My Tail Lights

[Skuzzy]

Well, as my electronics are coming along nicely, I thought I would take a stab at making my own tail lights. As my car will end up being my daily driver, I really felt the need to have a better set of tail lights than the supplied ones.

Now, I did not make the lens, but am using it to forge some ideas. I just grabbed some junk PLA I had laying about to test with and 3D printed up a rough test concept. I figure the production print will be in black ASA.

For those with a sharp eye, you will realize that the lens is for a 63 Impala. The lighting itself will be red LED's. I figure to have less that a hundred bucks tied up in the four lights, when I am done. Hey, I gotta cut some corners someplace now that the Wife unit has dictated Forma power windows WILL BE installed.

One of the things I will be able to do is to use my control electronics to drive the flashers. More on that later.

So here is test concept one.
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[Joel Hauser]

That's incredible! Nice job.

[JimStone]

I love seeing this DIY stuff. Really thinking outside the box and trying something never done before.


I ordered these halo Mazda Miata tail lights from CarbonMiata. https://www.carbonmiata.com/shop/halo-led-dual-tail-lights-v2-for-miata-nb-1105#attr=5147

I like halo lights on the back of the Coupes. GRP sells some that a few have used (https://www.gregsraceparts.com/products/grp-v4-tail-lights-for-evora-s-400-410-430-gt-exige-380-430-elise-cup-sprint-3-eleven) but I find them to be too large and dominates the back of the car. These Miata ones are a bit smaller. Got them for $70 apiece. Also has integral turn or backup lights in the center of the halo. Custom made.

Of course, I ordered them about 3 months ago and they're not here yet d/t a bunch of mailing screw-ups....

[Skuzzy]

I like the halo as well. Still thinking about that one. Like you, I found many of the other solutions a bit too large for my tastes.

Still thinking about removing the chrome trim ring.

Also, the base of the fin/vane has usable lens under it. I could place 24 evenly spaced openings between the fins and use those openings as turn signals. This would leave the center section for parking/brake light only. I would use that as halo, but there are two retaining screws for holding the lens in place.

For these to work, I will have to make a recess in the tail of the body for them so they can be mounted perpendicular to the road and not appear to just float around on the back of the car. Probably incorporate the mounting bezel with the bucket. Yes, I still have to create the bucket. Cannot use the one for the Impala.

As I am typing this it occurs to me how I can make a halo, of sorts. I'll have to test this. Inspiration hits you when you least expect it.

[Skuzzy]

Well, I screwed up. It did not occur to me the back panel of the body would not be flat. It is not even close to being flat. The curve is different in every direction. That makes doing what I wanted with the taillights extremely difficult. I may have to chuck this idea into the, "damn it!" bin. I was really liking the way they were turning out. I just cannot figure out how to make the bezel face be flat when attached to the body without varying the depth of the mating edge to the body. That would look
crappy.

Back to the drawing board.

[GoDadGo]

Skuzzy,

Have you looked at the Angle of the Dangle of the 1964 Impala taillights?
I think those would give you an amazing OEM look and may match the rear angle of your coupe.
Good Luck!

Steve

[gbranham]

Your coupe is going to be your daily driver? I'm still stuck on that statement, but your 3D-printed taillights show some remarkable ingenuity.

Greg

[Skuzzy]

Skuzzy,

Have you looked at the Angle of the Dangle of the 1964 Impala taillights?
I think those would give you an amazing OEM look and may match the rear angle of your coupe.
Good Luck!

Steve

I was making a bezel to slightly recess the lights and rotate them perpendicular to the road. The 64 lens, which I did look at, would not allow the modifications I wanted to do to make them more contemporary. I would face the same problem with the 64 lens. The panel not being flat.


Your coupe is going to be your daily driver? I'm still stuck on that statement, but your 3D-printed taillights show some remarkable ingenuity.

Greg

Well, being retired I do not drive that much. I am taking a different approach to mitigating the interior noise. One that should not require a hundred pounds of mass loaded vinyl material. I am also adding full interior panels.

Thank you for the complement. I am not giving up yet. I am going to see if the area where the lights will be mounted can be flattened through some hidden method. Still thinking about it.

[John Dol]

You could French the lights into the rear panel. That way you can make a perfectly straight mating surface.

[Skuzzy]

You could French the lights into the rear panel. That way you can make a perfectly straight mating surface.

I have created a bezel which has the recess and flat surface for the light, but my bezel assumed a flat surface. I do not have the fiberglass skills to create the bucket and mate it to the panel. Any time I have tried my hand at fiberglass, it looks like crap. I envy people who can work with fiberglass and make it look good.

I should have some pictures of the complete assembly in the next day or two. I have an idea on how to coerce the panel area where the lights mount to be flat. It may not work, but I am going to give it a try.



