1st Generation F.A.Q.'s Post Common Issues, Installtions, Repairs and more pertaining to 1st Gen RX-7's.

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Old 01-07-2003 | 11:03 PM
  #1  
Racer X's Avatar
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I might do this for spring and see how I like it....



The taillights are made up of two main pieces - the lens and the plastic housing. In order to make the taillights clear you need to separate the two.



First thing to do is completely remove the two taillights. On one taillight it was easy for me because the whole lens actually fell off in the car wash. The

other taillight wasn't too bad. The glue that holds the lens to the housing is old and dried up. I pried the two pieces apart very gently.



I remember using a screwdriver from the backside of the assembly and prying it between the two. You have to be careful because you can either break the lens or you can scratch the inside of the lens (which shows up on the outside). There is probably a

better way, but I don't know of it.



Once you have the two apart you can see that there are 3 reflectors/filters inside - yellow (turn signal), red (brake light), and clear (reverse light). I removed these three reflectors completely.



I cleaned up my lights and re-assembled them without the reflectors. I used black silicone RTV to glue and clamps to hold the pieces together and let it

dry overnight.



Since you have removed the color reflectors from the lights you will need to buy red brake bulbs and yellow turn signal bulbs. I got mine from carparts.com. I also removed the rubber trim that goes around the taillights and the center panel. I think it looks better without it.



I haven't had any water leakage problems or exhaust fume problems, so I am guessing that the rubber is just for aesthetics and for a backup water/exhaust fume seal.



Old 01-07-2003 | 11:14 PM
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That is a different look indeed. Its the cheap mans way to make altezza style lights. I might give it a try on mine, but I have to say, that on most cars with the clear lights, it looks good only on an altezza.
Old 01-11-2003 | 03:59 AM
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i did the same on my 83 and i love it, everyone else loves them too, yours look great man.
Old 01-11-2003 | 10:13 AM
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Hey Luis;

Great! Now you started me on another project!!!!

Since I plan on having my 84GSL painted Black this spring, I'm going to do this Do-Wa-Did-Dee to mine also.

You don't see many RX's here in Oregon. And I have never seen this CoooL set-up before.

Thanks for the detailed info.

Steve

sgieldon
Old 01-11-2003 | 10:19 AM
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i think it looks horrible
Old 01-11-2003 | 09:34 PM
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Heres another tailight style to consider.J-spec roundies. I think these look good too.I might go clear tho.
Old 01-12-2003 | 01:46 AM
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haha, ummm my glue on my lights was better than I thought and when I gently pried them apart, they went snap, crackle and pop and now I have lots of broken bits of plastic.

So now I'm gonna need newbies. I might try using heat next time to melt the glue. :redface:
Old 01-17-2003 | 04:33 PM
  #8  
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Originally Posted by Racer X' date='Jan 11 2003, 09:34 PM
Heres another tailight style to consider.J-spec roundies. I think these look good too.I might go clear tho.
with those it migh be a good idea to paint the outside with smoke tail light paint so it looks like the whole back is one piece.
Old 03-17-2003 | 05:38 PM
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I had those on my car a few months ago, but now i have white ones (made myself some white lense to replace the colored ones. It looks 100% cleaner, and goes with my clear corner and side lenses perfectly.



One of these days i'll take some pics for you guys.





Peace

~Geoff
Old 03-18-2003 | 02:32 AM
  #10  
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Cool.everything lense wise is kept to a minimum.No sidemarkers here.I want some aussie signal lights tho.Those built in driving lights are cool.



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