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Idea for 95-96 Taillights

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Old 01-08-2008, 02:00 PM
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Idea for 95-96 Taillights

Hi guys,

Seeing that other thread about ebay red clears gave me an idea.

Currently, there are those "diamond cut" red clears for the 95-96 maximas, but I personally think they look too modern for our cars.

My idea is to take apart the tail light and put something on the inside of the red and clear pieces so that you can't see directly through to the ugly rectangle shapes.

Some questions though:
1. Does the red clear plastic have the rectangles? or is it inside?
2. What should I use to go over the red/clear piece? I was thinking some of the same stuff that the vq power tutorial said to. that or the tint-like stuff


What do you guys think?
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Old 01-08-2008, 08:43 PM
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I don't have the lights, these are just my thoughts:

1. The rectangles are built into the housings, meaning the lenses are clear and the rectangles are on the inside.
2. From the looks, there may not be enough room to put something in there.

And another thing to think about, you will be taking apart a new $130ish set of lights, be careful.
These lights are actually growing on me. I sort of like them.

David
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Old 01-08-2008, 08:57 PM
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Hmm...this brings up another question.

Could I take the lenses off the diamond cut lights and switch them with the OEM amber ones? I'm sure that this is a longshot and the shapes probably aren't the same, but is it possible?

Also, has anyone been able to take apart the ebay tails? Do you guys think it'd be the same process?

Also, $130 + a few dollars for supplies is much better than $225ish for DavidLs, so I think this is worth some time to think about. Perhaps next paycheck I will buy a set to see if I can do anything with them.
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Old 01-08-2008, 09:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Coolsaber57
Hmm...this brings up another question.

Could I take the lenses off the diamond cut lights and switch them with the OEM amber ones? I'm sure that this is a longshot and the shapes probably aren't the same, but is it possible?

Also, has anyone been able to take apart the ebay tails? Do you guys think it'd be the same process?

Also, $130 + a few dollars for supplies is much better than $225ish for DavidLs, so I think this is worth some time to think about. Perhaps next paycheck I will buy a set to see if I can do anything with them.
as for swapping the lens? why? what would that do? I don't think that would make any difference..

ebay tails to take apart: most surely, yes, since most tails are manufactuered the same way ( 2 pieces stuck together)

as for the David L's.. I'd take those first.. then I'd take the ebay ones
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Old 01-09-2008, 11:16 AM
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Why? To get rid of the amber lense on the OEM tails and replace them with white/clear.

Also...I haven't seen a set of DavidLs for a while, plus I could save $100...

I can buy a lot of Taco Bell for $100.

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Old 01-09-2008, 11:21 AM
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i swapped 97-99 ebay clear reflectors into oem housings. fit perfect. might work for 95-96 too.
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Old 01-09-2008, 12:02 PM
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interesting....
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Old 01-09-2008, 12:11 PM
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i was thinking about taking those eBay lights and just tinting them pretty dark, you wouldn't be able to see directly into the light and see the rectangles and i think it would look good on black paint.
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Old 01-09-2008, 12:17 PM
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Originally Posted by BLACKonBLACK98
i swapped 97-99 ebay clear reflectors into oem housings. fit perfect. might work for 95-96 too.
Details, I HAVE to do something on my 97 tails, I don't like them at all.

What about these??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-98...spagenameZWDVW

Last edited by Husker Z; 01-09-2008 at 12:25 PM. Reason: added question/link
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Old 01-09-2008, 12:38 PM
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the ones i used are a damaged tinted set i recieved from ebay seller atomic street.
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Old 01-09-2008, 01:07 PM
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Originally Posted by BLACKonBLACK98
i swapped 97-99 ebay clear reflectors into oem housings. fit perfect. might work for 95-96 too.
Dude, you may be onto something there. I think next paycheck I will buy a set and see if I can take them apart. Hmm, maybe I'll get a cheap set of OEM replacements to do experiments on, instead of using the ones on my car...

I'm itching to get that amber out of there, I just installed clear corners and they look GREAT on my boy blue, so the only amber left is the tails!
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Old 01-09-2008, 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Coolsaber57
Why? To get rid of the amber lense on the OEM tails and replace them with white/clear.

Also...I haven't seen a set of DavidLs for a while, plus I could save $100...

