Clear lenses.......

Re:Clear lenses....... (wolfie308)

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 23:56:39 GMT

Quick update and a few new photos, first another AW11 Supercharger clear rears.....

and also clear fronts for all AW11 models...…..the original parts are no longer available, one pair is original, the other is my reproduction, but I can't remember which is which...……….

Re:Clear lenses....... (wolfie308)

Mon, 23 Jul 2018 00:50:50 GMT

and here's a couple of the Mk1a rears installed...…..

Re:Clear lenses....... (wolfie308)

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 02:37:38 GMT

Just received this photo from a chap in Denmark.....these are the first to be installed in the world

Re:Clear lenses....... (wolfie308)

Tue, 27 Feb 2018 00:16:39 GMT

Hi chaps,

After an absence of some time, I'm back with news of my latest MR2 clear lens projects which have not been available before. Firstly, amber rear delete for the AW11 Mk1a......

This is the first one I made....the lens is just loose fitted for photo purposes. Before someone points out the new lens is much brighter than the reverse lens, that's because I sprayed the reflector of the indicator with silver/chrome spray. For a final fit I'll remove the reverse lens, clean and polish and spray that reflector as well.

My latest project, I only completed over the weekend, one of my finest pieces of work if I say so myself... AW11 Mk1b clear rear conversion. These late model lights were USDM/JDM and never officially imported into the U.K, Europe or Oz, but they do exist in small numbers. Also known as 'Supercharger' type lights, I managed to source a very rare pair in the U.K. These were my starting point.....

The amber sections were pretty matted with age.....

Much careful polishing was needed to get it to this condition for moulding from...

And finally, after much work, I ended up with these....

I will be writing a walk through guide with photos when I have time and I'm pleased to report that fitting was much easier than I'd anticipated, achieved with only the wife's high power hair dryer.....no need to use the oven method......just as well as the units wouldn't have fitted" />

If you're interested in either of these, they will be available from my good friend Gary at ToyotaHeritage. In the meantime, if you have any questions, give me a shout.

All the best,

Richard

Re:Clear lenses....... (Jaemus)

Sat, 15 Oct 2016 11:13:41 GMT

Thanks Richard and Gary. I should just add that the product I received is of excellent quality and I had no issues fitting them myself, all you need is an oven and some trim removal tools (from your auto parts store). The quality of the product stands against the price reasonably well in my opinion, and I'm unaware of any directly comparable alternatives that are worth considering. Excellent work guys!

Re:Clear lenses....... (wolfie308)

Fri, 14 Oct 2016 19:53:17 GMT

It's a new morning, it's a new day. I was going to reply to TonyMR2's last post, but he's disappeared. Anyhow, Gary at toyotaheritage has covered everything I was going to say and more. Sadly, this whole debacle seems to have arisen over a genuine error in listing one item on eBay. I stated this in my previous post, and this has been subsequently corroborated by Gary's copy of his correspondence with TonyMR2.

Moving on, if anyone's genuinely interested in purchasing, I've now produced an illustrated PDF of the fitting process so you can see what's involved. If you contact toyotaheritage, they'll be happy to mail you a copy. They may also offer you a slightly reduced price if you order direct through them rather than through eBay. In the meantime, for those of you with the Rev 1/2 models, here's another option. I don't make triangles for these and the USDM red triangles are discontinued, but a customer in Switzerland sent me this photo. He's sprayed the triangles with body colour paint, and I think it blends well especially on a black car. Also, a much cheaper option to amber delete as you only need to buy the indicator lenses. Any questions, please ask, I'm happy to help.
Best Regards,
Richard.
www.protocast.co.uk

Re:Clear lenses....... (Rob)

Fri, 14 Oct 2016 13:58:57 GMT

Re:Clear lenses....... (Toyota Heritage)

Fri, 14 Oct 2016 10:14:57 GMT

Tony - lets be 110% clear on a few things.

A) You are using this forum for commercial gain - you want something for a lower price, or alternately, you wish to see a retailer go out of business. That's commercial gain old sport no matter how you spin it.

B) Direct contact is phoning or emailing me. It's not hiding behind anonymity in chat rooms, forums and eBay messages. You know my business name and you know how to contact me.

Conversely, I can't direct contact you. Furthermore, you don't even have the courage to display your location (even broadly by city name) in your profiles on the forums you participate in.

We deal and work directly with thousands of globally based enthusiasts each year who openly discuss their needs and requirements including price. So we know when direct contact is taking place.

C) Your core argument posted up yesterday was about our business model and how we arrived at pricing. Responses from us and the manufacturer have proven your assumptions to be wildly wrong.

Shifting the argument and hiding behind forum policy just to have the last say is laughable; especially when you ostensibly restarted the discussion.

D) Not buying our product is fine; **** bagging our business by trying to pull apart our business and supply chain models is not, especially when its based only on opinion and no facts. Next time you're at Supercheap Auto (or similar retailer) try doing the same with the franchise owner - bet you get a warm reception.

E) There is no legislated requirement for a retailer to dual list products on eBay and their website - what's your point here?

F) Our opinion plays no part in price setting for our products. Costs to produce, store, handle, ship, insurances, market risks etc etc all do. You should know this from doing your business studies.

For the record; here is the communications a eBay user had with us on multiple purchase. You'll notice our response was with integrity and open honesty about why the original pricing was wrong.

