Gipsy
09-25-2013, 12:00 PM
Sup guys. Long time reader, now a member and I wanted to share w/ you my latest mod. Eunos side repeaters on a Mustang! Crazy right? Let's see!
Well, long story short, I decided some time ago that I wanted side marker lights for my Mustang as I love amber side lightning on cars. I've always liked the look of the Eunos Roadster or Miatas in general. For me they're a magnificent platform. Also I think they look sexy!
After a research in here and "ClubRoadster.com", I decided to go w/ the super cool and classy 1st gen (1990-97 NA platform) Eunos Roadster side repeaters/marker lights. They're almost the same diameter as a 2004 40th anny Mustang badge medallion.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7389/9823330455_1c5274f03f_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823330455/)
I bought the set from an US soldier stationed in Japan for $29.00 including s&h on eBay.
I went ahead and wrote a Write-up that can be use even by Miatas owners in some way. I think the main difference if any would be the color of the cables (Signals and Parking Lights).
MATERIALS:
- A pair of Eunos repeaters! You just need to decide what style or color lens do you want them.
- Thick Masking/Blue painter's tape. I use masking tape since I had that around.
- Cutting. This will depend on the type of side marker you buy. While the 1st gen Eunos Roadster side markers bulb plug housing aren’t round at all -as you can see below-, my intention from the beginning was to grind down the crests in the center cylinder to make it smooth and completely round. That's why I used a hole saw designed for cutting metal. Otherwise, for other applications, a Dremel will come in handy.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3749/9823329835_0d89cdc1c1_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823329835/)
- Eight feet of 18g gauge wire in two colors per side. I used black and red wires since I had that around from my center mounted Gauges project.
-Waterproof silicone
-The other materials are basic tools for this type of work, you will need some wire stripper, wire cutters, a crimping tool, electrical tape AND lots of guts to drill out your precious fender :coolman:
THERE'S A HOLE, IN MY... FENDER JOB:
1) Heat the emblem using a blow-dryer or a heat gun. Direct the heat at the emblem, and hold the dryer several inches from the surface of the car. Move the dryer around, and aim at different areas of the emblem so the heat doesn't sit in 1 spot for longer than a few seconds at a time.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/9823305404_d271f2fc99_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823305404/)
2) After about 2 minutes of heating, slowly pry the emblem away from the car's surface with flat-head screwdriver or any other flat and thin tool. Be careful and patient, you don’t want to scratch the paint before putting a hole on your fender :D Slide the flat head screwdriver behind a corner of the emblem, and begin to pry it off. Then slide screwdriver further behind the emblem until the emblem is scraped off completely. This can be done while heating the emblem or immediately after heating it. If the emblem doesn't move, heat it more and try again.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2861/9823404413_85cf3aba17_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823404413/)
3) Pull the emblem off of the car, and let the adhesive cool. Check the adhesive and the surface of the car until you can place your hand on it. Pull larger lumps of adhesive off of the surface with your fingers if present. Then wash the fender and use your cleaner wax of choice to get rid of the remaining glue so the metal will be nice and clean before the carnage takes place.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2858/9823329005_9844e401e7_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823329005/)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7350/9823403873_a0a3111c95_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823403873/)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/9823304344_7033c10c5a_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823304344/)
4) Mask the fender w/ tape. The tape will protect your paint during the insane fender cutting process. VERY important step! If wondering, I put 6 layers of tape.
First stripe...
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2837/9823328045_ea398fb3b3_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823328045/)
First layer...
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3706/9823303704_3218ca529a_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823303704/)
All six layers...
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7384/9823304034_f352d3f7f4_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823304034/)
5) Pull out the fender liner plugs/screws. Since you need to take out your fender liner to reach and connect the Side Markers, you might want to jack up the car. Even if you're not literally working under the car, please use jack stands!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7416/9823401213_9fab78f89e_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823401213/)
6) Cut your nice and not so virgin fender, then peel off the tape.
