Garage Vary Tail Light Install (New fiberglass pieces?)

[BRG757]

I'm aware there are plenty of threads covering the Garage Vary Tail Light installation, but most of them are several years old. I believe the kit has been updated and I'm faced with some issues that I'd like to know whether anyone else who has recently purchased the kit had similar experiences or not.

For those familiar with the kit, it not only comes with the tail light panel, tail lights, and reverse lamp, but also some fiberglass pieces that install in place of the OEM tails (behind the new Porter Cab lamps). These fiberglass pieces that I got recently came with standoffs - so instead of bolting it onto the body with a bolt and a nut, you only need to use a bolt and thread it into this standoff.

My issue is that this standoff is hitting the tail light panel when I test fit it. Has anybody had experience installing these with the standoffs? Am I the first to receive these pieces made this way?

[Flyin 92]

I'd suggest removing them and going with a nut/bolt combo.

[BRG757]

Problem is they don't remove very readily/easily. I'm open to ideas.

[— Phatmiata —]

Have you tried reversing them and flipping to opposite sides??

Nice photos btw.

Are you a member in the BRG Gentlemens Club??

[Flyin 92]

Without being able to fidget with them in person I'm afraid I'm not much help.

[Hyper]

I'm aware there are plenty of threads covering the Garage Vary Tail Light installation, but most of them are several years old. I believe the kit has been updated and I'm faced with some issues that I'd like to know whether anyone else who has recently purchased the kit had similar experiences or not.

For those familiar with the kit, it not only comes with the tail light panel, tail lights, and reverse lamp, but also some fiberglass pieces that install in place of the OEM tails (behind the new Porter Cab lamps). These fiberglass pieces that I got recently came with standoffs - so instead of bolting it onto the body with a bolt and a nut, you only need to use a bolt and thread it into this standoff.

My issue is that this standoff is hitting the tail light panel when I test fit it. Has anybody had experience installing these with the standoffs? Am I the first to receive these pieces made this way?

They are there for a reason, best thing is to ask the supplier, and or other people who purchase from the same supplier.

[BRG757]

Have you tried reversing them and flipping to opposite sides??

Nice photos btw.

Are you a member in the BRG Gentlemens Club??

Unfortunately, no. These things only go on one way and if you put it on the other side, the standoff is on the wrong side and the fiberglass doesn't sit flush on the body.

Not a member but would love to join. What's it take? I'm guessing owning a BRG is requisite #1, which I pass with flying colors!

[BRG757]

They are there for a reason, best thing is to ask the supplier, and or other people who purchase from the same supplier.

That's what I'm looking for from the community. The supplier is Japanese. All instructions included are in Japanese with not enough pictures. I could ask the Sponsor who sold it to me but it was drop shipped from Japan so they might not have seen it before (worth a try though).

FYI I'm not Japanese. I could try google translate to cobble an email together if nobody else has gotten the kit with these standoffs.

[Hyper]

That's what I'm looking for from the community. The supplier is Japanese. All instructions included are in Japanese with not enough pictures. I could ask the Sponsor who sold it to me but it was drop shipped from Japan so they might not have seen it before (worth a try though).

FYI I'm not Japanese. I could try google translate to cobble an email together if nobody else has gotten the kit with these standoffs.

Tranquilo MY FRIEND, soon or later someone will answer your question. If you purchased the lights from Rev9, RSpeed or an authorized GV vendor some one will help you, soon or later guaranteed.

[— Phatmiata —]

Are you trying to mount these inside the trunk or outside?

[— Phatmiata —]

I have my kit tucked away in storage, I'll have to look at mine now. But there are quite a few guys here on the forum that have already installed theirs.

[— Dandy —]

RevLimiter probably has the best write-up: http://revlimiter.net/mods/garagevarytails.php

I don't see anything different accept for what you call a standoff in place of the nuts. There shouldn't be clearance issues as I believe the bolt would protrude as much as this standoff is:


It does look like you have the bolt head on the wrong side of the fiberglass. It should be bolt, fiberglass, insulation, body of car, and nut or standoff applied to the bolt from inside the trunk. At least this is how I remember it.

[BRG757]

Tranquilo MY FRIEND, soon or later someone will answer your question. If you purchased the lights from Rev9, RSpeed or an authorized GV vendor some one will help you, soon or later guaranteed.

Didn't mean to come off that way, but I hope you're right. I'm not in any particular rush to get these on so I'll be trying to get it right.

Are you trying to mount these inside the trunk or outside?

I have my kit tucked away in storage, I'll have to look at mine now. But there are quite a few guys here on the forum that have already installed theirs.

The ones in the picture with the standoff, I'm trying to mount on the outside of the trunk. There are another pair of fiberglass pieces that act as covers that mount on the inside. I've never seen those covers on other posts before. See pics.

[BRG757]

RevLimiter probably has the best write-up: http://revlimiter.net/mods/garagevarytails.php

I don't see anything different accept for what you call a standoff in place of the nuts. There shouldn't be clearance issues as I believe the bolt would protrude as much as this standoff is:

It does look like you have the bolt head on the wrong side of the fiberglass. It should be bolt, fiberglass, insulation, body of car, and nut or standoff applied to the bolt from inside the trunk. At least this is how I remember it.

I followed that writeup and it was very detailed, but the kit has changed (at least mine is different).

You're right though. The standoff is on the wrong side - I'd have done it the way you have it sequenced, but this is the way I got it. I can't think of a way around it other than removing it - its not interfering a lot (just one of the standoffs is interfering), and I could install the panel and everything would look OK, but the standoff would be pushing on the panel, which I imagine would apply a preload against the panel and work against the double-sided tape.

[JamieH]

I know of a few solutions to this problem.

1. You flip them from one side to the other and put them in backwards. To do this you'll have to drill into the body of the car in order for the pem nuts to pass through and then you'll need to stack washers slightly taller than the pem nuts on the inside in order for the bolts to hold them in place.

2. You cut the pem nuts off with a dremel or similar tool and just use regular nuts and bolts.

3. You cut the offending pem nuts down in size to clear the panel.

I did the 3rd option, I may be the only person to have done so. Once I had the adapter plates bolted in place, I used a dremel to cut the nuts and bolts down that were causing the issue.

It should be the bottom inside nut/bolt of each plate that is causing the issue. In this pic you can see the one on the driver's side (US). This is looking in from the opening for the reverse light.



So, there's only 2 nuts/bolts you have to cut down if you solve it like I did.

Oh, one other thing, if you decide to use taillight cups that protect the lights from loose items inside the trunk, make sure you tuck the taillight wiring in just right. It's going to be a snug fit.

Uh, one more, one more thing. You're going to need to do something about water leaking in. I found that water was following the trunk opening channels down to where the GV panel meets the body under the trunk lid, dropping onto the top of the GV lights, falling off them and then into the trunk. Since there's no good way to seal the GV lights to the openings for them in the adapter panel/plate, I used some black silicone sealant between the body and the GV panel where they meet above the taillights/below the trunk.

In these two pics, you can see the area I'm talking about.

Without camera flash:



With camera flash:



This is nearly invisible to the naked eye.

And, here's how the tailight covers go in.