Rear afterburner lights.
Discussion
I am sure this has been covered before so apologies in advance, but I am new to the world of Noble’s. After recently purchasing a 3R, I was back in Kerridges in the week picking up some bits. Being delivered on a lo-loader was a 3R with afterburner rear lights. Personally, I am not keen on the Ford rear units & the acrylic /PC lens’s on mine are showing their age a little. I had seen pictures of these afterburner panels on google & seem to remember the panels are not available anymore? As I mentioned in a previous thread, I am ‘in car design’ so have access to the Hella products used in the afterburner panels – well, the updated ones anyway. I am planning a front light upgrade as well, with Hella or BMAC units – all of which I can order through my trade accounts…I might even look at LED frt units as a direct replacement for the 90mm existing drivers.
Does anybody know if the panels are available – otherwise I will do my own I think? I could do them in GRP or CFRP as a supplier I use moulds both.
Thanks Marco
Please don’t all laugh at once…where the heck do I get my PM’s on here????? I have been away from PH for a while…the Ferrari years were spent on another Forum !! Also just updated my mail address so if they come straight to me, that PM (951) has gone array….could you please re-send.
Back to the main subject – I/we have a couple of options here. I could get an afterburner ‘old’ panel & graft the new LED Drivers into it…that’s not a problem. I can then get splash’s taken from them for new parts….all that is easy for me…might take a month or two?. What I was going to do was to also buy a pair of old ford units, take a splash from them, then some mouldings from the splash. Then I was going to graft the driver units into them….all no issue….I did this for my Tuscan look lights for my Griff after claying it up. I will try & upload an image !!!!
I think the Hella drivers are new since the old panel…& improved. It is possible to get the whole lighting requirement out of the 166mm + infill range including fog & reverse…I THINK ! The 3R I saw had separate reverse & Fog behind the UPR grille…not so good.
What is the collective thoughts…I can get all the lights required as a bulk order if people want that?
Marco…
Ps...cant seem to upload an image either...give me strength....
Back to the main subject – I/we have a couple of options here. I could get an afterburner ‘old’ panel & graft the new LED Drivers into it…that’s not a problem. I can then get splash’s taken from them for new parts….all that is easy for me…might take a month or two?. What I was going to do was to also buy a pair of old ford units, take a splash from them, then some mouldings from the splash. Then I was going to graft the driver units into them….all no issue….I did this for my Tuscan look lights for my Griff after claying it up. I will try & upload an image !!!!
I think the Hella drivers are new since the old panel…& improved. It is possible to get the whole lighting requirement out of the 166mm + infill range including fog & reverse…I THINK ! The 3R I saw had separate reverse & Fog behind the UPR grille…not so good.
What is the collective thoughts…I can get all the lights required as a bulk order if people want that?
Marco…
Ps...cant seem to upload an image either...give me strength....
Bernhund, when water vapour gets into a light it’s a pig to get rid of. You need to remove the driver & leave in your airing cupboard for a few days – not if its next to your shower!!! - you want warm dry air. Alternatively tape it over of your car registers, & leave it there with warm air onto the back – AC on. AC drys the air. On the back of the unit there will be a joint - lens to backplate – I heve not seen the back of these drivers. These are often vibration welded but you have a crack in that joint if there are no other cracks in the unit.– run some cyanoacrylate into the joint – Google 'ZAP' – get the pink crack following stuff. Alternatively, run some sikoflex around the joint but do it soon after you dry it out. Hope that helps !!
Marco
Looks like a lot of people have been there before me !! I was not planning on PC covers as the amount of work required to get a mould suitable for the clear lens is considerable.
The new driver units have an outside Dia. of 113mm - not sure this is compatable with the older units. If they are, has anybody got some old mouldings I could take a splash (mould) from?
I will post some images of the drivers. The larger outer rings are tail/stop available clear or red + reflector (red!). Centres are tail stop or indicator - clear LED or reflector (red) or traditional incandescent bulb - tail, stop, tail/stop, fog - all red lens OR drirection, reverse in clear/grey lens. There are chrome/black/silver outer bezels available as well.
So, with two large ring recess's in the moulding, you could choose what goes where & what colour it is !!
The new driver units have an outside Dia. of 113mm - not sure this is compatable with the older units. If they are, has anybody got some old mouldings I could take a splash (mould) from?
I will post some images of the drivers. The larger outer rings are tail/stop available clear or red + reflector (red!). Centres are tail stop or indicator - clear LED or reflector (red) or traditional incandescent bulb - tail, stop, tail/stop, fog - all red lens OR drirection, reverse in clear/grey lens. There are chrome/black/silver outer bezels available as well.
So, with two large ring recess's in the moulding, you could choose what goes where & what colour it is !!
Ok, this where I am.......I think !! The 113mm driver rings are bigger than the old drivers used in the previous Noble panels which were 98mm OD (I found them in the truck & motorhome catalogue). The new units are far better looking & have a better transition from inner to outer -Thus, I am going to make new lights all together I think. I will get some Mondeo units to take a splash from & go from there.
Hi,
Since I started this, I think I better summarise where I am and what the future holds for these lights as I am now doing the following..
As a automotive design consultant, I have access to a digital printer, CAD, scanning equipment etc. However, very few printers are large enough to make a light PNL in one piece, but I can get access to one. It is not the correct process though as has been correctly pointed out in the thread & scanning, CAD + cutting proto tools for the panels directly from Cad into Ureal is a £10k job. So, if I can find a pair of Mondeo lights (no success so far) I will use the surface from an existing lamp as a GRP splash. I plan to use the new round modular lamps form Hella (I have a trade Acc) which are larger than the old driver units used on these panels & thus I will create the panels by claying them up to start in the GRP PNL’s taken from the Mondeo units. I will then take a mould & make components.
