Decided to go for a new wagon tail light look

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gt2.5turbo
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Decided to go for a new wagon tail light look

Post by gt2.5turbo »

Well today i decided that i no longer like the orange insert in my tailights so, i got rid of them. I am a fan of the JDM red and white rear tail lights that come on some of the jdm subaru models and decided to try and copy it. It was fairly simple and can be done in about an hour or two.


Removing the tail lights was pretty simple its just two nuts that need to be removed and the electrical connector. To get it out i found that hammering on the studs alittle and having someone pull from the outside works pretty well.
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After I removed the bulbs and unscrewed the connector from the tailight itself I preheated the oven to 200 degrees and covered the rack that i was placing the lights on, as well as the rack above the lights, with foil. The foil was to keep the plastic from being directly exposed to heat so the plastic didnt melt (which is what happened to my test tail light). I checked on them every 15 mins or so to make sure that everything was looking alright.
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It took about 1 hour for them to heat up enough to be pulled apart. Once i was able to pull them apart i just opened them up pulled out the orange piece then closed them back up and put them in the oven for another 5 mins to let the sealant heat back up again so it seals properly and that was that...
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I personally really like how the turned out.. i replaced the white bulb with an orange one so that it would look like it was a legal orange ticker and yeah.
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here is a few shots of them on the car:

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The Scooby
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Post by The Scooby »

pretty slick. looks good, but was lazy when i did my wagon, i just went to a hobby sop and got some candy apple red paid for a model and painted the brake lights and turn signals with a few coats, they all light up red except the reverse's
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subawhatsubawho
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Post by subawhatsubawho »

I know what I'm doing next weekend!
1991 Legacy BJ L 5MT AWD 189K Paid $100 STOLEN 2/13/06
magicmike
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Post by magicmike »

0 to rice in 2 hours or less lol, just kidding man looks good!
-Mike

2011 Infiniti G37x Sedan - Current
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LaureltheQueen
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Post by LaureltheQueen »

iirc, someone did this about 2 years ago as well, Quickdrive maybe?


I just painted mine, I prefer a darker look with the taillights, and the taillight plastic now matches the piece that runs across the tailgate a little better as well.
http://69.73.145.197/laurel/2004%20Apri ... 20copy.jpg
http://69.73.145.197/laurel/2004%20Apri ... C00977.JPG


They look great, and kudos on having a turbo wagon.
Laurel Tuning Stage 15
92 Touring Wagon 5MT 16G
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Legacy777
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Post by Legacy777 »

They look good man!!
Josh

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MPtyza
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Post by MPtyza »

Looks great. If I had a wagon, I'd be doing the same.

When I took the amber insert out of my sedan tails, I also sprayed the amber bulbs I put in with silver paint, and it helps them blend in with the white when they're not illuminated.
-Mike

White 1988 XT6 FWD 5MT (#2) 229k
Rio Red 1991 Legacy SS 180k :( - Dead
eastbaysubaru
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Post by eastbaysubaru »

Nice. I was always curious if that'd work. I'll have to make some time in the next few weeks to tackle that 'lil project.

-Brian
'04 PSM FXT
subawhatsubawho
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Post by subawhatsubawho »

Pretty soon all BJ owners will have JDM (fake) tail lights.
1991 Legacy BJ L 5MT AWD 189K Paid $100 STOLEN 2/13/06
gt2.5turbo
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Post by gt2.5turbo »

Im just not a fan of the amber lenses on my car thats why i put clear sidemarkers and took out the amber in the tails.. just a personal perference really. Yeah looks like it might catch on
93 White Legacy Turbo Wagon: For Sale-ish
93 White Turbo Sedan: soon with a little more umf
91, funky brown purple gray color, legacy L Wagon: the "its so cheap i cant not pass it up" purchase to get me around when the others are down
Manarius
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Post by Manarius »

I'd do it to my car if I could find amber colored bulbs to replace them with. Then I'd be a cleared out BC :P
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gt2.5turbo
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Post by gt2.5turbo »

they were pretty easy for me to find autozone had them i think they are 1165's
93 White Legacy Turbo Wagon: For Sale-ish
93 White Turbo Sedan: soon with a little more umf
91, funky brown purple gray color, legacy L Wagon: the "its so cheap i cant not pass it up" purchase to get me around when the others are down
MPtyza
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Post by MPtyza »

Hell, I got mine at Walmart I think
-Mike

White 1988 XT6 FWD 5MT (#2) 229k
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jake15
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Post by jake15 »

Manarius wrote:I'd do it to my car if I could find amber colored bulbs to replace them with. Then I'd be a cleared out BC :P
you dont even have to remove the sedan tails, and just go to a parts store like napa or w/e and pick up the amber bulbs. all you have to do on the sedan tails is take out the cover/light panel, and pull on the orange lens untill it comes out, it takes a while and some creative twisting of the orange piece, but you can do it with pliers and a screwdriver. i've done it on my 90 and i just did it to my '91 turbo :D

pic-
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**edit for better pic**
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JC
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Post by JC »

Just did mine, I really like the difference. Thanks for the inspiration man. :)

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?p=158908
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eph
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Post by eph »

yep, looks great... i'll be doin this very soon.
1991 Legacy L Wagon, FWD to AWD and Automatic to Manual Conversion... then AWD 5M/T N/A to 5M/T Turbo awd swap...
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mattyg41383
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Post by mattyg41383 »

I plan on doing this, looks nice. So to clarify... you bake them to warm the seal between the plastic lense and the base. Pull the lense off, take the yellow out, put lense back on.
-Matt
1993 Legacy SS - auto
1997 Impreza coupe
1986 XT - 14.5s @ 95mph
1990 Legacy wagon "the Red Dragon" -sold (300K miles and it lives on)
Binford
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Post by Binford »

I tried doing something similar with the taillight on my Ninja. It didn't work, and I ended up deforming the lens. Cost me about $30 for a replacement. It may have been a softer plastic, but be careful just the same. :wink:
'91 5MT SS-TD04, WRX TMIC, Bosal twin dump, Spec LW flywheel/pressure plate, FCD, Walbro fuel pump-RIP
'93 5MT N/A wagon, over 400,000 miles!-Gone, parts lived on
'94 Auto SS-vf24, WRX TMIC, Bosal twin dump, Meth kit coming soon!-Now RWD!
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