Shaving tailights...

[scion_xb_guy_05]

has anyone done this yet... successfully... if so howd yuo do it... what did you use... i am debating doing it again but i need to do it a different way!

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j51/marcsingrocks/DSCF0817.jpg

i like this look rather than putting the stocks back in... but i needa know quick and i dont have the cash to spend on the grant customs filler plates... $150....

[Killermethod]

you can try bruceb from Ct. he was planning on doing that ! hard part is getting in touch with him however cause he works like mad hours !!!

[_Keith_]

To not crack the fillers need to be steal and welded in.... I think the filler plates if they are shaped perfect may be the only and best way to go for the buck.

[_Keith_]

Just out of couriousness... are you gonna mold the widebody in and change the lines on it so it flows more with the stock lines and the car?

[ifeldwn02]

wow i dont think i could go as shaved as that one

[scion_xb_guy_05]

wow i dont think i could go as shaved as that one

I went as far as shaving my rear doors and windows and even my rain gutter on my roof! hahaha so this isnt a big deal...


Just out of couriousness... are you gonna mold the widebody in and change the lines on it so it flows more with the stock lines and the car?

yeah it is at the body shop right now in orlando... i am having it molded in and the vents closed up but i wanna keep that 90 degree angle though to keep the boxiness!

[scion_xb_guy_05]

To not crack the fillers need to be steal and welded in.... I think the filler plates if they are shaped perfect may be the only and best way to go for the buck.

see in that picture we had screwed the tail lights (stock ones) into the car with 10 screws a piece and then fiberglass them in and it worked out perfect... until i got the wide body kit and had to literally RIP off my rear bumper... then they cracked... but i dont know....

[Peej]

has anyone done this yet... successfully... if so howd yuo do it... what did you use... i am debating doing it again but i need to do it a different way!

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j51/marcsingrocks/DSCF0817.jpg

i like this look rather than putting the stocks back in... but i needa know quick and i dont have the cash to spend on the grant customs filler plates... $150....

I've been wanting to make mine into a panel wagon pretty much since I got it. How did you go about shaving the doors and back windows?

[_Keith_]

see in that picture we had screwed the tail lights (stock ones) into the car with 10 screws a piece and then fiberglass them in and it worked out perfect... until i got the wide body kit and had to literally RIP off my rear bumper... then they cracked... but i dont know....


Yea chances are that it will just crack again thats why I said best way would be to weld a plate in...I mean if you got a palce to bend a piece of plate form it yourself and go from there...

[scion_xb_guy_05]

Yea chances are that it will just crack again thats why I said best way would be to weld a plate in...I mean if you got a palce to bend a piece of plate form it yourself and go from there...

you have a good point there... i could probably find someone around here... aight thanks a lot and i will keep everyone posted obviously with everything!

[_Keith_]

you have a good point there... i could probably find someone around here... aight thanks a lot and i will keep everyone posted obviously with everything!

Even a piece of sheet metal... just wouldnt go to thin its somthing yo want to act as a strong point and not a stress point once welded.

[ROFL Box]

is not going to post pics, is not going to post pics, is not going to post pics...

marc... i think that what chris did with the caddy peice will work... but yeah... just shape a peice of sheetmetal with the stockers

[um_lunchbox]

Why do I have to be the voice of reason ...... LOL

Guys ... this is not a mod that should be attempted by the average shade tree mechanic ... Again, alot of us base our experiences on what we have seen or those that have done this before ...

To do this mod properly you have to make a metal plate to cover the hole, in the shape of our old tail lights. May sound easy, but take a look at the shape of a tail light some time. They are not exactly flat nor do they have a single curved edge. Next, if you don't reinforce the metal behind it with some kind of bracing it will flex to the touch because no doubt you will use very thin metal. If you plan to mount a different tail light to it, you will definately need to make a seperate bucket to hold the new tailight then weld the outerplate to it ..

