JDM Headlight cover difference.

[ajmcforester]

esprit, if you have the lens cover you can make a simple mold to make a new one out of polycarbonate.

What you do is use fiberglass to make a mold of the lens from the outside then take and make a mold out of the inside of the new mold. remember to make the mold extend past the original inside. Once the molds are made heat an oven to 350, with the molds in the oven. take a flat piece of polycarbonate and place it between the two halves of the mold with some weight or presure, and place in the oven for 20 minutes the slowly raise the heat10-15 deg F every 5 minites if it don't start to shape. stop increasing heat when it starts to bend you don't want to over soften the polycarbonate.

I want to find a good price on an original set with good rings and all the lenses cracked or not cracked. To bad my grandfather isn't around he could show me how to replicate the rings I would just need to boro a set so he could look at one, but that is wishful thinking.

[esprist]

esprit, if you have the lens cover you can make a simple mold to make a new one out of polycarbonate.

What you do is use fiberglass to make a mold of the lens from the outside then take and make a mold out of the inside of the new mold. remember to make the mold extend past the original inside. Once the molds are made heat an oven to 350, with the molds in the oven. take a flat piece of polycarbonate and place it between the two halves of the mold with some weight or presure, and place in the oven for 20 minutes the slowly raise the heat10-15 deg F every 5 minites if it don't start to shape. stop increasing heat when it starts to bend you don't want to over soften the polycarbonate.

I want to find a good price on an original set with good rings and all the lenses cracked or not cracked. To bad my grandfather isn't around he could show me how to replicate the rings I would just need to boro a set so he could look at one, but that is wishful thinking.

Well, how about the rings.....

I do not mind investing money to make them, but it will be hard to make the rings the match the lenses. Original ones do not even aligned to the lense so that these lenses often crack as you install them......

[conedodger]

Unfortunately, although he doesn't describe in his listing that the headlight covers are of two different types - early and late, he does show it in the picture and any buyer who disputed would probably lose if he claimed it was clearly shown. Ebay is tilted heavily toward the seller which is of course, how they get paid.

[geezer]

As simple as it sounds, reproducing the lenses are much more involved. A two part form for each side has to be constructed, in order to achieve the detail and accuracy which enables the trim ring to "nestle" with the lens when assembled. As Esprist mentioned, if the components do not match up correctly, it will result in cracked lenses. It requires specialized vacuum forming equipment that is able to acommidate a two part form, as well as provide additional heating elements, that are necessary for forming the thickness of material used. That is only half the problem also. It is very difficult to form the trim rings with the required accuracy and consistancy, in order to mate with the lens and nacelle properly. Not to say it couldn't be done, but it would require a great deal of tooling with a hefty price. In short, this is the reason there have never been real quality reproductions made. After talking with a rep and crunching the numbers, I gave up on the idea. I determined, it was a project with too high a risk of failure and loss of investment to attempt.

[esprist]

As simple as it sounds, reproducing the lenses are much more involved. A two part form for each side has to be constructed, in order to achieve the detail and accuracy which enables the trim ring to "nestle" with the lens when assembled. As Esprist mentioned, if the components do not match up correctly, it will result in cracked lenses. It requires specialized vacuum forming equipment that is able to acommidate a two part form, as well as provide additional heating elements, that are necessary for forming the thickness of material used. That is only half the problem also. It is very difficult to form the trim rings with the required accuracy and consistancy, in order to mate with the lens and nacelle properly. Not to say it couldn't be done, but it would require a great deal of tooling with a hefty price. In short, this is the reason there have never been real quality reproductions made. After talking with a rep and crunching the numbers, I gave up on the idea. I determined, it was a project with too high a risk of failure and loss of investment to attempt.

Also the shape of 1969-72 fiber glass headlight buckets and post73 later metal ones are different......

I have NOS/original ones on my personal car, and I ended up enlarging and openning the 2 of the 4 holes to give the lenses more room to expand as you tightening the screws over the rings.

[26th-Z]

I'm glad you guys are still talking about this. Had a chance to get out to the shop today to see what I have. I have an original set - early type - and a repro set with different screw hole locations. I bought the repro set from the seller this thread is talking about. They didn't come with hardware, but that was Ok because the NOS set has the hardware. Here is NOS hardware for the early type lenses.

I imagine any of these will require some fitment and finish detailing while installing them.

Headlt_Cover-Inst-0001.pdf

[esprist]

I'm glad you guys are still talking about this. Had a chance to get out to the shop today to see what I have. I have an original set - early type - and a repro set with different screw hole locations. I bought the repro set from the seller this thread is talking about. They didn't come with hardware, but that was Ok because the NOS set has the hardware. Here is NOS hardware for the early type lenses.

I imagine any of these will require some fitment and finish detailing while installing them.

Last year we had a thred about this

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14343&highlight=headlight+cover&page=5

As far as mounting hardware, here is what I made at the lowest cost .

All you need is tap and screws!

[Unkle]

^

This is what I would make out of stainless for repro sets from zccjdm.com.

Has anybody bought these yet ?

Any reviews to share ? :paranoid:

[geezer]

Chris, Esprist, Anyone, I need professional help here.There are a few points I would like to clarify. Starting from post #1. Esprist referred to the sellers pic and said the headlight cover on the right was the early version, driver's side (assuming LHD). Also, Esprist believed the covers were sitting on the wrong boxes (switched). Isn't the original, early version the one on the left and sitting atop the correct box?

I hope so, because I have always thought that my rings were the early type which coincide with #63900-E4126 & #63901-E4126.The rings I have are the same as depicted in the instruction sheet, with the holes oriented the same. I believe the cover on the right in the pic is the later #63901-E8726.

Which brings me to this. I remember a while back, reading a post where a member used his OEM rings on a set of reproduction lenses because of the difficulty of fitting the repro rings. I can't remember the members ID but can remember the car and installation pic. It was IIRC, a red Z with the front bumper rubber removed. Anyone remember it? Now, I am wondering which OEM rings were used on his repro lenses. I am going to look for that post again.

EDIT:Found it, it was 240ZGL. He has the later OEM style which allowed him to mix n match and looks great!:

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=322187&postcount=11

Edited November 27, 2010 by geezer
added link

[geezer]

Esprist - I think you have the different types confused. My 1970 Nissan FairladyZ parts catalog has 63900-E4126 & 63901-E4126 listed under Option Parts. The first pic is from an old post and is self explanatory. The second pic is my trim rings and a few of the seller's pics for posterity. I just figured we should get it right, considering the thread title, for searches in the future.

Edited November 27, 2010 by geezer

[26th-Z]

I think your's are the early ones, Ron. Mine are the same.

[Zup]

I've been following this thread for several days with keen interest.

I bid on and won this auction (E-bay #300490744688) offered by Eiji Hosami. (Datsun Spirit)

I wouldn't have bothered if it weren't for the fact that he was the seller. It distresses me to see reports otherwise, as I have bought many items from Eiji and they have always been exactly as described and in the condition described. He is one of the few sellers I trusted.

All that said, the set I received, as shown above, is the reproduction set. The hardware and mounting instruction sheet are exactly as 26th-Z posted. (original)

I'm very disappointed.

Is there any workaround for making these fit, or are they high priced junk??