TAIL LIGHTS NEED TO BE REWORKED OR REPLACED (Page 1/1)
eti engineer DEC 24, 08:08 AM
Gents,

I am sure that many of you have had the same issue I am facing, so I am looking for some advice

My '88GT is looking good except for the rear tail light assemblies. They are fine except for the outer clear plastic shells which are cracked and cloudy in places. I have looked around for some replacements and keep hitting brick walls. I see Fieros that have been nicely redone in here and I am wondering how these were repaired. We have a plastics place near where I live, and I am thinking I could take the assemblies there and see if they can cut the clear outer plastic shells and create some new ones for me, using the old ones as a template, and then glue them in place. Like I said, the inner latticework and colored lenses are fine. It's just the clear outer shell. What have you all done to restore your own? If anyone has a set that will fit an '88 GT and wants to sell them, please PM me and let me know.

Thanks in advance and a very Merry Christmas to you all...
Xenoblast DEC 24, 08:24 AM
https://bellyacrestudios.com/

they dont need glue but you put sealant around the edges and they snap on.

[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 12-24-2021).]

IMSA GT DEC 24, 10:21 AM
To add to the link that Xenoblast posted above, you need to move quickly because the replacement lenses are going to be discontinued. It was a limited production run so be quick or you'll lose out.
eti engineer DEC 25, 09:46 AM

quote
Originally posted by IMSA GT:

To add to the link that Xenoblast posted above, you need to move quickly because the replacement lenses are going to be discontinued. It was a limited production run so be quick or you'll lose out.



Thanks. I just visited the site and filled out the form. We'll see what happens. They look great in the photos. Hope they stay that way, but then my car is garage kept so the only time the will see the sun full-on is when I am driving it.

Later...
skywurz DEC 25, 12:01 PM
Unlike the original GM lenses these are just painted on the inside. The original used a plastic insert glued to the lense. over time the insert being of a different material expanded and contracted at different rates from the material it was adhered to over and over causing issues. This is a problem with lots of cars from this time. They didn't seem to understand that if you glued ABS to a different plastic that eventually under long heating and cooling cycles they would warp deform and come apart.
eti engineer DEC 28, 10:50 AM

quote
Originally posted by skywurz:

Unlike the original GM lenses these are just painted on the inside. The original used a plastic insert glued to the lense. over time the insert being of a different material expanded and contracted at different rates from the material it was adhered to over and over causing issues. This is a problem with lots of cars from this time. They didn't seem to understand that if you glued ABS to a different plastic that eventually under long heating and cooling cycles they would warp deform and come apart.



To try and understand how these things are put together, after reading your post, I pulled one and took it apart. I see what you mean. So, I don't think these will work on an '88 GT. I don't see any way to be able to remove the black portion of the taillight without destroying it. On the '88, this is glued to the clear plastic. The PONTIAC portion is lighted from behind and there is a piece of red plastic that the light shine through. Thanks for saving me from spending 400 bucks on something that appears not to be workable in my case. There is a local plastics shop here that can maybe make up what I need.
skywurz DEC 28, 01:52 PM

quote
Originally posted by eti engineer:


To try and understand how these things are put together, after reading your post, I pulled one and took it apart. I see what you mean. So, I don't think these will work on an '88 GT. I don't see any way to be able to remove the black portion of the taillight without destroying it. On the '88, this is glued to the clear plastic. The PONTIAC portion is lighted from behind and there is a piece of red plastic that the light shine through. Thanks for saving me from spending 400 bucks on something that appears not to be workable in my case. There is a local plastics shop here that can maybe make up what I need.



Yeah im not sure what you are trying to accomplish but the $400 replacements paint job is spot on (they use paint in place of that black insert.). If you wanted to go full clear and do your own custom thing they sell full clear.

[This message has been edited by skywurz (edited 12-28-2021).]

David Riedle DEC 28, 03:13 PM
The quality of these lenses are exceptional!
Xenoblast DEC 28, 08:58 PM

quote
Originally posted by eti engineer:
I don't see any way to be able to remove the black portion of the taillight without destroying it. On the '88, this is glued to the clear plastic. The PONTIAC portion is lighted from behind and there is a piece of red plastic that the light shine through.



gm screwed up on design as they always do, like with this lens, and put 2 different plastics together without thinking. the two plastics will expand at different rates and eventually delaminate. the new lenses take this error into account, and fixes gms mistake by using paint. the red portion is a seperate plastic piece, the lens i sent you only replaces the outermost lens.

the lens i sent you works with all fastback fieros, no matter the year.

[This message has been edited by Xenoblast (edited 12-28-2021).]

pmbrunelle DEC 28, 10:44 PM

quote
Originally posted by Xenoblast:
gm screwed up on design as they always do, like with this lens, and put 2 different plastics together without thinking. the two plastics will expand at different rates and eventually delaminate. the new lenses take this error into account, and fixes gms mistake by using paint. the red portion is a seperate plastic piece, the lens i sent you only replaces the outermost lens.



I wasn't yet paying attention to Fieros in the 1990s, but I'm under the impression that the GM lenses still lasted for the useful life of the car (i.e. 10 years) before delaminating.

Even today, some original lenses haven't delaminated.

I'd call the GM design (was it actually done in-house, or by the taillight supplier, Guide?) "good enough", and not a screw-up.

I don't think that anyone in the car world cares about enthusiasts decades down the line after production.

[This message has been edited by pmbrunelle (edited 12-28-2021).]