I added a set of Catz MSX driving lights
to the nose of my '91 Supra. To do so, I fabricated a set of mounting
brackets to replace the plastic grill inserts in the two slotted areas inboard
of the amber turn signals. (See photo below). The brackets were not very
hard to make, just took a lot of measuring and fitting, so when I was done, I
made some measurements of the brackets and created a drawing of them so others
would have an easier time of it
I made the brackets out of 1/8" aluminum
angle stock by first cutting off the short leg of the angle and then blanking
out the bracket in the flat stock left over. This was only because it was
handy. It would have been just as good to use 1/8" flat sheet stock, & I
probably would have used that if it had been available. I don't know for sure
what the alloy was on the angle stock, but I think it was 2024-T4, good, tough
material for this purpose.
I actually used a metal cutting blade in a
sabre saw (hand held reciprocating saw) to cut the overall shape, and then a
file to straighten the edges. The only thing really required was a good bench
vise to hold the part while I worked on it.
After cutting out the brackets and drilling
out the mounting holes, I had to put the bend in them. This was accomplished
by putting them in the vise and gently tapping with a hammer at the base of
the bend to form them to the angle of 10 degrees off plane. This was necessary
allow the mounting areas on the left and right to lay parallel to the attach
points for the plastic grills. This angle is shown in plan view on the included
mechanical drawing.
To finish them, I bead blasted them and
painted them flat black with some epoxy paint. Being painted black, they blend
in with the shadows in the nose area and really can't be seen. So the lights
seem to just float there in the grill openings. Looks good and clean.
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