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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Reproduction Tail light Lenses?

Posted by: Tobra Sep 22 2005, 02:05 PM

Does anyone make them? Seems like it would not be rocket science or anything. Their are like 5 companies making them for bugs, is that because their are 15 bajillion bugs out there and only a few 914's? They could charge a mint for them, and once you got the molds right, they would cost pennies apiece.

Posted by: lapuwali Sep 22 2005, 02:10 PM

There was someone in the vendor's section selling repro lenses, though they weren't exact copies, just close. I think they eventually gave up due to lack of sales.

Posted by: ArtechnikA Sep 22 2005, 02:15 PM

QUOTE (lapuwali @ Sep 22 2005, 04:10 PM)
There was someone in the vendor's section selling repro lenses, though they weren't exact copies, just close. I think they eventually gave up due to lack of sales.

IMO - they had no sales because they weren't close enough...

i think a *quality* repro - one with proper attachment points - would sell well.

Posted by: Tobra Sep 22 2005, 02:31 PM

Yeah, I remember those, they had screws on the outside of the lens holding them to the housing, they sorta looked like crap.

Posted by: Root_Werks Sep 22 2005, 02:41 PM

I also remember talking to the guy on the phone, although I cannot remember his name. He does other stuff but wasn't happy with the 914 tail lights. He said he was just going to bag it. That was almost a year ago now.

Yep, if someone could R&D them, it would cost some bucks, but I think in the end if the product was as original or better, they would re-coop thier money quickly.

Posted by: zymurgist Sep 22 2005, 02:41 PM

Cool repros would be a gas. One of the 914's at the ECC had French taillights and I thought they looked sweet.

Posted by: TonyAKAVW Sep 22 2005, 02:42 PM

Making the dies would be pretty costly I think. There are a lot of little details, seems like it would be a lot of work to reproduce accurately. Also, they are not the same on each side, so double the cost.

It would be several tens of thousands of dollars to make dies for the rear lenses. So you'd have to sell a BUNCH of them..

-Tony

Posted by: MBowman325 Sep 22 2005, 03:07 PM

It's amazing the cost that companies incur creating things like lenses and weatherstripping. One of my other cars, my Aerocoupe, has a similiar issue, nobody makes the rear seal for the window. With just over 6,200 made in two years, and a loss of cars to accident / rust whatever, each year, the price to produce and recoupe money would prohibit actually making them. The guy who took up a chance and researched it (has his own plant doing weatherstripping) determined that the cost to sale would be well over $1000 (and I want to say close to two from his estiamtes) or so for the limited numbers. <= $500 had more interest, but still, business are generally in it to make money. No everybody needs one, but if the price was right, they'd buy one, just in case. (I've seen windows w/ seals go for 1500 on e-bay sometimes, and others not move at all)

Sure would be nice though. (My lenses are in pretty sad shape)

Mike

Posted by: ArtechnikA Sep 22 2005, 03:12 PM

QUOTE (TonyAKAVW @ Sep 22 2005, 04:42 PM)
...It would be several tens of thousands of dollars to make dies for the rear lenses.

*if* you were determined to injection-mold them the way Hella did 30 years ago.

how much to simply CNC carve them from "billet" acrylic?

Posted by: Carlitos Way Sep 22 2005, 03:50 PM

Auto Atlanta is making them now. However, be prepared to pay up the WAZOO for them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PORSCHE-914-EUROPEAN-TAIL-LENS-SET_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6755QQitemZ4576130499QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Gotta love free enterprise.

Posted by: zymurgist Sep 22 2005, 04:00 PM

Whoa... $400 a pair? I bought a pair NIB from Pelican for my old 911 and they ran less than half that. Then again, I suppose there were a few more 911's built over the years, so the potential market is bigger.

Posted by: smg914 Sep 22 2005, 04:53 PM

Although not available for about another month, reproduction rear USA lenses for the 914 are $199.50 per set. I'll let you know when they're available.

Posted by: olav Sep 22 2005, 04:58 PM

QUOTE (Carlitos Way @ Sep 22 2005, 01:50 PM)
Auto Atlanta is making them now. However, be prepared to pay up the WAZOO for them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PORSCHE-914-EUROPEAN-TAIL-LENS-SET_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6755QQitemZ4576130499QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Gotta love free enterprise.

They're going fast too!!

Posted by: olav Sep 22 2005, 04:59 PM

Posted by: neo914-6 Sep 22 2005, 05:02 PM

AA and a guy from WA were both selling their pre-production non-tinted tail lenses on eBay many months ago for ~$200 a set. I believe both were sourcing off-shore. Unless these Euro lense are the final AA product, I haven't heard anything since...

Posted by: Aaron Cox Sep 22 2005, 05:20 PM

i need french tails..... someone make them

Posted by: Mueller Sep 22 2005, 06:12 PM

QUOTE (olav @ Sep 22 2005, 03:59 PM)

QUOTE (smg914 @ Sep 22 2005, 02:53 PM)
Although not available for about another month, reproduction rear USA lenses for the 914 are $199.50 per set. I'll let you know when they're available.

