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Have made a start. The rear unit I sourced looked as though it had been in the breakers yard for years - reflector lens falling off the plastic case, centre frame with water and dead leaves etc. Lens came off easily enough but the effort then went in to breaking off small bits of bonded lens still on the frame. Side rubbers perished in the open quite a bit so careful cleaning of those. Light grilles a little warped so hoping to steam/heat some of the slats to return back in to original shape. Next up, cleaning the back frame and the light back reflectors very carefully. All quite therapeutic
I saw this in person the other day on Bills car. Very nicely done. I was on the fence having only seen pics here, but having now seen it in person, i was impressed. Good job!
Excuse the off-hand endorsement...i don't have one and am not affiliated. But was genuinely happy with the design and finish quality.
I now have a small dilemma on my hands; the small square plastic grilles that go over the fog/reverse lens have a few warped slats, now I've seen a couple of rears without these grilles in place it looks pretty good. Might try to to straighten the grilles but not too bothered if it doesn't work out. Also hoping exterior clear silicone sealant from a big tube I have works well sealing the lens in. I did also do some light sanding to the centre blank panel as a key for the satin black paint I have applied - suppose you could have any color you like in there..
Has anyone looked at just making a simple mount and using other tail lights rather than destroy a viable center section??
Have ordered, and plan to manufacture a simple mount and use alternate tail lights - so will post what I do. (If satisfied with results).
I’m close to the halfway point in the project. I have more repair work to do on the base panel since I somehow overlooked that on eBay in my excitement to buy it. At least it’s not visible with the engine lid closed at least.
All done. Rather fiddly in my case as the side rubber trim pieces were rather perished and needed dressing up to make good. The top rubber lid-to-reflector seal contracted in length by at least an inch and no amount of stretching over a period of a few days helped. Shrinkage being just a factor of a 28 year old rubber I guess. So, this meant using a strong adhesive and part glue while stretching and holding in place with gaffer tape, let the glue cure then repeat again. 2 days later and all good.
Great work! That top seal is a pretty unique extrusion. I wasn't able to find a suitable aftermarket replacement for it. I'm sure there is a supplier somewhere who does that for Porsche. The cost is not yet astronomical thou and it can be easily replaced later. I had stretched and glued mine close to 3 years ago and only now it started to show some shrinkage again. I am hoping to find a local distributor of rubber extrusions with a large sample set to find suitable aftermarket replacements for all 4 rubber pieces, they will likely not be the exact shape, but maybe close enough.
All three rubber seals in the UK would set you back for @ £80 plus VAT. You're right though, the top seal doesn't need to be the exact same profile. The main thing is that it makes a seal between the closed engine cover and the reflector unit. The tired looking rear reflector I used did not have the seal at the bottom - think this was for later rear units. Good luck sourcing custom rubber extruders (or at least something similar).
Hi, I have received several emails asking about the DIY kit.
Please reply to this thread if you are interested. If there is at least 10 people interested I will start another batch.
03-25-2019, 08:34 AM
At least it’s not visible with the engine lid closed at least.
