White side indicators for SE's

[stephan]

Hi,
I was thinking about changing the original orange side indicators of my Esprit SE MY 91. I saw, what Kato did at www.lotusespritworld.com/EMaintenance/sideindicators.html. He did a good job. But I'm not a fan of the oval ones and so I was searching for longish indicators like the originals.
I got one from MTW. They are from a BMW 3er MY 1997 and younger. If you are interested in what I had done and how it looks now, have a look at www.lotus-esprit-se.de/NeueSeiten/Tuning.html and www.lotus-esprit-se.de/NeueSeiten/Exterieur.html

Cheers
Stephan

[AZ88Turbo]

Hi Stephan,

I have been looking to do the same thing with my 88 Turbo but over here in the US we have different lights. In order to fit over the old holes they need to be at least 2" x 4", what are the dimentions on the BMW ones you fitted?

Thanks,

Mark

[cnh1990]

AZ88Turbo said:

Hi Stephan, I have been looking to do the same thing with my 88 Turbo but over here in the US we have different lights. In order to fit over the old holes they need to be at least 2" x 4", what are the dimentions on the BMW ones you fitted? Thanks, Mark

Do you have Euro side markers just ahead of the door on your 88?

I have the flush side markers on all 4 corners.

Calvin

[rob.e]

That's a nice job stephan. I think they look better than the oval ones (sorry kato). The SE is all about straight edges so those really suit the car.

cheers
Rob

[stephan]

Hi Mark,
the dimentions of the BMW ones are:
above 9 cm (ca. 3,55 inch), at the bottom 10 cm (ca. 3,95 inch), height 2 cm (ca. 0,75 inch). Hope ?my? inches are right.

Hi Rob,
thank you. But I can understand, if someone choose Katos way. It was not easy to me, cutting two "big" holes in my car. But after my "dremel" did the first work and I saw the result, it didn't hurt.

Cheers
Stephan

[superdave]

Hi there, I choose a different route and went for a long oval which covered my old indicator. On the body, all I had to do was to drill a bigger hole from 10mm to 20mm. This still allows me to reinstall the old indicators if some reason I should receive a sharp blow to my head.
As for the indicator, it was from motorworld for about £8.00 for the two. I had to cut the moulding off the rear and also slice the reflector. I then glued it back together do that the reflector sits inside the lens further. Finally I put some adhesive pads on and trimmed with sharp scissors or craft knife.
All in all I was very satisfied and when I go to meeting, get asked about them on a regular basis.


http://community.webshots.com/scrpts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=showMyPhoto&albumID=64654111&photoID=67109445&security=HxrtQJ

BTW Stephen, yours looks the biz and really suit the car.

Cheers,


Dave Walters

[stephan]

Hi Dave,
I like what you did. It is very good-looking.
Now I have to change the indicators in the front bumpers like you demonstrated on Katos site. I be anxious to know how the indicators can be cut to pieces.

Cheers
Stephan

[superdave]

stephan said:

Hi Dave, I like what you did. It is very good-looking. Now I have to change the indicators in the front bumpers like you demonstrated on Katos site. I be anxious to know how the indicators can be cut to pieces. Cheers Stephan

Sounds very odd I know but yes I just used a junior hacksaw and cut it in half. There's a groove on the indicator right where you should cut it so it's easier. Just lightly sand the saw cut by putting the sand paper on a flat surface (table) ad rubbing the indicator so you know it's sanding flat. Finally the big trick is to use FLEXIBLE superglue. The reason is because the lens where you've just cut locates onto a black male receiver on the car. Because you've just put a hacksaw through it, it's taken a 1mm off the overall size of the lens and won't relocate back onto the car without breaking the two glued pieces. If you use flexible superglue, it's thick enough to apply a bead so you can make the 1mm back and it's flexible enough not to break.
I put orange bulbs in but you can get silver bulbs that light orange and make the lens look even whiter.
Total cost less then £35 including glue.

Hope this helps,



Dave Walters