the housing? that will come in a short time.

So now that we built up the housing all the way around and on the inside top we start to grind down the step on all sides to get the right look for the housing, Its hard to put in to words so here is two pics one of the concept tail light and one i did.

GM light.

My light.

I know my was not as bright as the GM light but that was an all LED light we are not doing that any more, Remember the extra two holes.

Next was the hardest part of it all to find the right plastic part to use to make the inside piece that holds the diffuser in place, After many many try's i found the right part to use, here it is.

If you cut the Handel off and then cut it at the end of the text you have the right size to go over the 3156 light bulb, That will give you the right part to make a mold.

Here is a pic of that mold.

Did you get that number we are not running the 3157 any more, only a 1 element bulb, Why only the one element bulb you ask, By using the 3156 bulb you will not have any problems with the DIC in the car you dont need a Resister in the line it pulls the same watts as the 3157, and it is the same watts as the brake light now.

And now for the 2 holes that i added to the housing, Will i did not add them as much as i found them, What do i mean one of the two are there all we had to do is look. Here is one pic

If you look at it you see a .625 ring with a small hole that a lot of use use to run some wires threw, But what if it was for a 194 light holder like in my pic, And you drilled out the ring to say the size of the holder, here is what it dos it back lights the housing to look like the afterburner effect tail light, And if you use the 906 bulb that is the same power as the 3157 second side so all the power stays at the same level.

Here are some small pics on the work table will have new pics in the next 3-4 day all in one pic and in the car.

08-09-2010, 11:09 PM	#1
2SSRS@Gen5diy Drives: 2014 Z/28 #82+#192, 18ZLE 66Nova Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: By the lake in AZ Posts: 15,719 View My Garage	DIY making the afterburner effect tail lights In order to make your own "afterburner effect tail lights" you will need a lot of time and skill to do it effectively. First is to remove the tail light's out of the car, Once out you need to grind off the outer lens (the red one), Then the inner one which is the light diffuser, There are 3 points that hold the diffuser in place to the housing See pic. Its hard to see put if you look at the step you see the three points that the diffuser is held in place. Things you will need are as fallows, In order to remove the step in the housing you will need some fiberglass resin and fiberglass mat you have to cut stripes of fiberglass mat to go around the housing as in the pics here. 1 more. Now do the same for the top of the housing on the inside, Here is a pic, in the pic you will see a red line that line is 2 1/2" back to give it a look of depth like in the concept car By the way did you see the 2 new holes in the rear of the housing? that will come in a short time. So now that we built up the housing all the way around and on the inside top we start to grind down the step on all sides to get the right look for the housing, Its hard to put in to words so here is two pics one of the concept tail light and one i did. GM light. My light. I know my was not as bright as the GM light but that was an all LED light we are not doing that any more, Remember the extra two holes. Next was the hardest part of it all to find the right plastic part to use to make the inside piece that holds the diffuser in place, After many many try's i found the right part to use, here it is. If you cut the Handel off and then cut it at the end of the text you have the right size to go over the 3156 light bulb, That will give you the right part to make a mold. Here is a pic of that mold. Did you get that number we are not running the 3157 any more, only a 1 element bulb, Why only the one element bulb you ask, By using the 3156 bulb you will not have any problems with the DIC in the car you dont need a Resister in the line it pulls the same watts as the 3157, and it is the same watts as the brake light now. And now for the 2 holes that i added to the housing, Will i did not add them as much as i found them, What do i mean one of the two are there all we had to do is look. Here is one pic If you look at it you see a .625 ring with a small hole that a lot of use use to run some wires threw, But what if it was for a 194 light holder like in my pic, And you drilled out the ring to say the size of the holder, here is what it dos it back lights the housing to look like the afterburner effect tail light, And if you use the 906 bulb that is the same power as the 3157 second side so all the power stays at the same level. Here are some small pics on the work table will have new pics in the next 3-4 day all in one pic and in the car. Last edited by 2SSRS@Gen5diy; 12-01-2010 at 08:28 PM.