S3 One Piece Rear Light Replacements?

[The Cyclist]

Dear fellow S3 owners

I am a slightly worried man. I still have the original one piece Vauxhall rear lights on my car in good condition. I am told if anything happens to them there are no spares anywhere. Anyhow I have been wondering if it's possibe to make a mould from a lens (Possibly a surround too) & then resin cast some spares, in case of need. My memory is that there was a commercial kit to do this a few years ago that now seems to be unobtainable. www.CFSnet.co.uk however seem to have the necessary stuff, albeit clear resin only so it may be feasible.

I have two questions:
1: Has anyone else tried this?
2: Has anyone got a lens I could borrow for casting purposes? There is a glued in reflective sheet behind the reflector which I would need to remove to make a cast & I was hoping somebody already had one where this had come off &/or which had been cracked/broken, but was repairable in shape only.

Obviously if this works I'll make some extras, but don't send me orders, I'm just working on the feasibility.

Geoff

[twincamman]

well Geoff put me down for a set when they are done ed

[type36lotus]

I had thought of the same problem. Making the bezel would not be too difficult. The backing plate would be Stainless steel, again not too difficult... I think The lenses would be the tough one. Of course I would have porper LED arrays on the backing plate in lieu of the incandescent lamps.

Mike G

[type36lotus]

For Christmas next year I am going to ask for brain that knows how to SPELL and fingers that type correctly!!

Porper = proper


Mike G

[Bill]

I would go for a pair

Bill

[steve]

there seems to be the odd one or two that come up for sale now and then if you keep your eye's open ,i have seen new lenses etc on ebay going for around ?15-?20 ,doesn't seem bad :blink: :huh:

[bvt]

I looked into the casting of S3 rear lights some time ago.....
Lenses.. well due to the Legalities.. don't bother trying yourself... besides ain't worth the effort, you need a 2 peice mould and you must maintain the defractive surface on the inside.. and look for the BS mark!!!

Rims.. well casting in white metal is possible but the results are... well I would not use them....
I had a mould made for Mazac/zinc made but controlling shrinkage was a problem, and we had a few problems with tiny air bubbles when chroming them... It is possible.. but i had access to a large specialist casting company.

Back plates.. yep.. lazer cut and then die stamped for the shape... not worth the cost for the numbers I would have had to get done.. who would pay ?50 per side!!
they may only be worth ?10 each but make 100 and lay out the cash for one sale a year!!!

Lenses.. well I do probably have the largest stock of originals arround... maybe 20-30 pairs..
I have a fair few Back plates all been stripped and zinc plated...
I also have complete new lights...
All this will have to wait till i get sorted !!! soz but watch this space...

I had the light to body gaskets remade a while back and think i have the tooling arround for them still.. and the S3 door handle gaskets...

Anything is possible but at what cost!!!

I can get S3/4 Crash pads remade in the correct plastic and foam filled.. but the outlay would mean i would have to ask ?250-?300 each, everyone wants the stuff.... but will they pay the prices. My rule for getting stuff remade is "If you can tell it from the original it isn't worth it..."