Tore apart my 97 tail lights today.. modified them a bit- pics inside :)
Tore apart my 97 tail lights today.. modified them a bit- pics inside :)
As the title says, I had the urge to take apart my tail lights today. I've always loved the 1997+ tail lights, but a couple things really bothered me about them. First off, I couldn't stand the yellowish colored reverse light box- to me, that looked hideous. Second, I didn't like the orange piece- I always wanted to have it all red, and no orange.
In order to do this, I needed to separate all the pieces of the tail light. Notice the orange plastic piece in the tail light, and the yellowish colored reverse light plastic piece too- those were the main areas of concern. I also decided to leave out the reflector.. it ended up looking much better removed. Also, notice the pink colored tint on the tai light cover. I'm not a big fan of that.. but oh well- I guess I can live with that. Now for the pictures:
Here are some pics of the tail lights taken apart. This is before I modified them in any way.
In order to do this, I needed to separate all the pieces of the tail light. Notice the orange plastic piece in the tail light, and the yellowish colored reverse light plastic piece too- those were the main areas of concern. I also decided to leave out the reflector.. it ended up looking much better removed. Also, notice the pink colored tint on the tai light cover. I'm not a big fan of that.. but oh well- I guess I can live with that. Now for the pictures:
Here are some pics of the tail lights taken apart. This is before I modified them in any way.
Next, I got rid of the orange in the tail light. It’s now all red, and was literally a PERFECT match with the rest of the tail light. I also modified the reverse light box thing a bit too- I kinda smoked it and added a little silver. Again, I couldn’t stand the yellowish tint, so I thought the black/silver color would flow well with the lights and with the rest of the car. Pictures of the modded tail light, still unassembled:
Now, some final pics of the tail lights completely assembled and installed on the car. Notice how the lights are all red now, and the faded yellow tinted look in the reverse light box is… gone. Now it’s got a smoked/silver tinted look to it 
I’m really pleased with how these tail lights turned out. It took a lot of time trying to persuade myself in taking apart these 97 tail lights, but it was well worth it in my opinion. I’ll try to take some better day shots, this way you guys could see how it looks in sunlight, at different angles, etc.
Let me know what you guys think. Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions would be great
.
-Allen
I’m really pleased with how these tail lights turned out. It took a lot of time trying to persuade myself in taking apart these 97 tail lights, but it was well worth it in my opinion. I’ll try to take some better day shots, this way you guys could see how it looks in sunlight, at different angles, etc.
Let me know what you guys think. Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions would be great
.-Allen
Lexus Champion
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,151
Likes: 1
From: Connecticut
Originally Posted by xknowonex
Looks good but its not a HUGE difference like upgrading from pre-97 tails to post-97 tails. How did u take it apart? Just use the oven?
Agreed... IMO mind you I think he just took a "NEAR" perfect tail and made it "PERFECT"..
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Lexus Champion
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,255
Likes: 2
From: Maryland
very impressive! im not surfe how it would look on any other color, but it looks amazing on black thats for sure. if you were to become a vendor, you may have a good future lined up for yourself.
