smashed 328 drivers light

Verell, if and when you do replicate the driving light, please count me in for a left one.
I just can't get it anywhere ...

Thanks,

Rui

 

I'm still holding my breath. I may have a lead on the right. I'll ask for you to see if there may be a left available.

 

I'm starting to work on them. Hadn't taken a good look before & boy are these going to be the largest parts I've ever made!

Be warned, based on my experience with some other lenses, these are going to be pricey.

Big question:
Is making the clear lens sufficient, or is the housing/back also needed (a MUCH MUCH larger project)...

 

I would bet the clear lense is what most everybody needs. In my desperate days before I found a replacement I removed the glass from the housing with the intention of gluing in a home-made P.O.S. plexiglass replacement. I kept the old housing in case someone decided to make replacement lenses.

 

I would be interested in just the lenses. Mine aren't damaged but are matted and slightly pitted after 18 years. I would gladly "freshen up" the front appearance as I believe may many others.

 

I would likely buy a pair of lenses "just in case" assuming they turn out fairly decent and cost less than one arm and one leg for the pair.

 

Add me to the list of people who would be interested in a pair of lenses (as spares) when you have them available.

And, yes, I would imagine that just the lenses would be sufficient -- they're the part most likely to be damaged by an errant pebble, no? If the housing ends up damaged, there's likely a much larger problem.... with a dented bumper, bonnett, headlight, radiator, fender, etc....

 

As far as I'm concerned, just the lenses is ok. If the price is not too high, I might consider replacing my left one and buying a spare for the right side.

Please keep us posted!

Rui

 

Glad you were able to find a replacement, I think I will try some of the clear lens tape as any protection will help.

 

It's probably worth mentioning that most handy guys could make repairs to the housing with fiberglass because it's hidden and not clear.

 

I'm (sincerely) curious, what makes the items pricey? Is the mold made out of silicone rubber? Would the new lens be molded out of clear epoxy resin?

I may be interested as it sounds like a broken drives light seems to be an inevitable occurrence.

-F

 

I could definitely be interested in a pair - so I could take the originals off to keep them safe & just run with the plastic ones!

I.

 

Yes, the mold will be Dow Corning M2 Silicone, it runs $165/10lb kit.

I estimate I'll have about 12 to 14 hours labor and about $70 to $90 worth of silicone in making each mold & mold box. This cost will have to be amortized over the expected number of shippable lenses produced. A mold should be good for 20 to 30 pours, but a non-trivial number of these pours won't be shippable(see below).

There's also some chance that at least 1 of the molds will come out wrong & have to be redone for any of several reasons.

The lenses will be clear polyurethane. It's clearer, more UV resistant, is less brittle, & thus has more chip resistance than epoxy.

At a rough guess, each lens pour will require around $15 worth of polyurethane.

Each lens pour will take about 30 minuites to mix, vacuum degass the mix, then pour, & vacuum degass again. In theory, I have about 5 minuites working time to do all of this in. However, the larger the mass of the material, the faster the exothermic reaction builds up to the point that it goes exponential.

These lenses are about 5x the thickness and almost 3x the size of any lenses I've made before. Experience has been that every time something more than doubles, you get lots of experience (which is what you get when things don't work out the way you expected...)


Followed by a minimum of 3 hours for the initial pressure cure under 40 psi, then each lens will require an 8 hour bake to complete the cure. Thus each lens will tie up a pressure/vacuum changer, and my curing oven will only take 2 of them. Figure about another half-hour/pair for the curing baking, de-flashing, etc.

Based on my experience with some smaller lenses, between 50% to 75% of the first 8-10 lenses will be scrapped until I fine tune the mold filling, venting, & vacuum process.

After that I expect to scrap at least 1 in 3 lenses due to residual air bubbles & stray inclusions. Due to their large size & thickness, these lenses are much more likely to have bubbles that escape the vacuum de-airing & pressure curing, so the scrap rate could be higher.

The expected shippable production rate will be something like 1 to 3 pairs/week.

 

I also would have interest in a pair if the cost makes sense. Mine are very chipping due to higher mileage on the car. I'll wait to see the results. Thanks

Jeff

 

Pricing is relative, I think we're talking more than $250 and less than $500 for a pair. This is an educated guesstimate until I've made a few. Casting yield will be the determining factor.

 

The glass lenses are glued into a channel in the plastic body with a rubbery cement, probably RTV. I spent over 2 hours last night carefully working on 1 lens.

I gently removed all the cement between the outer edge of the lens & the side of the channel.

