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reproduction tail light housings?


G8KeaPoR

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Anyone know of any?  I know there was an outfit from Australia that was selling some repro housings a few years ago but looks like they aren't doing it anymore.  My lenses and trim are all fantastic but the housings are dry rotting and crumbling. 

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There good quality.  I bought 2 sets.

 

Email the aussy guy. Phills Rotary.  He may just not have them listed.

 

He sold out of them when he took my advise and listed them in us ebay.

 

He'll get more.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

So I got a response back in July from Phills Rotary claiming they were going to be available shortly and so far nothing has come available.  SOOOOoo I am going to reproduce them myself from high heat Urethane plastic. Molding is fun :P  I have all the equipment/supplies I need I just need to get setup for duplicating them. So give me a few weeks and maybe I will have something within the continental US to offer.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So a little update. I got my work area and everything setup.  I am currently repairing the one tail light to prep it for the plug.  I went ahead and did a test mold and cast of some baby proofing stuff which turned out very well just as a test so I wasn't wasting a couple hundred dollars on making the molds for the sake of learning.  Anyway once the tail light is repaired I will start the molding process of the lights. I am hoping to get them done before the mats for one of my milling jobs comes in but if not then it will take secondary priority to a customer paid job. Either way I am thinking in the next week or so I should have at least one of them molded and casted.

 

Sorry for the delay.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have some NOS  in Nissan box taillamps that I will split up 350.00 US pair for the white housings or 800.00 US pair for the complete taillights, these are Euro with amber signals 71-73 style, would post a pic but haven't figured it out yet message me for photos

Dan

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  • 1 month later...

Should have some updates here on the reproductions soon.  Sorry it has taken so long but the repairs are well still going.  The one housing was easy the other has been challenging as I am having to replace missing plastic with CA glue and baking soda.  PITA to work with. 

 

I have some NOS  in Nissan box taillamps that I will split up 350.00 US pair for the white housings or 800.00 US pair for the complete taillights, these are Euro with amber signals 71-73 style, would post a pic but haven't figured it out yet message me for photos

Dan

 

I sent you a PM.  For those with the knowledge are there any differences between these and the US housings?

 

 

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All 69-73 Sedan tail lamp housing are the same (1968's are different).  I've heard that the JDM/Aussie etc tail lamp housings might have had different bulb sockets that don't fit the USA housings & vice versa, but I've never seen! 

 

NOTHING better than creating a reproduction part from an NOS part, that is not damaged, warped, shrunken, stretched etc etc...........problem is initial cost to buy NOS, but that's how it works!!  

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  • 1 month later...

Good news everyone. Thanks to danzz32tt I now have a set of mint NOS tail lights so no more restoration. I will now focus on the molding but I have a question. The nos lights are late production so they changed the brake light housing to have two plastic melted rivets sprus on one side of the brake/ parking light cup vs the original single peg on both sides to hold in the metal reflector. So I have basically a few options

 

Option one mold it as is and provide a template so you can drill and reuse your reflectors as is.

 

Option two add the third spru so you can cut off the un needed sprus to match your reflectors.

 

Option three mold as is and chrome the cups so you don’t need the metal reflectors. The plastic I’m using is a urethane high heat resin and they will be heat cured to give a 300+ degree Fahrenheit heat resistance so in theory they shouldn’t melt from the heat of the bulb. I need to do some tests with my temperature gun to be sure.

 

Option four Once I get the spindle for my mill back from being repaired make some dies and make a pseudo hydro former to make new metal reflectors. And mold them in option two in the mean time.

 

The first two options don’t add additional cost and while it means a little work on your end it means a cheaper price in the end.

I don’t have a cost comparison between three and four yet but it would add cost which means more cost on your end however they would be more plug and play.

 

What would you prefer?

 

Future projects may include smoke lenses with the factory look for the recessed reflector but for now just doing the housings with no lenses.

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Buying NOS parts to copy will have been your best move in the end.........NICE!!!!  :thumbup:

 

So the NOS housings are late, have all 3 spru's, so a buyer with earlier 2 hole reflectors re-using the earlier reflector will need to snip 1 spru?  That seems easy enough......

 

Option 2 - snipping off a plastic spru to fit the earlier 2 hole reflector is better than the buyer with 3 hole reflectors "seeing" that your housing is missing a spru. In other words, make with 3 sprus, buyer can simply snip off if not needed. 

 

What kind of heat will it take to "melt" the sprus down once reflector is in place?  Will a regular Joe Schmo have the tool needed to melt it?  If not, option 4 might be better..... 

 

Option 4 - the more complete ANY repro part is, the better for the buyer! This option 4 sounds more like a "bolt in" part......can't beat that in replacing a part in a restoration!

 

My 2cents!

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  • 6 months later...

Ok so yes I am still reproducing these.  BUT it turns out making a sheet metal stamp is an art that after 7 attempts I still haven't gotten right.  I'm not giving up though and hopefully you guys wont lose faith.  I have the molds for the housings and is things don't go well soon I may just opt to chrome the insides since the urethane im using lightbulb heat wont be an issue.  Plus at this point I am in this for about 32 to 3500 dollars in materials that I would like to recoup.  The price of product development ?  To be honest compared to most products it is pretty cheap really.

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Can you "coat" the urethane with something like the plastic chrome or paint?  Our Datsun's & all other cars thru the 70's used "real" plastic, which can be cleaned & painted, and expected to hold up.  From the 80's or 90's, manufacturer's started using polypropylene plastic (PP), which I BELIEVE is a waxed based plastic, so any coating ie paint etc does not bond properly........at least not long term.  I've tried using the "adhesion promoter" primers, but was never really satisfied with the outcome.  When I had a Sport Compact shop back in Michigan, many of the kids wanted to paint their plastic interior parts.  I would try to explain the downfalls ie PP plastics etc, and I watched MANY a Honda Mitsu VW & domestics etc get destroyed visually, because they would not take my advice, paint the parts, and within weeks the paint would be peeling & flaking off!  Bottom line, do your research, as well as testing!!  I think there are LOTS of people here waiting to see how this turns out!!

 

TJ

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10 hours ago, yenpit said:

Can you "coat" the urethane with something like the plastic chrome or paint?  Our Datsun's & all other cars thru the 70's used "real" plastic, which can be cleaned & painted, and expected to hold up.  From the 80's or 90's, manufacturer's started using polypropylene plastic (PP), which I BELIEVE is a waxed based plastic, so any coating ie paint etc does not bond properly........at least not long term.  I've tried using the "adhesion promoter" primers, but was never really satisfied with the outcome.  When I had a Sport Compact shop back in Michigan, many of the kids wanted to paint their plastic interior parts.  I would try to explain the downfalls ie PP plastics etc, and I watched MANY a Honda Mitsu VW & domestics etc get destroyed visually, because they would not take my advice, paint the parts, and within weeks the paint would be peeling & flaking off!  Bottom line, do your research, as well as testing!!  I think there are LOTS of people here waiting to see how this turns out!!

 

TJ

I’m not 100% but if my next attempt fails I will contact the resin supplier.  They claim it’s paintable but just like with interior parts that is subjective.  Either way I am casting them with the plastic post rivets.  These are the later generation that on the brake light uses 3 posts opposed to the original 2 post design but if it goes that route I will include a template to modify the originals to fit for those replacing dry rotted housings that are unsalvagable. 

 

EDIT - Meant to say 100% sure.

Edited by G8KeaPoR
Correction
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That's what I was thinking..........cast the post rivets, either re-use original "reflector plates" or include something!  I wish I had the capital & ambition to repop parts.........!!

 

TJ

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