StangMods Smoke and Stealth Corners..Ton O Pics
04-17-2008, 08:27 PM
#1
5th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Anaheim, California
Posts: 4,205
StangMods Smoke and Stealth Corners..Ton O Pics
So, many of us have already done the front and or rear clear corner mod. But it seems as though this subject comes up fairly regularly, so since I was already in the process of doing mine for the second time, I thought I would put together a quick how to for this popular mod. Hopefully it will help someone in the near future....
As I said, this is the second time I have done this mod on my car. The first time I swapped the front corner lenses, the vendor (who will remain nameless, forum sponsor.....) shipped me the clears with the built in orange reflector. This was back in the day when there was a bunch of fuss about legality, DOT regulations, yada, yada, yada....Anyway, not wanting to pay a rather hefty re-stocking fee, I went ahead and installed em. They are not bad, but just did not work with my car.....Anyway.....
Before.....
For those that have never done this mod, the first thing you will think is that the vendor has shipped you the wrong lens. They probably have not done so. The lens looks quite large, in comparison to the exposed area of lens you will end up with...
There are several methods people have used to complete this mod. You can access the lens from under the front fascia, you can peel back the fender liner to access it, and I have even heard of some folks accessing the lens from above....I prefer to use a combination of the under the fascia, peel the fender liner method. As with any mod that involves being under the car, SAFETY FIRST!! Take a few minutes to do the job safely, so you will be able to step back and enjoy your work when you are done.
Wheel Chock in place....
Jack and jackstands as well.....
From under the front fascia, this is the lens that is the target of your mod. Again, it is easily accessable from just under the front of the car....
On the outboard side of the lens, there are two winged white pins, as well as a solid guidepin in the middle.....
On the inboard side of the lens, there is a tab on the lens, that slides into a slot on the front fascia....
This is where I use the combo, under the front fascia, peel the fenderwell back method. Crank your wheels toward the opposite side of the car that you are working on. Remove the three fender liner screws you can see in this picture...
By peeling back the fender liner, it will expose the corner lens that you are replacing. This will allow the lens to slide to the outboard side of the car, and also give you additional access to the two winged pins that actually hold the lens in place. Just compress the two winged pins, and push in on the front of the lens from the front of the car. The two wing pins will easily release.
Back under the front fascia, the lens can now be slid toward the outboard side of the car, which then allows the lens to basically just fall down, with the light sockets still attached to the lens. This is the drivers side. The passenger side is a bit tighter, due to the windshield washer resevoir being right in the way. But it is still quite workable...
Once the light sockets are twisted and released from the lens, the lens can be removed. At this point, I fed the two light sockets back through the opening in the front fascia for the lens, for ease of bulb replacement.
Prior to this, I had used the stock clear bulbs. I opted to change out the bulbs at the same time as the lens replacement, in favor of the stealth bulbs. The bulbs were shipped with the lenses, in these cute little plastic bags. I would suggest leaving the bulbs inside the plastic bags during replacement, to avoid unnecessary handling of the stealth bulbs...
Once the bulb replacement is complete, just push the sockets back through the bumper opening. Back under the car, the tabbed end of the new lens needs to be inserted under the slotted piece of the front fascia. You will probably need to apply a bit of force to get the tab to lock under the slot. Then pivot the lens over the two winged pins on the other side. Both the tabbed side, and the winged side will lock in with a very distinctive snap. You will know when they are propery engaged...
Once the lens is now locked into place, re-install the twist lock light sockets into the new lens... First side is now complete....
Repeat the above process on the passenger side of the car. Again, a bit more of a challenge on the passenger side, due to the washer resevoir. But still fairly quick and easy.
And here are the after pics.......
One of the other mods that seems to go hand in hand with the clear / smoked front corners, is the clear rears. I already had the clear rears on my car, but opted to order the red LED bulbs at the same time as working on the front. Up till now, I had used the clear stock bulbs, but did not really care for the look. That, plus the fact that I really don't need the local police to have another reason to stop and chat.....
The removal of the rear lens is very easy. Use a small flat bladed screwdriver. Make sure you wrap the blade of the screwdriver with a rag or towel, to protect your paint and lens...Then, just insert the blade of the screwdriver at the REAR of the lens.....
Now pivot the screwdriver toward the REAR of the car. The lens will basically pop right out at you....
Once the lens pops out at you, just remove the twist lock light socket
As I said earlier, I opted to replace the stock bulb with the red LED bulbs purchased at the same time as the front bulbs and lenses. Reverse this process to re-install the rear lens. Front and rear lens and b
As I said, this is the second time I have done this mod on my car. The first time I swapped the front corner lenses, the vendor (who will remain nameless, forum sponsor.....) shipped me the clears with the built in orange reflector. This was back in the day when there was a bunch of fuss about legality, DOT regulations, yada, yada, yada....Anyway, not wanting to pay a rather hefty re-stocking fee, I went ahead and installed em. They are not bad, but just did not work with my car.....Anyway.....