What a metal-cutting hole saw and a 1/4" mandrel bit looks like.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7317/9836651295_fe484c5f9c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9836651295/)
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2808/9837452395_38f0cc94eb_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9837452395/)
Because the hole saw that I wanted (29mm/metal cutting) didn’t have the arbor/base for the drill, I had to buy a 1/4" mandrel bit w/ an arbor. The Milwaukee whole setup was pretty neat and ran for about $15.00 total on Home Depot.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3667/9823327575_a9ebae1840_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823327575/)
After about 20-25 secs of drilling you end w/ this. It looks awful! I was sweating cold at this moment. Lets see the result...
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3744/9823339826_c43ea482f1_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823339826/)
Not bad at all! There you can see the importance of taking your time for masking up the fender as no surrounding paint was damaged or chipped.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2818/9823402323_abcf428520_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823402323/)
At this stage, you'll want to test the fitting of your Side Repeater on the new holes. In my case, they came out perfect what meant no further drilling/cutting were in place thnx GOD.
Test1
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/9823302824_796988ec8c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823302824/)
Looking good so far...
Test2
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3699/9823401893_a116608ee5_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823401893/)
Here's my son helping me w/ the impact gun. He just loves the sound of it and without his help, I wouldn't have been able to do anything hehehe.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5482/9841370436_7efb055cef_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9841370436/)
THE MUSTANG WIRING CONNECTION
1) Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2) Unplug and take out your headlights.
3) With the fender liners out, identify the cables coming out of your headlights signal plugs. There should be 3 cables per signal plug per side (driver and passenger).
On a 1999-04 Mustang, the driver side signal plug will look like this:
a)GREEN cable: Signal lights
b)BROWN cable: Parking lights
c)BLACK cable: Ground
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7339/9823400733_42935381a2_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823400733/)
On the pass side, you should see:
a)WHT/BLUE cable: Signal lights
b)BROWN cable: Parking lights
c)BLACK cable: Ground
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7408/9823326435_e6a0cb4300_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823326435/)
Well, long story short, I decided some time ago that I wanted side marker lights for my Mustang as I love amber side lightning on cars. I've always liked the look of the Eunos Roadster or Miatas in general. For me they're a magnificent platform. Also I think they look sexy!
After a research in here and "ClubRoadster.com", I decided to go w/ the super cool and classy 1st gen (1990-97 NA platform) Eunos Roadster side repeaters/marker lights. They're almost the same diameter as a 2004 40th anny Mustang badge medallion.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7389/9823330455_1c5274f03f_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823330455/)
I bought the set from an US soldier stationed in Japan for $29.00 including s&h on eBay.
I went ahead and wrote a Write-up that can be use even by Miatas owners in some way. I think the main difference if any would be the color of the cables (Signals and Parking Lights).
MATERIALS:
- A pair of Eunos repeaters! You just need to decide what style or color lens do you want them.
- Thick Masking/Blue painter's tape. I use masking tape since I had that around.
- Cutting. This will depend on the type of side marker you buy. While the 1st gen Eunos Roadster side markers bulb plug housing aren’t round at all -as you can see below-, my intention from the beginning was to grind down the crests in the center cylinder to make it smooth and completely round. That's why I used a hole saw designed for cutting metal. Otherwise, for other applications, a Dremel will come in handy.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3749/9823329835_0d89cdc1c1_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823329835/)
- Eight feet of 18g gauge wire in two colors per side. I used black and red wires since I had that around from my center mounted Gauges project.
