What Tail lights Would Work on a 240Z ?

[Boobala]

Here's a couple of interesting links on the subject.

 

http://hometown.aol.com/cruzzerkid/customrodtronics.html

 

http://www.commandelectronics.com/

[QWKDTSN]

I think you guys are all crazy. I think there's absolutely no better looking taillight for a 240Z than a stock 240Z's taillight - except maybe a Euro 240Z's taillight! I actually think that the taillights are way ahead of their time. I think there was some definite de-evolution from the 240Z to the 260Z. Round, compact, single unit lenses, to fugly seperated square lenses. hideous.

[Guest Zachb55]

I took the supra lights someone did a step further with what i want to do, i think it would look better with a bit of detail on the back, instead of just plain flatness.

Skyline Lights

[Guest jens]

How about Saab 95 taillights they are a bit smaller than opel gt and corvette

http://www.brems.subnet.dk/saab95.JPG

[Guest jens]

Damn subnet server if i cut and paste the link the picture is available but not by clicking the link

web page

[Sleek Z]

JENS

 

You just need to understand that a server is similar to a woman. You have to "sweet talk her" a bit before she'll reveal her inner most beauty. Is this what you wanted to show us?

 

[Guest Anonymous]

RacerX .. Very interested in forming clear plastic. The 250 Fererri kits come with an optional $175.00 formed UNCUT piece of clear plastic for headlight covers. I have my 250 covers and cut them and found the Stable kit headlight cover is the same dimensions as the McBurnie kit and will know shortly if they are a match to the Velo Rossa kit. Also the G nose kits needs a headlight cover. You might want to in production supplying headlight covers.....Post in the body kit section........ Eric. a server might be like a woman but it takes a compass and a packed lunch to get at the bottom of this thread. I really like the recess' incorporated in Terry's treatment. I obtained this very large sheet of 1/4 inch fiberglass (5'X 7')($20.00) from a fiberglass manufacturer with plans to saw it up for projects like bonding on a rear panel to JCR full flare fenders and an Origin convertible cap to make a custom rear from ideas from this thread.

[D83ZXT]

Okay... I have been very quiet and following this this thread, but I must tell you all. I love all of your inputs of ideas!!!

I find this to be very interesting to a point that while driving a round trip of 4 1/2 hours yesterday on the freeways, all I was doing was looking at tail lamps and picturing them rotated a little more this way..Hmmmm... what about switching them from right to left. What I found even more fun was how they look from daylight to having them turned on at night, even from a distance behind to catching up for a better look.

I even got caught checking out tail lamps while doing estimates at work. My boss walked up from behind me and said, "I thought that car only had front end damages?" Opps... lol "I must have clicked on wrong set of lamps" I said to him with a smile on my face.

 

Keep your ideas a coming!

 

Donna

PS.. Eric, Hehe your 100% right! Sweet Talk always did work for me! lol

[DAW]

Some very creative and impressive work into this tailight thread. I'm seeking a nuts & bolts type solution that I can accomplish with speed snf reasonable cost. For a 240Z without a lot of body kit mods, i.e., with stock chrome bumpers I like the stock 240Z tailights, with Euro amber turn lenses. However, I don't like the 280Z lenses and would prefer a customized tailight panel instead. I've retro fit '72 bumpers onto my 280Z and I want to keep some sort of chrome trim on the panel to make it look period-appropriate with the bumpers.

 

Presently I'm fitting early '80s Toyota (Corona, I think) tailights. The chrome trim ring looks a lot like a '67-'68 Camaro in shape & size and the lenses are long horizontal, amber top/red bottom. I'm pretty sure this will look much better than stock 280Z...but at a JY yesterday I found a '70 Cougar with intact horizontal uni-tailight ($50). I searched this forum because I think I've seen mention of this swap, but nothing. Does the tailight have to be narrowed? (I didn't have a tape measure but it appears to be in the ballpark). Any info? DAW

[Sleek Z]

DAW,

 

I am with you on several of your comments. As much as I am interested in custom tail light swaps and construction, I do like the basic 240Z design in many ways. Mostly it is the dated surround panels and expense of new lights that that my mind thinking in other directions.

 

It seems to me that on a relatively stock looking Hybrid Z with original factory chrome and stainless steel trim intact, seeking a tail light mod with matching chrome trim makes a lot of sense, whether it be a part of another model's stock design or as part of a custom design. I agree with you that in some cases it is a very important accent that has to be there to make a new solution look finished.

 

Also, I liked the ideas of several customizers at the MSA show this year that purposely used the stock tail light cut out and sheet metal mounting surface as a place to insert their own designs without cutting into the body. Good example is below.

 

 

Link to large photo is at http://www.zparts.com/events/wcn2002/promo/image/DCP_3320.html It will show you a lot of detail of the owner's ideas and economical solution to give many practical inspiration. If you have not seen this photo up close, you owe to yourself to check it out closely. Check with Pete Paraska also. I believe he tailked to the owner about what the guy did.

 

I'd like to see a photo of the Toyota tail light idea you are working and place it in my Tail Light Showcase section if you wouldn't mind sending it to me.