I have to say, I appreciate the input from everyone. It is encouraging.

[Skuzzy]

So here is the tail light fitment assembly. This is just to test the fit of all the parts and to make sure the lighting is where I want it to be.

Unfortunately, the brightness of the LED's is such that taking a photo does not do it justice. It is very bright.

So you can see all the print lines in the objects I made. Mostly due to my telling the printer to optimize speed over quality. This is also PLA filament. Cheap. When I print the real one, it will be in ASA and then taken through a smoothing tank. This eliminates all the print lines. Makes it look more like a production part.

If you note the gray circle of polymer under the black fins (it is only about 1/16” wide). That is where the halo ring will reside when I am finished making it. It will fill the gap between the base of the lens and the wall of the bucket. That will make the halo about 5/16" wide. I have some frosted cast acrylic sheet I will be using and edge lighting it with red LED's. I'll also have to make some control electronics for that.

I am pretty happy with the proportions and where the lens is sitting in the bucket.

Still left with some questions. Maybe I should try a dark gray, instead of black. The mounting ring on the bucket might need to be reinforced with aluminum, given the uneven surface of the back panel of the body.

So, there it is. This gives you a more complete idea of where I am heading. Next go around I'll have the halo made.

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[Bob Brandle]

Skuzzy, That's looking really good!! Keep your efforts going.
I didn't have any 3D printing skills, nor equipment while I did my custom build, still don't, but did have those working with fiberglass skills and experiences to make a number of modifications to my Type-65 Coupe.
Everyone brings different things to their build and learns many things along the way to result in great cars.

[Stangrob]

I have created a bezel which has the recess and flat surface for the light, but my bezel assumed a flat surface. I do not have the fiberglass skills to create the bucket and mate it to the panel. Any time I have tried my hand at fiberglass, it looks like crap. I envy people who can work with fiberglass and make it look good.

I should have some pictures of the complete assembly in the next day or two. I have an idea on how to coerce the panel area where the lights mount to be flat. It may not work, but I am going to give it a try.



I have to say, I appreciate the input from everyone. It is encouraging.

First off, very nice work!

I was thinking about your conundrum. Using a 3D scanner to pick up the tail panel curve would likely be a PITA, but how about moulding a form-fitting gasket? I'm assuming your taillight bucket's inside diameter equals the hole size for the original taillights. If you print an insert for your taillight bucket where the OD matches the ID of your bucket but extends out beyond the bucket, then that should give you a surface to finish the ID of the gasket. I'd look into silicone molding compounds - I'd think those would be durable enough. Hopefully you can find one in black or whatever color you'd prefer. But doing that would allow you to use your original bucket and fit perfectly with the gasket making up the difference.

You'd need to make up a rig to align the bucket the car's X/Y axis so that the silicone sets up at the correct angle, but that should be relatively straightforward. You'd need to prep the inside of the body with wax or some other release agent so you can get the silicone gasket out, but in theory this should work. If nothing else, it's an option ;)

Rob

[Skuzzy]

Skuzzy, That's looking really good!! Keep your efforts going.
I didn't have any 3D printing skills, nor equipment while I did my custom build, still don't, but did have those working with fiberglass skills and experiences to make a number of modifications to my Type-65 Coupe.
Everyone brings different things to their build and learns many things along the way to result in great cars.

Thank you Bob. I am very impressed with your fiberglass skills. What I would not give to be able to do that. Appreciate the comments.



First off, very nice work!

I was thinking about your conundrum. Using a 3D scanner to pick up the tail panel curve would likely be a PITA, but how about moulding a form-fitting gasket? I'm assuming your taillight bucket's inside diameter equals the hole size for the original taillights. If you print an insert for your taillight bucket where the OD matches the ID of your bucket but extends out beyond the bucket, then that should give you a surface to finish the ID of the gasket. I'd look into silicone molding compounds - I'd think those would be durable enough. Hopefully you can find one in black or whatever color you'd prefer. But doing that would allow you to use your original bucket and fit perfectly with the gasket making up the difference.

You'd need to make up a rig to align the bucket the car's X/Y axis so that the silicone sets up at the correct angle, but that should be relatively straightforward. You'd need to prep the inside of the body with wax or some other release agent so you can get the silicone gasket out, but in theory this should work. If nothing else, it's an option ;)

Rob

Actually, I have a 3D scanner. Not sure if it will pick up the subtle curves of that tail panel, but it is worth a shot. If I can get a good scan of it, then I can just alter the bucket lip to follow the curve. Or, at least, get close enough to it to use a soft gasket to fill the space without it looking like poop.

Thanks Rob.

[GoDadGo]

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You Nailed It!