I need to completely disassemble a pair of 85-90 Tailights.

I need to get the plastic outside off the black casing that its in, and get the black grid out, and... well.... disassemble it as far as it can be.

But i cant even separate the lense from the housing.

Anyone had them apart? Have any pictures, or at least instructions for me?

Thanks in advance....

 

never took my 85 trans ams off but on my 84 you have to take out all the little screw things that are hiding behind the plastic.. i'll grabe a picture to show you exact.. brb

 

ok behind these which i have circled.. so prety much you have to take apart the whole back of the car apart to get to it.. by the way there are also more on the other side but just showing you so you have an idea where they are. also don't mind the nasty *** carpet and the nice big ol rust spot you see on it.. reason for me getting an 85. =)

 

on this one there are 2 screws behind the circled area

 

I don't think the lenses come apart, I believe the lenses are fused together at the factory, you may be able to cut them apart with a dremel or something like that.

 

Then what happens if you replace the black grid part? You can buy it from classics industries, but there has to be a way to put it in....

BTTT for anyone else.

 

i was wondering the same thing cause i rinsed mine out with some water and now you can see the water marks from the outside.

 

I think if ya take off the 2 metal clip things on the bottom of it and the two plastic rivit type things at the top then it comes apart. Redraif did it to her 82 t/a's taillights check out her site for her 82 t/a. or ask her.

 

Yeah, after you get the taillight out of the car, remove the two spring clips from the bottom and pop off (usually break) the two plastic rivets off the top lip. Then gently separate the out lens from the taillight assembly (its glued together with silicone or something). The black grid, however, does not come off. My passenger side one was all cloudy and there is no way to fix it. I was however able to find a good set at a swap meet for real cheap and I polished them and they look good as new. I'd post pics for you, but my digital camera is really sh!tty.

Eric

 

redraif is doing this as we speak I think. She should have some good info for you.

 

Well, i saw on her webiste that she BROKE the grid off... which is fine for what im doing, because im trashing it anyway.

Thing is, i dont have a spare set of 85-90 lights to play with, just my old Formy lights.

I didnt see the clips everyones is talking about, just the plastic notches that i tried to unfasten, but i think i will have to break them.

Ill definetely try these methods though.

See the other thread too, im going to try vacuforming them at school if i have time this week.....

 

I never saw these "sprign clips," but maybe those are only on the TA lights, because i tried this with Formy lights. I dremeled off the rivited clips, and pryed them apart, just like you said. Yeah, there was sealant of some sort, so at least now i know how to get them back together, hehehehe.

Thanks for the info

 

Redraif did remove the grids from 85-90 TA lights, but the grid was already seperating. She used lights scrounged from the salvage yard that were otherwise good, but seperating a little. Even that was a little nerve racking. I'd experiment on junkyard lights first.

 

Yeah, ill have to get a set of 85-90 TA lights to play with... I just ripped apart my Formy lights cuz i have 85-90 TA lights on the car right now.

How exactly did she remove the grid, just pry it off?

Now that ive got the formy lens, i may just make a mold of it and reproduce new lenses, instead of trying to alter the old ones, but we'll see.....

 

They were kind of loose already, but yeah, she just pulled on them and broke them off. She was playing with an idea for a custom tailight. I may do a set myself, and paint a new grid pattern on them (like the 4th gens) for my 85 TA project.

 

Yeah... thats kind of what im working on. I love the layout of the 91-92 Tailights, but absolutety HATE the twp piece design. It looks awkward to me, maybe just because im used to three pieces.

So i started off thinking id reproduce the layout of the two piece, but in a normal three piece set of lights. Then i thought that while i was at it, id change up the layout a slight bit, to better accomodate exactly what id like it to look like.

My biggest deliema now is where to get the colored plastic inserts for the reflectors, and what translucent paint (if paint instead of plastic) do you use to color the clear lense?

I guess i have some methods and materials explorations to do this week....

 

Red VHT metal tint works great for painting the backside of clear or amber lenses...look at Redraif's taillights on her 87 TA, the amber part is now red.

 

Red VHT metal tint? Is that paint? And where do i get it, at Pep Boys?

Im either going to be painting clear acrylic or Vacuformed Plexi, but sounds like a good place as any to start.

Unfortunetely, i have to juggle this project with scool work, and my professor is sending us all to NYC for the weekend, so i may not get to work on this till i get back, but ill definetely go scout out some of that Metal Tint.......

 

Any dealer that sells VHT paints, inc most speed shops, should have it. Its a transparent red paint, sort of like a candy but it can be sprayed directly over a bare metal or plastic surface. Its good for simulating anodizing, or repainting scratched up AN fittings. I got mine from Barnett Performance in Atlanta (800-533-1320, ask for Cliff). Duplicolor recently came out with a similar product, available from AutoZone, but I haven't tried it yet.