Put me on your mailing list!

:ditto:

Posted by: Dave_Darling Sep 22 2005, 06:39 PM

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ Sep 22 2005, 03:20 PM)
i need french tails..... someone make them

I tried a few years back in Montreal....

Nowadays, My Attorney would disembowel me and hang me with my own guts if I tried to make any French tail.

--DD

Posted by: Tobra Sep 22 2005, 07:17 PM

QUOTE (smg914 @ Sep 22 2005, 02:53 PM)
Although not available for about another month, reproduction rear USA lenses for the 914 are $199.50 per set. I'll let you know when they're available.

obviously, I also would be interested, depending on quality. The bird has OEM euro tails right now for under $200, why would you buy repros for more?

Posted by: neo914-6 Sep 22 2005, 08:13 PM

QUOTE (Dave_Darling @ Sep 22 2005, 04:39 PM)

QUOTE (Aaron Cox @ Sep 22 2005, 03:20 PM)
i need french tails..... someone make them

I tried a few years back in Montreal....

Nowadays, My Attorney would disembowel me and hang me with my own guts if I tried to make any French tail.

--DD

would you pass a polygraph or cross examination?

Posted by: Dave_Darling Sep 22 2005, 08:14 PM

Why, you got a polygraph??

--DD

Posted by: nein14 Sep 22 2005, 08:17 PM

they are impossible to find, I looked for years. I just got lucky!

Posted by: Carlitos Way Sep 22 2005, 09:09 PM

Right now (thanks to Howard) I'm goin "international" with a stock US tail light lens on the left, and a Euro lens on the right. I do love the way the Euros look... but that's expen$$ive to me!!!

C.

Posted by: GWN7 Sep 22 2005, 11:01 PM

The tail lenses are actually made up of 4 different pieces which are glued together (outside curved edge, center piece which had a prismed insert and backup light section). This would require 8 different molds to make one set (left & right). Over the winter, after I finish some other projects I will look at them again. Hardest part would be finding the special bolts to use as inserts.

Posted by: smg914 Sep 22 2005, 11:31 PM

QUOTE (Tobra @ Sep 22 2005, 05:17 PM)
[/QUOTE]
The bird has OEM euro tails right now for under $200, why would you buy repros for more?

Thats $200 for one OEM rear lense. The repo's are $200 per set.

Posted by: neo914-6 Sep 23 2005, 12:09 AM

QUOTE (Dave_Darling @ Sep 22 2005, 06:14 PM)
Why, you got a polygraph??

--DD

yeah and it shocks you when you tell a lie!

Posted by: Engman Sep 23 2005, 09:09 AM

I used to work at a company that makes tail lights, headlights etc. At the time it was 50% owned by Hella.
The way these are made was a 2 color injection mold. Mold part in one machine, transfer it to another mold and mold the next color. Much more sophistaced now as all of this can be done in one machine. Since these are on the road, photmetric standards apply. Meaning that the lights are tested to make sure that they comply with mandatory light output standards- 0 degress 0 angle = xxx , 10 degress, 10 angle = yyy and so on.

Mold costs easily would run $15,000 -$20,000 for some cheap temp tooling and even then you better have the complete CAD profile for all of the flute cuts. And then you will get 300-400 sets before the molds start to crap out.

Tough to do right.

Somewhere the molds must still exist. Hella or Porshe has them somewhere.

M

Posted by: Jeff Bowlsby Sep 23 2005, 09:49 AM

How about just making some simple silicone molds...what $50 in materials? Use the original hardware from an old set of lenses.

Posted by: Tobra Sep 25 2005, 07:54 AM

Well, my passenger side one is in three pieces. Perhaps super glue the pieces together. You would want it water tight though, maybe that gel type. I will take pictures when I do it so you can laugh about how lame a job I do.

Posted by: boxstr Sep 25 2005, 09:22 AM

AA went to China and had there lenses made. They are there copyright, they have the AA logo on them. Personally I commend them for taking the initative to spend them time and money to make them.
Whether they sell is another story. The same thing happend with the CAMP 914 dashpads and targa bar pads. After the time ( one year) and the money ($$$) spent to get these to production, sales =2. The price to even break even was much more than was originally anticipated.
So for those of you who have the time and money to start repro 914 parts, I say go for it. But be prepared to have a few of your goodies sitting on the shelves.
CCLINBTDT

Posted by: McMark Sep 25 2005, 04:25 PM

Craig, I didn't even realize you had the pads ready for sale. Last I heard (WCC 05) you were just showing off prototypes.

Posted by: redshift Sep 25 2005, 04:34 PM

Craig's choice of quality add-ons, and restoration parts are the best.

The pads came out pricey, as to be expected. I'd buy some, but I am not there yet. The enematerior costs about the same as the exterior, with a 10/10 black paint job.... once you add custom covered GT seats, and the phantom multi-gauge.

M