Before.....
For those that have never done this mod, the first thing you will think is that the vendor has shipped you the wrong lens. They probably have not done so. The lens looks quite large, in comparison to the exposed area of lens you will end up with...
There are several methods people have used to complete this mod. You can access the lens from under the front fascia, you can peel back the fender liner to access it, and I have even heard of some folks accessing the lens from above....I prefer to use a combination of the under the fascia, peel the fender liner method. As with any mod that involves being under the car, SAFETY FIRST!! Take a few minutes to do the job safely, so you will be able to step back and enjoy your work when you are done.
Wheel Chock in place....
Jack and jackstands as well.....
From under the front fascia, this is the lens that is the target of your mod. Again, it is easily accessable from just under the front of the car....
On the outboard side of the lens, there are two winged white pins, as well as a solid guidepin in the middle.....
On the inboard side of the lens, there is a tab on the lens, that slides into a slot on the front fascia....
This is where I use the combo, under the front fascia, peel the fenderwell back method. Crank your wheels toward the opposite side of the car that you are working on. Remove the three fender liner screws you can see in this picture...
By peeling back the fender liner, it will expose the corner lens that you are replacing. This will allow the lens to slide to the outboard side of the car, and also give you additional access to the two winged pins that actually hold the lens in place. Just compress the two winged pins, and push in on the front of the lens from the front of the car. The two wing pins will easily release.
Back under the front fascia, the lens can now be slid toward the outboard side of the car, which then allows the lens to basically just fall down, with the light sockets still attached to the lens. This is the drivers side. The passenger side is a bit tighter, due to the windshield washer resevoir being right in the way. But it is still quite workable...
Once the light sockets are twisted and released from the lens, the lens can be removed. At this point, I fed the two light sockets back through the opening in the front fascia for the lens, for ease of bulb replacement.
Prior to this, I had used the stock clear bulbs. I opted to change out the bulbs at the same time as the lens replacement, in favor of the stealth bulbs. The bulbs were shipped with the lenses, in these cute little plastic bags. I would suggest leaving the bulbs inside the plastic bags during replacement, to avoid unnecessary handling of the stealth bulbs...
Once the bulb replacement is complete, just push the sockets back through the bumper opening. Back under the car, the tabbed end of the new lens needs to be inserted under the slotted piece of the front fascia. You will probably need to apply a bit of force to get the tab to lock under the slot. Then pivot the lens over the two winged pins on the other side. Both the tabbed side, and the winged side will lock in with a very distinctive snap. You will know when they are propery engaged...
Once the lens is now locked into place, re-install the twist lock light sockets into the new lens... First side is now complete....
Repeat the above process on the passenger side of the car. Again, a bit more of a challenge on the passenger side, due to the washer resevoir. But still fairly quick and easy.
And here are the after pics.......
One of the other mods that seems to go hand in hand with the clear / smoked front corners, is the clear rears. I already had the clear rears on my car, but opted to order the red LED bulbs at the same time as working on the front. Up till now, I had used the clear stock bulbs, but did not really care for the look. That, plus the fact that I really don't need the local police to have another reason to stop and chat.....
The removal of the rear lens is very easy. Use a small flat bladed screwdriver. Make sure you wrap the blade of the screwdriver with a rag or towel, to protect your paint and lens...Then, just insert the blade of the screwdriver at the REAR of the lens.....
Now pivot the screwdriver toward the REAR of the car. The lens will basically pop right out at you....
Once the lens pops out at you, just remove the twist lock light socket
As I said earlier, I opted to replace the stock bulb with the red LED bulbs purchased at the same time as the front bulbs and lenses. Reverse this process to re-install the rear lens. Front and rear lens and b
04-17-2008, 09:02 PM
#6
RE: StangMods Smoke and Stealth Corners..Ton O Pics
Nice write-up, wow I wish I would saw this install sooner, aww well I have one more trun signal to go, I'll give it a shot... Anyone know where to find some LED bulbs for the front turn signals?
04-17-2008, 09:35 PM
#8
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 210
RE: StangMods Smoke and Stealth Corners..Ton O Pics
Thanks for the great step-by-step instructions. I have a pair of clear corners, that I bought from the same place, sitting here ready togo on the car. Unfotunately, now I have to wait at least a week since Oldman Winter decided to make a comeback with lots of snow and temps around 10F. [:@]
04-17-2008, 09:47 PM
#9
5th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Anaheim, California
Posts: 4,205
RE: StangMods Smoke and Stealth Corners..Ton O Pics
Thanks for the compliments all, it is appreciated....
Rat, sorry to hear about winter's return....Hate to say it, but it was about 87 degrees here today......Sorry......
Rat, sorry to hear about winter's return....Hate to say it, but it was about 87 degrees here today......Sorry......