I can buy a lot of Taco Bell for $100.

eheh Taco FTW!
but what does the housing ( reflective bowl) of the OEM tail look like then?
it may even look worse then the ebay ones...
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Old 01-09-2008, 01:24 PM
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the only reason i used the clear pieces out of the ebay tails was because they were damaged. if you were going to buy them just to take them apart, you might as well just install them.
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Old 01-09-2008, 06:42 PM
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Negative, if I can get them to look better than the ebay ones (which I kinda find tacky), then I'd rather do that.

Digitized, you have a good point, I'm not sure what it looks like, I have never seen the inside.

Ok, supposing the inside of the OEM housing is ugly, what could I put under the clear housing to make it look more like an OEM red clear? What about that material from the VQ power tut (Acrylic flourescent light cover sheet)? Is it flexible enough (supposing I cut it to the correct size) to put it in behind the clear plastic (on the inside)? If so, how could I affix it there without seeing glue/residue/tape?

Boy, don't you love questions?

Last edited by Coolsaber57; 01-09-2008 at 06:47 PM.
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Old 01-09-2008, 07:15 PM
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yeah bro, we kind of went off topic on 97-99. my bad.

i dont think what you are talking about will work because, from what i can tell, there is no reflector in the ebay 95-96. i would think your best bet would be the flourscent light stuff, but do the inners and outers so they match. but i don't have/never opened 95-96 so i'm just guessing.
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Old 01-09-2008, 07:51 PM
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Here is a FS thread that has pics of the insides:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=548259
Look about 2/3 the way down the page.
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Old 01-09-2008, 08:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Dave H.
Here is a FS thread that has pics of the insides:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=548259
Look about 2/3 the way down the page.
i own those lights...if u need better pics ill take them for you. pm me. while their still apart...
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Old 01-09-2008, 08:03 PM
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i may be completely off, but has anybody ever tried to fit the clear outer upper reflector piece from a 97-99 into the 95-96? looks awefully similar to me...

*edit* or is it the actual lense on the 95-96 that is orange? if thats the case (which i'm assuming it is) then taking the lens off the ebay tails and putting it on the oem housing should work.

Last edited by BLACKonBLACK98; 01-09-2008 at 08:05 PM.
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Old 01-09-2008, 09:20 PM
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Originally Posted by BLACKonBLACK98
i may be completely off, but has anybody ever tried to fit the clear outer upper reflector piece from a 97-99 into the 95-96? looks awefully similar to me...

*edit* or is it the actual lense on the 95-96 that is orange? if thats the case (which i'm assuming it is) then taking the lens off the ebay tails and putting it on the oem housing should work.
The 95-96 tails are different from the 97-99 tails. & on the 95-96 i was told that the orange is part of the cover, unlike the 97-99 where the amber lens can be take out.
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Old 01-09-2008, 09:20 PM
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Originally Posted by BLACKonBLACK98
i may be completely off, but has anybody ever tried to fit the clear outer upper reflector piece from a 97-99 into the 95-96? looks awefully similar to me...

*edit* or is it the actual lense on the 95-96 that is orange? if thats the case (which i'm assuming it is) then taking the lens off the ebay tails and putting it on the oem housing should work.
^^^ you are right, the actual plastic is orange (95-96 ), not like the 97-99 where it's an clear orange insert...
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Old 01-10-2008, 07:28 AM
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I think the best option here (other than DavidLs obviously) would be to get the ebay ones, and take them apart.
Then:
1) see if the ebay plastic would fit on the OEM housing
2) If it can, check out how it looks
3) if it looks crappy, add the flourescent light plastic stuff to the inside of the plastic.

I suppose my first question is: if I were to do this, what would I use to 1) hold the housing and lense together and 2) hold the flourescent light stuff to the inside of the lense without it looking like I glued it in there?
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Old 01-10-2008, 07:44 AM
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i don't think you'll need the fluorescent light stuff because the oem lights have a reflector piece in them to calm down the super-clear ebay lens. i think it should be a nice looking light.

to hold the housing and lens together just reheat the sealant and screw them back togther.
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Old 01-10-2008, 12:10 PM
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My idea is to take the diamond cut aftermarket ones....

open lens

paint inside of lens with "frosted glass" window spray....

seal, and viola!
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Old 01-10-2008, 12:11 PM
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I was going to do it but never got around to it....still want to do t but I dont have the tails anymore...
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Old 01-10-2008, 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by 96blackmaxSE
I was going to do it but never got around to it....still want to do t but I dont have the tails anymore...
Ebay still has them!
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Old 01-11-2008, 10:43 AM
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i have a couple sets of 95-96 lights
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