CFD's Build Thread

[Bildo]

Originally Posted by CFD

The thread size was 1/8" NPT but I made the fittings, they are pictured on pg26

Thanks man.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Bildo

Thanks man.

One thing I also did. when I drilled and tapped the hole for the fitting I angled it slightly, if I remember correctly it was to prevent the hole from hitting the o-ring groove but I don't have my car here to verify that was the reason so before you drill it take a good look in that area.

[CFD]

Now I'm getting exited. Went by the body shop to pick up the rear bumper so I can finish off the tail lights. All the sheet metal has been repaired and it is in primer, no new surprises and it's starting to shape up. My plan is to lock my doors and spend the weekend on the front and rear bumpers so that they will be ready for installation next week. The car won't be ready for a complete paint job for a while but the repaired panels will be painted so the car will be back to where it was but this time the tail lights and front bumper will be completed.

[CFD]

Spoke to soon about no new surprises. I had a chance to work on the tail lights and found the two prismatic lenses which were already epoxied onto the bumper cracked as well as one of the pieces I welded in the bumper right below the tail light. So I removed all the lenses and while I was in there decided to make a couple of changes to the housings. Nothing really noticeable but it will make mounting the lenses easier. I need to finish both bumpers by Wed. when the body shop re-opens after the holiday as they are ready for them. I was hoping to give them the rear one with the lenses epoxied in and finished but I may not be able to only because fitting the rear lenses without the bumper mounted creates a problem, the top edge of the lens and the inner edge need to be flush with the trunk lid. Gonna have to think about this when it's ready for the lenses to get fitted.

[CFD]

Got quite a bit done on the rear bumper today. One of the reasons I never epoxied the lenses in is because I wasn't sure how to go about it. The lenses have to be completely sealed and if any epoxy oozes onto the inside of the lens, which it does, it looks like crap when the lights are on. Then there was the problem that the prismatic lens and the outer lens are much different in size because of the angles the floor of the lights have for the oem taillights. Because of this the prismatic lens had to go in first at an angle to fit and then the smaller outer lens. It's tough to see in the photo because of all the pretty colors but I did all the structural repairs and then using the same material I made the housings out of I made the floor parallel to the top. Now I think I will make a box with the back the prismatic lens, the front the outer lens and the sides one or the other depending which seems to work better as I proceed. This way I can epoxy the sides of the box completely and slide them in as an assembly and position the outer lens perfectly and there will be no way for the epoxy to touch the lenses. I hope. I just need to do a little cosmetic work by smoothening out the inside of the housings so I can paint them with a reflective paint for maxim light output. I did this on the original but didn't smoothen them out but now I'm finishing it.

[CFD]

Got a lot done today. All the body work is to the point where the lenses can be epoxied in and then the final body work to blend the lenses and bumper. Made all the prismatic lenses and the outer lenses, they came out real good, just hope I don't screw them up now with the gluing process. I have a test lens that I boxed as I mentioned I was going to try and I think it's going to work great. After the epoxy dries I'll take a good look with a light simulating the tail light bulb and see if it's a success and I'll take a photo of it.

[CFD]

I think the boxed lens idea will do the trick. What I did was took a couple of pieces of plastic welding rod and bent them to the shape I want the final lens to be. Then I glued it to the prismatic lens then the red lens. I the sealed the two edges with epoxy. The pieces I used are not he same shape so they don't fir quite right but even so, looking through the lens it's a nice clean edge. Tomorrow I'm going to do it with one of the actual lenses and if it works well I'll do the other three.

[CFD]

Got an early start today. Spent some time on getting all the corners exact from side to side and have everything all set to start assembling the lenses. Instead of the translucent white piece I was using to box them with I'm going with a solid grey. This won't let light pass through the edges giving it a cleaner look. If I don't screw them up now I will be thrilled.

[davesnever]

Can't wait to see the final outcome, this had to be my favorite of your mods and in my opinion looked way better than stock.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by davesnever

Can't wait to see the final outcome, this had to be my favorite of your mods and in my opinion looked way better than stock.

Thanks, it's also been the most challenging but boxing the lenses is going to make all the difference.

I find the most challenging part is not touching the friggin' things. I want to keep adjusting and getting everything perfect but unless the epoxy is completely cured the slightest touch from my fingers or a clamp and there's nothing you can do about it, so here I am killing time while they cure. I epoxied the round plastic welding rod to the prismatic lens first, they're easier to make if I screw up. lol. Once they are fully cured I will clamp them to the outer lenses and epoxy the whole assembly together. I think this is going to make them very clean looking.

[CFD]

That was a lot of work but I got all the lenses boxed in and sealed. They came out great. The old lenses looked good because you can't see through them and when the lights are on they are to bright but if the sun hits them right you can see all the imperfections and stress cracks. You can see them in the first picture of the original lens, you can see in the next pictures how I boxed and sealed them. Now with a light behind them the lens is more defined looking and they are crystal clear. When installed and the outer edge is sealed from light they will look great.

Now I have to decide if I want to epoxy them into the bumper without it on the car to match the trunk. When I did the openings the first time I spent a lot of time to make sure they would insure some consistency, If my work was accurate I should be able to do it but the trunk has a body line to it so previously I split the difference when lining up the lens but I won't have that option. If I don't epoxy them in now after the bumper is on the car it will need to be removed again and I'm trying to avoid that. I'll have to decide first thing in the morning. I am determined to finish this ,this time.

[CFD]

Decided to go ahead and install the lenses. The more I've thought about it the more it makes sense. Trying to line the lenses up with both the bumper and trunk at the same time is counter productive as they have different lines so I decided to make the lenses match the bumper otherwise it will throw all the contours off. I've got the housings finished off and painted with a reflective chrome paint, as soon as it dries I will start fitting the lenses and get them epoxied in.

[CFD]

Well I guess it's time to shit or get off the pot. Everything is prepped and has been test fitted. The lenses are near perfect and they are going in. Hope in my next post I'm smiling not crying.

[CFD]

That was a time consuming job but in the end well worth it, I think, repairs would be a nightmare, again. lol. The lenses are all epoxied in and sealed. I think when the body work is done they will blend in very nicely. It is to the point where the bumper can be installed on the car. I may not be able to do any more on it as I have to finish the front facia tomorrow. The lenses are all crystal clear and look very nice, when it is painted and cleared it should look great. If I had to do it again I might use 1/4" lens material only to allow for more of a margin of error in getting the depth right. If I'm off there's nothing that can be done now but it looks pretty good.