However, I haven't come up with anything that will slip into the groove under the lens & cut the film of cement that's holding the bottom of the lens in the groove.

I thought of using a piece of windshield removal wire, but the reflector inside the lens sticks up higher than the groove, so that doesn't seem to be a workable option.

ANY IDEAS???

I'm going to swing by the local hobby shop tonight to see if they've got something like a square eXacto blade with a 90 degre bend about 1/8" back from the tip. If not, I'll try machining a custom tool out of some HSS stock.

 

I was able to get the right lens through Continental Auto Sports (FCA Mag.)through Randy Rogers parts mgr. 888-455-0228. It was found in Tokyo. Now possibly one of the last lamps left at the price of $1100! Randy rocks!

There is a euro lamp out there in Italy. Contact Flyingboa. His contact needs 1400 euro.

These finds have taken me 5 months to locate. Try Google and "ferrari parts " for your search! This is what Randy did.

These are complete assy with turn signal lamp, housing and fog lamp. As far as I know you buy the housing with the lens and signal. You just don't get the glass lens alone. This may be the reason while Verell is having a challenge removing the glass. Possibly JV's89 can clarify.

 

I'm almost certain that the lenses were never meant to be replaced. I also had a hard time with the adhesive when I removed the broken glass from the housing, and I obviously wasn't concerned with the glass (or the housing for that matter ). The "glue" they used is very strong. The glass is heavy,and its basicly cantelevered from the housing.

 

Verell; just a thought on possible removal options for the glass lamp. How about dental tools. They come with various ends for digging, prying, scraping etc. I've seen some variations in auto parts stores. Not sure how durable they may be.

 

Verell; just a thought on possible removal options for the glass lamp. How about dental tools. They come with various ends for digging, prying, scraping etc. I've seen some variations in auto parts stores. Not sure how durable they may be.

BTW the euro lamp is L/H.

 

I'm having a little trouble visualizing exactly what you would need but I might be able to help, being a dentist. I have a number of chisels that have a blade about 1/4" or more long that is square. Not real thin(maybe a milimeter) and about two mm wide. But, I could provide for machining down to the proper width or I could mill it down if needed as long as I know exactly what's needed. I've got a ton of spares tools that I don't need so let me know. I could take some pictures of what I've got if it helps.

Jeff

PM me or post hear if I can help.

 

Yes, It was very clear that the lens was never intended to be replaced per se. However, where there's a will, there's a way.

My biggest concern is that I'm running out of time. If I can't get them out in the next couple of evenings, I'm going to have to return them to the lender for driving season. If so, Hopefully I can borrow them again next salt season.

JRV's89,
The outer edge of the lens tapers inwards where it fits into the groove. Do you happen to know if the back edge of the glass was straight, or was it also tapered. I'm hoping it's straight so there won't be much if any adhesive holding the back into the groove. If there is an inside taper, or a non-trivial amount of adhesive, then figuring out how to cut along the back is going to be a tad challenging...

DUH, Thanks for reminding me!!!
I've got a set from HarborFreight, a little crudely made, but still pretty handy. I remember something in there that just might do the job, or could be straightened to do it. Will look thru it tomorrow night.

jonesdds,
That HF kit has a little chisel like you describe, It's come in real handy several times. However, I need the sharp edge on the side, not the end. ie: Once I've got the bent end under the bottom edge of the lens, I need to be able to drag it sideways along the groove, cutting adhesive as I go.

On the way home I by the local hobby shop & picked up a few straight edged eXacto blades with a tapered back. Fellow at the hobby shop said he used one to deal with a very similar problem. He heated the blade red hot & it was easy to make a 90 degree bend, once it cooled down, it was as rigid as ever.

Tomorrow night I'll dig out my dental tools, & if they don't have something I can use, I'll locate ny mini Acetlyene torch & try bending a blade. It probably will loose a lot of it's temper, but should stay sharp enough to cut thru that adhesive.

At worst,
I'll revert to digging out a piece of HSS & mill the shape I need into the end.

jonesdds,
BTW, I could use some of those extra tools, they'd be great for sculpting hard wax patterns for making molds!!!

 

Verell,
Maybe some pictures will help.
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Might as well water quench it when done. It’ll still lose some temper but this should help.

 

tnx john harry,
Quenching can only help.

Looks like I'll be heating one up 1st thing tomorrow AM as my dental tools didn't do the trick. Nothing with the right shape to go under the edge & cut sideways, altho, I did work a lot more adhesive out of the grooves.