 

 

Lastly, there is no way that I can find the time to display all the what-if design ideas and tail light photos that I have been accumulating lately, but today I published a new page called PHOTO STUDIES of NON- Z CAR TAIL LIGHTS and LENSES within the Tail Light Showcase section at ZPARTS.COM for the purpose of publishing select photos of interesting tail lights, lens and lighting experiments that I have been doodling with this past week. The page may seem to have some rather extreme or odd choices, but with time I hope to clarify my design reasoning as relates to the custom tail light topic. For now there's just 2 samples to see withing the format I have in mind. Suggestions and comments welcome.

[pparaska]

Yes, I talked to the owner/builder of the Red 240Z with the round tail lights. Very nice guy.

 

He had put the car together, paid for the paint and had old ugly tailights that he didn't want to put on the (very nice!) Z. He was then out of money. So he went to the store and bought trailer lights, and I think aftermarket Honda type clear side marker lights for backup lights. He made black cylinders out of some kind of plastic pipe that he put on before the lights so that the lense and cylinder diameter were the same. Very inexpensive setup. Behind all this is a tight hole pattern preforated metal.

 

BTW, I like the non-chrome look, that's why I had all the stainless on the exterior trim powdercoated semi flat black. I was thinking about painting the chrome trim that goes across the center of the Euro tail lights on my car black, but I've decided that that little bit of chrome looks fine. For me anyway.

 

Actually, I think it's tought to beat the look of the 240Z tail light. But I do think that painting the trim panel around the lights the same color as the car makes it look alot better.

 

JMO,

[BayAreaZT]

I was messing around at lunch and came up with this

 

 

Its not to scale. I just kind of eyeballed the proportions.

[Sleek Z]

Thanks Pete, for filling in that bit of info on the guy. In many other ways, that guy had a great looking Z with some subtle, but unusual creative touches, such as the custom red "Z" logo on his fenders. I've got more photos of the car that I may publish later.

 

To clarify my thoughts a bit more regarding chrome trim or not, like you say, the "black out" look can be quite attractive on a Z car. Personally, I usually like the non emblem and/or removal of dated bright trim work. on most HybridZ cars, but much depends upon the color of the car and/or whether ALL bright trim is removed or not. What is disturbing to me is when only select pieces are removed while others are left intact as a rather confusing custom statement.

 

IMO, the design changes have to be consistent from front to rear with either bright trim, very little or none.

 

What I think is a bit tricky to pull off is a very dark car with no bright trim nor pin stripping along curves and bottom edges of car. Very easy to end up with too much understatement. In my area there is an all black Tomahawk car with no bright trim that looks noticably non exciting whereas there is a near identical one owned by the designer, Rory Bateman, that has very subtle, almost invisible dark red pinstripping along the bottom, along key curves and along a few blacked out trim pieces and the effect really makes the car stand out even though many at shows do not even remember seeing the dark red pinstripping on the car!

 

Anyway, I was thinking along similar lines when I mentioned the inportance of chrome accent trim being desirable as a part of a finished tail light design, but I suggested that approach specifically for cars that have the majority of bright trim still attached to them. A "black out" design does not especially need that look unless it si deemed attractive similar to what you alluded to.

[Guest Anonymous]

DAW, I mentioned the Cougar sequential tail lights, however the girl I am trying to get them from has gone out of town. As soon as she gets back I'll give you some dimensions.

[blueovalz]

I've finally reached a point of personal satisfaction reference the rear of my Z. Only because of the prompting ,or better yet, prodding, from Eric (Sleek Z) and other members of this forum have I decided to complete what I started over 12 years ago, and that was to finally do SOMETHING about the rear of the car. It's not finished yet, but this will be pretty much the final design. A small set of vents or bisected grill between the exhaust rings will probably be the final touch. Never would have happened without this thread.

[CruxGNZ]

WOW! I LOVE IT!! Damn, Terry, that's just too cool. I agree some vents would be a nice touch, otherwise it would look like it has a big butt IMO, unless you are painting that rear piece a different color than the rest of the car, then it would be fine without, but that's just me. Those exaust rings are pretty neat. Just saw the pictures of the build up... man you have talent! Just out of curiosity, are you worried at all about the amount of air that will be forced into that rear undertray and it ripping off?

 

Oh, by the way

 

!M!

[blueovalz]

With the front dam so low, and such a "dirty" underside, along with the mufflers and cell, and differential plate, I don't think it's going to see much air pressure against it, even at speed.

[Guest Frank280z]

Terry,

Your car is soooo overwhelming... You continue to amaze me with your craftsmanship!!!

[Cruez]

Nice stuff Terry... you make it look easy to do fiberglass work...

[Russ]

Originally posted by Nemeziz:

I like all of your sugestions.

 

How about something like this

 

I'm sorry if anyone has already said but I don't have time to read this entire thread.

 

That car is a UK Ford Ka or Ka2 or Ka3. Tiny little crappy super micro car thing. The quad conversions are quite big over here.

 

Another example