Hi, I and a friend have been watching this item since you first started listing. The price started much less. I offer $300 for two sets, pick up from your location. Let me know if your interested in selling two sets, clear rear lenses rev3 mr2

Hi and thanks for your enquiry Tony
I am interested to sell two sets but must let you know that the original pricing was way below cost to make these. We hadn't added in the cost of the triangle sections when we first listed!
These are basically hand-made (hence the quality) and there is little margin in them.
Best regards, Gary

The buyer did not respond to my reply message.

I'd challenge whether this eBay enquiry was genuine in the first place (ie it had no real intent to purchase). Moreover it seems it was used to make some wild assumptions to post up an opinion piece on a forum....

Re:Clear lenses....... (Toyota Heritage)

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 23:40:43 GMT

Let's be 100% clear here - you did not contact us directly

Re:Clear lenses....... (wolfie308)

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 20:49:20 GMT

TonyMR2.....I'm struggling to understand your argument/gripe. I know there was a mix up a few months back when a set of rears and triangles were listed at the price of the indicator sections only. I was advised through a Facebook group and notified the dealer of the error, which was quickly rectified.

Let's take an example......refer back to my pricing listed at 2011...rear indicator sections £90/pair. After 5 years, these have only increased to £95/pair + 4.1% to cover PayPal fees + shipping(approx. £12 for tracked Air Mail). My dealer has a set listed on eBay at $AUD 180. Using a current exchange rate of 1.6/£1 that equates to £112.50. You need to remember that he will then lose close to 15% in eBay and PayPal fees, which means he'll receive £95.62, which is almost exactly the same as I'd charge. Internal mail would obviously a lot cheaper than me posting from the U.K.

If we look at the complete rear set, these are listed at $AUD 280 = £175 less 15% means he receives £148.75 as opposed to the £155 I'd charge you. Finally for now, Toblerone side lenses listed at $AUD 55 = £34.38 less 15% = £29.22. Refer to my price.....£37.50

So, hopefully you can now see that my dealer's pricing is fair and in line, if not a bit cheaper than mine and he's had to pay the shipping from the U.K.

Interesting to note, none of my SW20 products are shown on my website, but I still manage good sales through other avenues. I rarely list on eBay, after 9 years, most of my sales are from referral, recommendation, forums and Facebook groups. No commission, no listing fees = successful sales model.

If you contact my dealer direct rather than through eBay, I believe he'd rather give you a discount than pay the money to eBay. Hopefully that all makes sense....well it does to me. FWIW.... I'm now retired, but in a former life, I was Business Development Manager for a Mitsubishi Corporation company in the U.K.

As a foot note, if you look at the weakening of the £Sterling vs $AUD, my prices are actually cheaper to you than 5 years ago. End of today's business class" />

Re:Clear lenses....... (Jaemus)

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 20:37:39 GMT

Interesting. But people unknowing or otherwise will still buy, as I did, without any alternatives to consider other than DIY

Re:Clear lenses....... (Jaemus)

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 18:39:43 GMT

Hi wolfie, thanks for replying :)

Thanks for the advice on this. Since they don't come apart again, as you say, I'll have to see then if someone wants to first buy the smoked ones as an assembled set of Kouki tails, so I can changeover, because as TonyMR2 points out they were quite far from cheap and buying a second set will be prohibitively expensive.

I just checked your supplier's website and there are no items for sale at all, so I assume he deals exclusively through eBay and/or other means at the moment.

Re:Clear lenses....... (wolfie308)

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 07:26:14 GMT

Hi Jaemus,

Yes I'm still around....good job you posted so I can answer your questions and any others people may have. Firstly, the smoked set you have would have been made by me, but were supplied by a chap who has been my Australian dealer for the last 9 months. His eBay user name is 'toyotaheritage' or you can contact him through his website www.toyotaheritage.com.

Unfortunately, once fitted, it's virtually impossible to remove them without damage/distortion due to having to subject to oven heat. PU plastic will soften at a much lower temp than the original PMMA (acrylic) lens.

The tint is now done with a tiny amount of black pigment and not sprayed on like I originally did for the Toblerones. I made the tint level to match the aftermarket smoked fronts and also maintain sufficient light transfer to avoid any legal issues. I can make lighter on request but cannot guarantee the exact shade. Smoke Toblerones installed.......

Clear or smoke Toblerone lenses available, made to order, please contact my dealer for price in $AUD and local shipping cost.

Re:Clear lenses....... (Jaemus)

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 00:07:24 GMT

Sorry to drag this thread back from the dead, are you still around wolfie308 ?

I bought a full 4 piece set of the smoked kouki lenses from eBay, which I assume was from you? I'm thinking they are too dark for my taste now that I've seen how they look fitted up. Is there is an easy way to remove the spray tint? Will you entertain an exchange? I've already fitted them unfortunately, but I could sort out a cash adjustment as appropriate.

The other idea is, (speaking to the floor here) if someone wants a full set of smoked clear lenses for the kouki lights, I could do a deal I could sell the smoked lenses at a reduced price and then I can buy some unsmoked clear ones to replace them with. Or even better, I can sell the whole kouki set (inc a centre panel, L brackets etc) or swap for a stock kouki set with cash my way, that way the installation is already done for the buyer. I haven't installed the clear triangle corners yet (just using USDM atm) but I intend to get this one in any case.
Anyone interested PM or email me :)

Photos were taken in a not particularly well lit garage, theyre a bit lighter in full sunlight of course. Indicator still nice and bright with orange bulb.

Also wolfie, are you still doing the clear toblerones?

Re:Clear lenses....... (Reddtarga)

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:14:06 GMT

"Is Oz the same as U.K where all turn signals/indicators must illuminate amber? "

Yes.