-Waterproof silicone
-The other materials are basic tools for this type of work, you will need some wire stripper, wire cutters, a crimping tool, electrical tape AND lots of guts to drill out your precious fender :coolman:
THERE'S A HOLE, IN MY... FENDER JOB:
1) Heat the emblem using a blow-dryer or a heat gun. Direct the heat at the emblem, and hold the dryer several inches from the surface of the car. Move the dryer around, and aim at different areas of the emblem so the heat doesn't sit in 1 spot for longer than a few seconds at a time.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/9823305404_d271f2fc99_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823305404/)
2) After about 2 minutes of heating, slowly pry the emblem away from the car's surface with flat-head screwdriver or any other flat and thin tool. Be careful and patient, you don’t want to scratch the paint before putting a hole on your fender :D Slide the flat head screwdriver behind a corner of the emblem, and begin to pry it off. Then slide screwdriver further behind the emblem until the emblem is scraped off completely. This can be done while heating the emblem or immediately after heating it. If the emblem doesn't move, heat it more and try again.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2861/9823404413_85cf3aba17_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823404413/)
3) Pull the emblem off of the car, and let the adhesive cool. Check the adhesive and the surface of the car until you can place your hand on it. Pull larger lumps of adhesive off of the surface with your fingers if present. Then wash the fender and use your cleaner wax of choice to get rid of the remaining glue so the metal will be nice and clean before the carnage takes place.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2858/9823329005_9844e401e7_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823329005/)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7350/9823403873_a0a3111c95_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823403873/)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/9823304344_7033c10c5a_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823304344/)
4) Mask the fender w/ tape. The tape will protect your paint during the insane fender cutting process. VERY important step! If wondering, I put 6 layers of tape.
First stripe...
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2837/9823328045_ea398fb3b3_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823328045/)
First layer...
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3706/9823303704_3218ca529a_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823303704/)
All six layers...
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7384/9823304034_f352d3f7f4_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823304034/)
5) Pull out the fender liner plugs/screws. Since you need to take out your fender liner to reach and connect the Side Markers, you might want to jack up the car. Even if you're not literally working under the car, please use jack stands!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7416/9823401213_9fab78f89e_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823401213/)
6) Cut your nice and not so virgin fender, then peel off the tape.
What a metal-cutting hole saw and a 1/4" mandrel bit looks like.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7317/9836651295_fe484c5f9c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9836651295/)
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2808/9837452395_38f0cc94eb_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9837452395/)
Because the hole saw that I wanted (29mm/metal cutting) didn’t have the arbor/base for the drill, I had to buy a 1/4" mandrel bit w/ an arbor. The Milwaukee whole setup was pretty neat and ran for about $15.00 total on Home Depot.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3667/9823327575_a9ebae1840_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823327575/)
After about 20-25 secs of drilling you end w/ this. It looks awful! I was sweating cold at this moment. Lets see the result...
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3744/9823339826_c43ea482f1_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823339826/)
Not bad at all! There you can see the importance of taking your time for masking up the fender as no surrounding paint was damaged or chipped.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2818/9823402323_abcf428520_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823402323/)
At this stage, you'll want to test the fitting of your Side Repeater on the new holes. In my case, they came out perfect what meant no further drilling/cutting were in place thnx GOD.
Test1
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/9823302824_796988ec8c_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823302824/)
Looking good so far...
Test2
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3699/9823401893_a116608ee5_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823401893/)
Here's my son helping me w/ the impact gun. He just loves the sound of it and without his help, I wouldn't have been able to do anything hehehe.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5482/9841370436_7efb055cef_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9841370436/)
THE MUSTANG WIRING CONNECTION
1) Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2) Unplug and take out your headlights.
3) With the fender liners out, identify the cables coming out of your headlights signal plugs. There should be 3 cables per signal plug per side (driver and passenger).
On a 1999-04 Mustang, the driver side signal plug will look like this:
a)GREEN cable: Signal lights
b)BROWN cable: Parking lights
c)BLACK cable: Ground
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7339/9823400733_42935381a2_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823400733/)
On the pass side, you should see:
a)WHT/BLUE cable: Signal lights
b)BROWN cable: Parking lights
c)BLACK cable: Ground
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7408/9823326435_e6a0cb4300_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/100878056@N02/9823326435/)