RedraifExtras's 1987 Pontiac Firebird on CarDomain

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TAILLIGHT MODS
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Here is what my taillights looked like from the factory.

Close up of a stock taillight

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PAINTED TAILIGHTS
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I noticed how dull the section had gotten b/w my taillights. I went to the dealer to see about a new one, way too much. The ones at the junkyards were not much better than mine. The body shops could not polish it out. It looked horrible. I was stumped. Then one day I saw a Firebird with just his tail lights painted to match the body. I decided to take it a step further and paint the whole section ($75). I got another one of the emblems ($25) that matched the ones mom had found years earlier. I placed it below the key lock. My opinion…not bad for $100.00. I think it looks even better than stock.

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MODDING THE TAILIGHTS
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Well, The car was about to go down to be repainted. My rear taillights had to come out to take off the rear bumper cover. So while they were out,

I decided to get rid of that nasty amber section and add some more lighting to the turn signal area.

Now I had added strobes a while back and I had noticed how GM had left the space b/w the reverse light and the turn signal blank, as well as the outer corners of the amber section. This is where I added the strobes. You can see one of the strobe holes in this pic.

The blank spaces always seemed odd to me, but it had never occurred to me to fix it, until now. I decided to not only to make the amber section red, but to lengthen the turn signal section.

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PAINTING THE LENSES
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I opted to use VHT Red anodize-like metal tint. (With polished or shiny metal it makes the item looked anodized.) It’s the only transparent red I could find that would not make the surface cloud up. When the paint dries it looks completely transparent, just like the red lens. Before the VHT, I was using Testors Candy apple red. The problem I found with the Testors was the fact that it dried a bit cloudy. It never became truly transparent like the VHT metal tint did. Duplicolor is making a metal tint as well. You might try theirs. I was really afraid to paint the outside though. I tried it on a test piece and it never came out right. It looked too textured, plus with my lights already being painted body color, there was more chance for disaster. Firebird light lenses are curved and I was afraid I would really mess them up by not getting the curved outline right.

Some want to spray it on the outside of the lens and think you can simply sand the orange peel away. The Testors paint. It’s really testy (no pun intended) I painted a bunch of my engine accessories with that over metallic silver, and finishing with Duplicolor clear. Anytime I went back to fix something, say a part that did not get an even coverage, or got a chip, or scratched....it was a nightmare. I would sand it down, usually through the clear to the candy. Then I would try to shoot over it again with the candy and the paint would crack really bad. I don't know why, but I would be very hesitant to sand the candy. I also found that if you paint a coat and wait to long before your 2nd or 3rd the same thing will happen.

Just totally follow the directions on the can. If they say apply the second coat w/in 15 min (not sure what it says) or wait 2 days before painting again, do it. Honestly, I will probably switch over to the VHT and Duplicolor and leave the Testors alone from now on. I don't think Testors ever meant for it to be used on cars that are exposed to the elements. The paint chips very easy.

So I had to spray the amber section from the back side. I taped up the other areas of the lens and prepped the surface with paint prep (grease and wax remover). Again I first tested it on a broken junkyard lens, to be sure it would work right. It did, so I proceeded to my lens.

I first had to separate the lens from the taillight case to gain access to the amber section to spray paint it red. I had to go really, really slow. On Firebird lights...The bottom has clips, so does the top. The top clips are the bigger pain because you can't see them to help you as you try to separate them. It is a bit confusing to explain and very nerve racking to do. I do not know if Camaro lights are the same as this.

I had to start by separating the bottom clips first. The taillight then pulls apart starting from the bottom. The sides are glued with some pliable sticky glue. It never hardens, just seals. Same stuff they use on the deck lids to seal the glass to it.

You open the bottom slowly and pivot it out at the top clip. The trick to the upper clips was getting the light to open in a "V" (wide at the bottom... top still closed) The top clip should just rotate out when you get it just right, but time has warped these things and they never work that simply. The top has the clips that actually rotate out as the bottom gets further apart. There are 3 clips in the top, so loosing one was no big deal. I ended up breaking one of them on both lights. The middle one, but the lights went back together and are holding fine.

Honestly, I got a busted one from a yard for free and looked at how it was put together, so I would know what clips to separate and how. This is the best way. It's what I recommend. That way you can see how hard it is for yourself and decide if you want to risk it. Just be very gentle and be prepared for it not to easy.

I had to spray very light coats, so as to not run the red. The back of the lens is textured to diffuse light. This same texture makes it very easy to run paint. So I sprayed light layers till I felt the once amber section now matched the red lens for the brakes.

For comparison…this was how it glowed stock & this is how it looks w/o light passing thru

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LENGTHENING THE TURNSIGNAL
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Now it was on to the tedious stuff.
Once I looked in the taillight I noticed partitions in the sections I was adding. I had to do away with them or still have blank spaces.

So I attacked the 2 partitions with the Dremel and flushed them with the light's backing. I then shot the inside of the light casing with some chrome spray paint to cover the now showing black plastic. Now I let every thing dry.

Next came the cutting out of the back of the casing to hold the light bulb socket. On an earlier trip to the junkyard, I had gotten some spare taillight wiring from a junked Firebird. I sifted through my spares and found some single filament light sockets then were low profile like the upper brake lights. I cut their mounting pattern into the back of the light casing in the section b/w the reverse light and old signal. I went little by little till the sock fit right in.

I turned it just enough to lock it and it stayed.

To reseal the taillights, I did nothing. The stuff the factory sealed mine with was still pliable, so I left it alone and just put it back together.

I completed the painting and put everything back together in a day and a half, so I did not give it any time to dry out or get dirty. I was too worried it would not go back if I added more stuff. Not to mention the mess I could have made. I got lucky; it does not seem to leak at all.

From there I went to the car and tapped the factory wires on the existing turn signal socket wiring and attached the wires for the new bulbs.

Now on to the corner. At first I thought it would light by just lowering the barrier b/w it and the light next to it, but this would not work. It was still unlit.

So I had to dig up some spare single filament sockets like the ones used in the side turn signals. I tapped the stock signal's wires for this socket as well. Pics of the finished wiring.