Customs Tail lights for my corvette

It looks Perfect with the Diamonds! Great job!

 

no bumpers nice n smooooooooth ? I like that idea . But I also like shiny shiny chrome .


I had a buddy who bought a 64 vette years ago that had an interior fire , the roof was melted and pretty f’ed up. He owned a shop and traded labour with a body shop .
When he bought the car I asked him what he was hoping for .
He told me if it comes out of the body shop a 1/2 decent driver he would do a sorta gasser 70’s street freak vibe , get all the corvette purists barfing into there ball caps

well , 4 years later the car came out of the body shop an absolute work of art ! Body shop nailed it , it was perfect . It was an original red on red 327 4 spd car .

well , now comes the full matching numbers date coded bull shit , crayon marks on the frame and suspension etc etc corvette exacting restoration that we have seen countless times .

as soon as he was done building it he sold it as it was “ too pretty “ “ too fancy “ and to big a pain in the ass to keep and have fun with .


I love ( mild) customs and any car which has been modified and made to reflect the owner and what they are into and enjoy .

alotta times I open a tread here on the Hamb about a car or modification that I don’t like for whatever reason . Then I see “ this new persons take” on it and suddenly it’s the cats ass and I’m questioning why I did not like this in the past .


Cars are like art you can have a DaVinci , Picasso , Dali , Bob Ross , etc etc . There are styles and flavours to make everyone happy and exited . The sky is the limit for your creativity .

I dig all 3 renditions of Moriarity tail lights , albeit I would have made some slightly different mods if it were me . Heck switch between all 4. Stock , rockets , zap gun , and diamonds depending on your mood .

the entire car is simply cool .

here’s a pic of the vette fresh outta the body shop beside my Lincoln when I first bought it and my Chrysler .

 

Knowing when to quit is sometimes hard to resist! Time for a new build?

 

Thas bitchin!

 

Wow...we sure are sensitive. Sorry.

 

I still like the ring versions better....

Sure a lot of histrionics here. Remember guys, these are just taillight lenses, easily swapped out. No fiberglass has been harmed in this performance. As to the art critics, these are totally period correct unless you subscribe to the lowest-common-denominator theory of 'traditional'. Sometimes it seems as though some have lost the point of Customs which is to build something the owner likes as well as separating yourself from the herd, the 'look at me' factor. There shouldn't be punishment for displaying imagination and originality. Yeah, if you're building a Hot Rod you have a more limited palette, but customs have never operated under those restrictions stylistically. Mark proved his custom chops with his 'Futurian'.

I view these ring lenses as a bit of radical spice added to an old favorite. Sure, the diamond lenses are a lot more subtle and more-or-less follow his accidental theme, but sometimes poking the herd generates spin-offs. Personally, I never let other's opinions sway my design choices. If you need to get opinions, you don't have a clear vision of what you want. If you like cars designed by committee, stick with stockers....

 

As bad as the Ray guns looked, the diamonds look good. Subtle, but different, and don’t take away from the styling. As long as they are bright enough, they should work good.

 

Paint guns at 20 paces

 

I vote for the diamonds they look great even better on a red & white car. the set in my thunderbird were not liked by most . found the 56 mercury wagon lights which are the 4th change since I've had the car . guy told me today the stock lights would look better. you can't please everyone . As I over heard a guy say walking past my car "somebody sure f**cked that one up"

 

One more thing that should be noted. Mark has brought back a skill that used to be more common, i.e. building your own lenses. Very rarely seen these days (I don't count flat plastic with aftermarket bullets screwed on), this is something that should be revived.

 

Not to be more negative, but if the tail lights don't have a built in reflector like the stock ones, or the car has no reflectors in the back, I believe they are illegal in most states. Which makes almost all Lee lens illegal.

 

Doing your own thing is traditional. They fit the whole vibe of the car.
I believe in building our brothers up, not tearing them down. It's a golden rule thing.

 

That's true, but it isn't limited to homemade or custom aftermarket lenses. Many popular OEM-style lenses lack the reflectors such as some Cadillac, Chevy, DeSoto and Mercury for sure, I reasonably sure there are others too. Generally speaking, if the subject car has separate reflectors mounted at the rear it's to satisfy this requirement because the light lens lacks it.

All the Lee lenses are problematic as they used translucent plastic as opposed to transparent. If using transparent plastic for some home-built lenses, pick up some red reflectors and glue them to the inside of your lens and you'll be legal.

 

I have to giggle at the negativity sometimes. Those taillights are the kind of thing Barris and Roth would have been all over back in the late 50s early 60s and J C Whitney would have sold them by the truck load, and you would swear everyone would have thought they were cool as hell. Actually, Mark if you wanted to dust off your bubble top custom building skills, your first idea would fit right in on an X Sonic version of your Vette! lol Larry

 

Now that's what I'm talking about!

 

The diamonds look fine. But I also liked the ray guns.

 

I dig these!

 

i'd drive that.

 

OK..........I can live with the diamonds....... actually I kinda like 'em. (so I guess I'll let you live)
6sally6

 

Now the tail lights fit the car. You already have to remember 6 tail lights already is a kustom touch.

 

Better go on a diet Fatty

 

I just saw this thread. I didn’t like the ray gun version at first but after you massaged it some more it got better. I would keep riffing on the ray guns, maybe incorporating the angle like you said. The 4 fin version has possibilities too. I’d make the fins aluminum, thinner and polish them.
I’m not a fan of the diamonds although I did see them on mid-fifties Fords when I was a kid.
Buick grille is bitchin! The whole car has a vibe that really resonates with me. Takes me back.

 

I'll be honest, the way this thread has gone is a real turn off for me using this site (among other things). If I wanted to read people complaining like children I would've stayed on some modern site with people my own age.
To @Moriarity , I love that you made something unique, if I had a car like yours I would absolutely be trying to do the same kind of things (unfortunately rambler stuff is pretty set in stone and hard to customize) I see you went with the diamonds in the end, I liked that one too, especially since my favorite card in a deck of cards is an ace of diamonds.

 

My opinion..........TITS!!!

 

I did! Until recently i was too gimped up to limp to the kitchen