Once I have the moulds I can make them in GRP, CFRP etc.
As has already been pointed out, volumes are so small that no manufacturer will lay down injection mould tooling for these lights + the moulding run would be vastly expensive. I commision these types of tool all the time & a suite of 4 cavities for an inner & outer panel for these would be £250-300K if bought in Asia I estimate.
Since I started this, I think I better summarise where I am and what the future holds for these lights as I am now doing the following..
As a automotive design consultant, I have access to a digital printer, CAD, scanning equipment etc. However, very few printers are large enough to make a light PNL in one piece, but I can get access to one. It is not the correct process though as has been correctly pointed out in the thread & scanning, CAD + cutting proto tools for the panels directly from Cad into Ureal is a £10k job. So, if I can find a pair of Mondeo lights (no success so far) I will use the surface from an existing lamp as a GRP splash. I plan to use the new round modular lamps form Hella (I have a trade Acc) which are larger than the old driver units used on these panels & thus I will create the panels by claying them up to start in the GRP PNL’s taken from the Mondeo units. I will then take a mould & make components.
Once I have the moulds I can make them in GRP, CFRP etc.
As has already been pointed out, volumes are so small that no manufacturer will lay down injection mould tooling for these lights + the moulding run would be vastly expensive. I commision these types of tool all the time & a suite of 4 cavities for an inner & outer panel for these would be £250-300K if bought in Asia I estimate.
Good morning.
Ok, as new kid on the block here, I am not going to tell everybody ‘how it really is’ but can I ask for a time-out for a minute.
These following items are the facts…….
1) I am going to undertake new rear lights for my 3R with proprietary LED driver units – I am meeting the company who supply them, & who I know well, latter this week. The units will be slightly different to the old ‘afterburner’ driver units.
2) Each unit will be a GRP or CFRP inner (mount) & outer skin – I am planning to take the skin over the clam to the grille to delete the soft facet (dent) in the clam which is there only as the Mondeo light dictated it.
3) Without forming a mutual appreciation society, please don’t get upset with Adrian – he is completely correct. However, let me clarify what might be the disconnect here in peoples minds. We are, as pointed out, talking about some GRP skins…following my hands on route will cost hundreds not thousands but I am only making the ‘support’ panel…not the actual LED’s or optics. As previously mentioned, I design components & complete body systems for major OEM’s & certain very low volume racing car companies in metallic & polymer materials….I also buy the tooling & a set of injection mould tools for a modern set of rear lights is £3-400K+ dependant on design/size/technology etc. Using a supplied set of LED driver units takes a lot of the pain & cost away from what I plan!!!
4) If at the end of my efforts, & it will take a few months, anybody wants a set of mouldings, that will not be a problem & I can supply the LEDs driver rings as well as I buy them in bulk anyway.
I am not trying to stop anybody else doing what they want to do. If we all clubbed together we could do it semi properly eg – I would laser scan the light unit & the surface (pocket) it sits into. We would construct CAD from the scan for the rear mounting box & fixings. My stylist would work up the design in Alias (studio software) & after establishing B surface design & detail, I would output the surface CAD to a CNC & cut the tools directly. The above will cost £10k +…. & that is for a GRP type set of mouldings. If we designed injection mouldings with optics, the design process alone would be £50-100k…that’s before we get to tools.
Hope that helps….
Marco
Ok, as new kid on the block here, I am not going to tell everybody ‘how it really is’ but can I ask for a time-out for a minute.
These following items are the facts…….
1) I am going to undertake new rear lights for my 3R with proprietary LED driver units – I am meeting the company who supply them, & who I know well, latter this week. The units will be slightly different to the old ‘afterburner’ driver units.
2) Each unit will be a GRP or CFRP inner (mount) & outer skin – I am planning to take the skin over the clam to the grille to delete the soft facet (dent) in the clam which is there only as the Mondeo light dictated it.
3) Without forming a mutual appreciation society, please don’t get upset with Adrian – he is completely correct. However, let me clarify what might be the disconnect here in peoples minds. We are, as pointed out, talking about some GRP skins…following my hands on route will cost hundreds not thousands but I am only making the ‘support’ panel…not the actual LED’s or optics. As previously mentioned, I design components & complete body systems for major OEM’s & certain very low volume racing car companies in metallic & polymer materials….I also buy the tooling & a set of injection mould tools for a modern set of rear lights is £3-400K+ dependant on design/size/technology etc. Using a supplied set of LED driver units takes a lot of the pain & cost away from what I plan!!!
4) If at the end of my efforts, & it will take a few months, anybody wants a set of mouldings, that will not be a problem & I can supply the LEDs driver rings as well as I buy them in bulk anyway.
I am not trying to stop anybody else doing what they want to do. If we all clubbed together we could do it semi properly eg – I would laser scan the light unit & the surface (pocket) it sits into. We would construct CAD from the scan for the rear mounting box & fixings. My stylist would work up the design in Alias (studio software) & after establishing B surface design & detail, I would output the surface CAD to a CNC & cut the tools directly. The above will cost £10k +…. & that is for a GRP type set of mouldings. If we designed injection mouldings with optics, the design process alone would be £50-100k…that’s before we get to tools.
Hope that helps….
Marco
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