Mo Brighta
Well-Known Member
Hello all, this is a repost of my thread on Bimmerforums (link below, above the pics). I'm kind of a newbie here, glad to be aboard!
In a kind of long drawn out project between my other projects, I have been restoring a set of lights from the back of my neighbor Wayne's 1973 3.0CS. He and I had spoken about our 2002s, and about lighting improvements I was doing for other models (see sig) to try and keep more of these older bimmers on the road, and fewer in the wrecking yards.
I looked into commercial electroplating (not a very popular option, couldn't find anyone willing locally), home electroplating (less expensive, but not nearly as good as the original), and repainting with "shiny" silver paint from a spray can. Silver repaint is the method used in my E24 six series projects, and works beautifully. So, repaint it is.
Next step was cleaning the reflectors to prep for paint- disassembling, scraping, sanding, and buffing to a 'smooth' surface finish, repainting, and then reassembling both of the reflector subassemblies, with some 'magic' in between to enable the socket conversions that would allow use of different (dual filament, nickel base, high output) bulbs for the upgrade.
Final step (this is the good part) was to convert the bulb sockets to accept new bulbs to increase the visual size, output, and reliability of the lights for two critical functions, tail and brake lights. And what a difference!
You might know that I have been doing this for over seven years with E12, E21, E23, E24, E28, E30, E32, E36, E39, and other makes and models, but the E9 was a real challenge, and was equally rewarding to see it in action.
First of all, the E9 coupe has a beautiful shape, and in it's day, was a real high performance car. Today, a nice example is worth a fortune in sheer driving pleasure, with ample head-turning ability. Losing one of these due to a preventable collision would be a heart breaker, not to mention the risk to life and limb for the occupants. Besides, too many parts are 'NLA', so let's not break them in the first place, right?
Second, any car made in the 1970s is GOING to have fairly dim rear lights - my 1972 2002 was rear-ended five separate times by five idiots, and 'totalled' by five different insurance companies - but that's another story.
Many vehicles sold in the last ten years are more truck than car, and most drivers would rather be doing anything other than driving. Getting run into (or over) by one of these behemoths would be disastrous, both to the coupe and to the driver and passengers. Best answer is to make SURE the drivers behind you can see you and understand your intentions, helping them react or brake in time, don't you think?
Remember from drivers ed - driving a car or truck IS MULTI-TASKING BY DEFINITION, no outside activities to disract you are needed. (OK, I'll step away from the soap box now)
So, what happens after this restoration and upgrade? Well, I took some pics at night from about 20 feet away, with the restored and upgraded tail light on the left side of the car, and the original light with polished reflectors and High Output bulbs on the right. The right side is bright, but the left side is INCREDIBLE, when you see it for real. The camera tries to 'balance' the exposure, so you will have to take Wayne's word, it is VERY much brighter, and bigger too. The upgrade is basically making both the original tail and brake lights into both tail and brake lights, so two bulbs light on each side with the headlights, and both get brighter when you step on the brake.
Here are some comparison photos, but only the thumbnails.
For full size, here is a link to another site where they are hosted, Bimmerforums (I will reduce and post here later).
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1898825
This shows tail lights - single bulb on both sides-
stock on the right, restored on the left, with high output bulb.
Here is brake lights converted (dual bulbs) and restored on the left side. Converted tails look essentially the same, but dimmer
Here is tail plus brake lights, stock on the right side.
Finally, here is a comparison of turns, stock on the right, upgraded and restored on the left.
As I said, the camera tried to outsmart me so the exposures aren't the same as real life. I'll ask Wayne to comment in a reply.
And by the way, I must thank Wayne for providing me with a pair of lights from a parts car to 'experiment' on, proving the concept before 'messing around' with the lights from his very nicely sorted car. He has the high output bulbs, but still running stock (single) tail and brake lights.
If anyone wants details, send me a pm or email.
Please, let me have your replies with comments and questions, and let's see about getting one of these high performance lighting setups in your coupe! (hey, I gotta pay rent, you know)
__________________
Andy, the tail light guy, says "Be Seen, and Not Hurt"!
Lighting Upgrades for 2002, E3, E9, E12, E21, E23, E24, E28, E30, E32, E36, E39 front and back -
Tail Light Improvements to keep them off your tail.