Don't get me wrong there are plenty of short cuts and easy ways of doing this, but then I will be the first to point and laugh and tell you that you have just ruined your truck. On a scale from 1-10 on the shave scale this is a 7 and should only be attempted by skilled welders and metal shapers ..

And if you are thinking of just using fiberglass and Bondo consider this. They are meant as fillers not bonding agents ... cure rates heat dissapation rates flex rates are all different between metal and bondo / fiberglass. While it may look good today I guarantee you it will crack in the future as some of our members have already learned.

Don't consider this a discouragement, just educate yourselves before you attempt a modification that can ruin your one and only means of transportation. I didn't learn by reading I learned by breaking stuff ..

[scion_xb_guy_05]

well guys i am putting stock lights back in! after that comment! hahahaha thanks a lot man when we were trying to do it we were like wow this shouldnt be THIS hard... but after a day and a half or brainstorming we decided to go with the stock lights for now... but in the future watch out!

[um_lunchbox]

I'll post my how to when we decide to take the truck down for the tails, that way you will see how much work actually has to go into a project like that ...

[Killermethod]

Dude i'll trade you rims those spokes look tight!

[scion_xb_guy_05]

Dude i'll trade you rims those spokes look tight!


I already traded... but i am waiting for my work rims to be made in Japan!!! lol

[NOR*TEX]

I gotta agree and disagree wit um lunchbox on this one. As a metalurgist and motorcycle fabricator i do a lot of metal work and yes my experience differs from urs. but i just want to help you out if ur really interested in making metal fillers.

[scion_xb_guy_05]

I gotta agree and disagree wit um lunchbox on this one. As a metalurgist and motorcycle fabricator i do a lot of metal work and yes my experience differs from urs. but i just want to help you out if ur really interested in making metal fillers.

i am up for ideas... but i dont know i am going to need to do something fast because we need to be done with this by NOPI!!!!

[ROFL Box]

Dude i'll trade you rims those spokes look tight!


I already traded... but i am waiting for my work rims to be made in Japan!!! lol

i wonder where they are...

if you want em shoot me a pm, i was gonna sell em...

[_Keith_]

Your right its not to easy to bend metal... But more metal shops can do the shape for you in no time.

We have a press here... we bend metal all day. you will be doing this with thin metal so for that part it is easier...

I dont think you have to brace it really since you will be welding it in fully.

Its just like when I shaved the hatch and put the filler plate in for the plate...

[um_lunchbox]

I gotta agree and disagree wit um lunchbox on this one. As a metalurgist and motorcycle fabricator i do a lot of metal work and yes my experience differs from urs. but i just want to help you out if ur really interested in making metal fillers.


Sweet we share a skillset, it just so hard to explain how Fiberglass / Bondo have different expansion and contraction rates compared to metal. And while stress is usually the first to crack bondo metal seams, eventually weather changes will tear apart a custom job if not done right.

I would rather you guys pay a premium to some one like NORTEX, knowing the job is being done right than having to do it twice or three times and paying more for it in the long run ...

Believe me you DO NOT want to start refering to your car as VER 2.0, 3.0 ETC !! LOL

[ROFL Box]

So your saying that i shouldnt use the paper machae that i made for this... damnit...



Believe me you DO NOT want to start refering to your car as VER 2.0, 3.0 ETC !! LOL

LOL

[NOR*TEX]

Thats bout right lunchbox.

the curves in the taillight make this an easier thing to suggest.
Have you ever made a buck or form?
if so and you have a spare set of tail lights you dont care about. then you can do this:

take some plywood make an open box bout as big as ur tail light( length:width:depth)

Then you can fill it wit plastic filler, kitty hair(a sort of bondo)

then cover ur tail light wit a release agent or wd-40 or foil.

then press ur tail light into the filler filled box and let sit till cured. then you can pull urtail light out and you have a form of it.

You can use 20 or 22 gauge metal to make ur new filler plate.

i know it sounds hard but its actually easier than doin it all by hand.
Trust me on that one.