1985 CHP #E408395

[28HopUp]

Nothing glamorous to report today, but I did replace the tail light lenses over the weekend.

I popped out the old lenses, removed the 5 retaining clips, and scraped out the tar strip that sits inside the channel of the tail light bucket. In addition to getting new lenses, you need to also order a new installation kit with a fresh tar strip and new clips. After a thorough clean up of the buckets, I popped the new lens in for a test fit and compared it to the old lens. The one on the left is the factory lens, and the right one is the new lens -




I installed the new tack strip around the bucket, and then inserted the clips. Pressing down on the lens with the bucket on the workbench, the lens clipped into place. However, each lens needs a little motivation to stay in place while it is setting up, so I taped each lens with duct tape while pressing the lens tight in that area. I will let them sit like this for about 48 hours -




I see a problem with these. The lenses are so nice looking that the buckets now look cruddy. If I had it to do over again, I would have painted the top edge and inside of each bucket near the license plate area prior to installing the lenses. Once I remove the tape, I may mask off the lenses and paint the visible edges of the buckets. It would just be easier to do had I not already installed the lenses.