Headlight protection to keep your 'eyes' from being punched out.
In a kind of long drawn out project between my other projects, I have been restoring a set of lights from the back of my neighbor Wayne's 1973 3.0CS. He and I had spoken about our 2002s, and about lighting improvements I was doing for other models (see sig) to try and keep more of these older bimmers on the road, and fewer in the wrecking yards.
I looked into commercial electroplating (not a very popular option, couldn't find anyone willing locally), home electroplating (less expensive, but not nearly as good as the original), and repainting with "shiny" silver paint from a spray can. Silver repaint is the method used in my E24 six series projects, and works beautifully. So, repaint it is.
Next step was cleaning the reflectors to prep for paint- disassembling, scraping, sanding, and buffing to a 'smooth' surface finish, repainting, and then reassembling both of the reflector subassemblies, with some 'magic' in between to enable the socket conversions that would allow use of different (dual filament, nickel base, high output) bulbs for the upgrade.
Final step (this is the good part) was to convert the bulb sockets to accept new bulbs to increase the visual size, output, and reliability of the lights for two critical functions, tail and brake lights. And what a difference!
You might know that I have been doing this for over seven years with E12, E21, E23, E24, E28, E30, E32, E36, E39, and other makes and models, but the E9 was a real challenge, and was equally rewarding to see it in action.
First of all, the E9 coupe has a beautiful shape, and in it's day, was a real high performance car. Today, a nice example is worth a fortune in sheer driving pleasure, with ample head-turning ability. Losing one of these due to a preventable collision would be a heart breaker, not to mention the risk to life and limb for the occupants. Besides, too many parts are 'NLA', so let's not break them in the first place, right?
Second, any car made in the 1970s is GOING to have fairly dim rear lights - my 1972 2002 was rear-ended five separate times by five idiots, and 'totalled' by five different insurance companies - but that's another story.
Many vehicles sold in the last ten years are more truck than car, and most drivers would rather be doing anything other than driving. Getting run into (or over) by one of these behemoths would be disastrous, both to the coupe and to the driver and passengers. Best answer is to make SURE the drivers behind you can see you and understand your intentions, helping them react or brake in time, don't you think?
Remember from drivers ed - driving a car or truck IS MULTI-TASKING BY DEFINITION, no outside activities to disract you are needed. (OK, I'll step away from the soap box now)
So, what happens after this restoration and upgrade? Well, I took some pics at night from about 20 feet away, with the restored and upgraded tail light on the left side of the car, and the original light with polished reflectors and High Output bulbs on the right. The right side is bright, but the left side is INCREDIBLE, when you see it for real. The camera tries to 'balance' the exposure, so you will have to take Wayne's word, it is VERY much brighter, and bigger too. The upgrade is basically making both the original tail and brake lights into both tail and brake lights, so two bulbs light on each side with the headlights, and both get brighter when you step on the brake.
Here are some comparison photos, but only the thumbnails.
For full size, here is a link to another site where they are hosted, Bimmerforums (I will reduce and post here later).
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1898825
This shows tail lights - single bulb on both sides-
stock on the right, restored on the left, with high output bulb.
Here is brake lights converted (dual bulbs) and restored on the left side. Converted tails look essentially the same, but dimmer
Here is tail plus brake lights, stock on the right side.
Finally, here is a comparison of turns, stock on the right, upgraded and restored on the left.
As I said, the camera tried to outsmart me so the exposures aren't the same as real life. I'll ask Wayne to comment in a reply.
And by the way, I must thank Wayne for providing me with a pair of lights from a parts car to 'experiment' on, proving the concept before 'messing around' with the lights from his very nicely sorted car. He has the high output bulbs, but still running stock (single) tail and brake lights.
If anyone wants details, send me a pm or email.
Please, let me have your replies with comments and questions, and let's see about getting one of these high performance lighting setups in your coupe! (hey, I gotta pay rent, you know)
__________________
Andy, the tail light guy, says "Be Seen, and Not Hurt"!
Lighting Upgrades for 2002, E3, E9, E12, E21, E23, E24, E28, E30, E32, E36, E39 front and back -
Tail Light Improvements to keep them off your tail.
Headlight protection to keep your 'eyes' from being punched out.
Last edited:
Don't know you that well, yet.
