Early Chim' lights

[ianm67]

What is the original 'donor' vehicle.....?? Are they from the MK3 Fiesta? Is there any stopping me replacing them for a pair of after market equivilents, I presume the mounting method / points etc is the same....??

Cheers,

IanM

[That Daddy]

Yes

[MADMAX2]

Mine were put in/taken out/put in by previous bodgers so i replaced them with aftermarket ones as in my pic on profile they look ok..


cheers

[ianm67]

Hello MadMax,

Thanks for the info'. The ones on your car look nice. I've seen some that are similar but have black surrounds that've taken my fancy. Are they a straight forward fit....?

Cheers,

IanM

[tom_loughlin]

Here are mine, very simple job. The worst bit is making the silicone neat after you've fixed the clusters in place.
Looks better than the originals to me - mine were so faded.


Cheers

Tom

[ianm67]

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the picture, the car looks lovely.... Can you give me a quick overview of whats involved? I thought that the lights were fitted from the boot? What is the silicone sealant used for?

Many thanks in advance,

IanM

[tom_loughlin]

Cheers, I think it lifts the whole look of the rear end.
Erm, as for the work involved, here is the order I did things:
remove carpet lamp covers in boot (velcro and screw holding spare wheel hook) and unclip wires
gently lever off the rear clear lenses - flathead screwdriver gently!
unscrew the light clusters from inside the boot - i think each has 3 self tappers
press out the two lenses from outside in, splitting the silicone sealant
then position your new lights and glue (no more nails is what i used)
silicone in to seal (I sprayed the inside of the housing matt black again to look better)
then re-spray the black edging on the edges of the clearish lens covers (~5coats of matt primer)
then glue lens covers (again, no more nails)
re-seal lens covers with silicone and leave to dry

One tip when working with silicone, don't put too much on, and when you've laid a bead, flatten it with your finger (after dipping it in a weak mix of warm water and fairy liquid - that gets a shiny good finish) and leave to dry before rolling off the residue.

I have probably made it sound worse than it is. It took me a week about 1hour a night, most of the time was waiting for glue/paint/silicone to dry, but it isnt a bad job to do.

Next stop for mine is gearbox reconditioning, which will be more involved.

All the best, and if you want more details, drop me a line.

Tom

[MADMAX2]

I used clear no more nails got position spot on sealed and wedged them overnight then put a neat seal all round the light easy job!! only reason i went for the silver look lights was it goes with the colour of the car better Black looks as good!!!





cheers


Ian

[ianm67]

Ian,

So I definately have to remove the light covers from the back of the car to do this then? I was hoping to leave them in situ if at all possible..... What the best way to remove them?

Thanks,

IanM

[V8 Animal]

ianm67 said:

Ian,

So I definately have to remove the light covers from the back of the car to do this then? I was hoping to leave them in situ if at all possible..... What the best way to remove them?

Thanks,

IanM

I used a craft knife just don't slip

[bigdods]

Pretty much everything you need to know here

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...