pinstriping 86 tails to make them cobras

cenok is family

15 Year Member
Jun 25, 2003
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Norman, Ok
i got a set im about to do...i'm pretty much just going off of guestimates and pictures i'm looking at which is fine, they'll probably come out bada$$ still...but does anyone or can anyone with cobra taillights maybe please measure and/or let me know how wide the pinstripes are and how far apart they are? it'd make things easier and would be much appreciated. thanks guys!
 
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I did 'em to mine, as I preferred it over the actual OEM Cobras. The lines were pretty translucent and at times looked too light for my tastes.

The best way to do it (that I found - and I made about 2 dozen sets for people and they all loved 'em) is by counting those little squares you see in the lights. Think of separating them into two sections: upper and lower. The plastic stripe in the middle will separate the two, obviously.

In the upper section, count the number of squares from the top of the plastic strip to the top of the colored lens. Lay the 1/8" pinstripe in the very middle, and that will become your middle stripe. To find where to lay the top & bottom stripe on the top section of the lens, do the same thing. Just count the little squares (I think at this point you'll be counting by halves, but it's still easy and you can almost eye it at this point) and lay the stripes.

To do the lower section, it's the same way. Count the squares, lay pinstriping in the middle, then count up from that stripe to the top (or bottom) of the lens section and lay another in between the two.

One note, though. On the middle stripe on the bottom section, you have to cut it short before it reaches the end of the lens. I can't remember the distance but I believe it's somewhere between 2-3".

Here's the best picture of my car that I could find, that shows the lens striping. You can see how the lower middle (2nd from bottom) stripe is cut short so it doesn't extend all the way to the edge of the lens:

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The real Cobras aren't centered at all...and the middle bar on the bottom row isn't whole. It stops at the side reflector

Personally, nobody on the road is gonna know if they are real or fake so what does it matter? The easiest way is to run a 1/8" pinstripe down the center of each section, and then run another pinstripe above and below it centered. That way they are all equally spaced and look even.

Who cares if it's authentic
 
That's what I was getting at :shrug: Easier to do than describe, I guess. If you look between the stripes, the red lens that shows through should be pretty much even with the next row.
 
Mustang5L5 said:
The real Cobras aren't centered at all...and the middle bar on the bottom row isn't whole. It stops at the side reflector

Who cares if it's authentic
Exactly. Most people will not notice at all how they are done. I have often thought about doing this on my clear tails. But then again I have a vinyl cutter and an unlimited supply of vinyl so its no big deal for me to try all I want:nice:
 
Mustang5L5 said:
The real Cobras aren't centered at all...and the middle bar on the bottom row isn't whole. It stops at the side reflector

Personally, nobody on the road is gonna know if they are real or fake so what does it matter? The easiest way is to run a 1/8" pinstripe down the center of each section, and then run another pinstripe above and below it centered. That way they are all equally spaced and look even.

Who cares if it's authentic


wow i never knew that....does it continue any on the other side of the reflector?.....i mean is it like a "break" in the stripe, or does it completely stop?...just curious lol
 
iwashmycar: I said that the other day in my post above. I posted a pic too. Take a look. It's faint but you can make it out.

The middle line starts at the edge of the tail lense, near where the license plate is, and then wraps around the corner (the bend in the lense) and then stops. That's the only difference between that stripe and the others.
 
iwashmycar said:
wow i never knew that....does it continue any on the other side of the reflector?.....i mean is it like a "break" in the stripe, or does it completely stop?...just curious lol


See, that's what i mean. Not many people can tell a true authentic cobra taillight vs a replica.

That's why it's silly to measure them out to the millimeter. Just center the 3 pinstripes and you are good to go!


Here are my replica lights. This is what i meant by just centering the pinstripes. I did some other work to the lights as well in this thread that i think others should consider. Made a hell of a difference

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=632177
 
Naturally you'd probably want to use measuring tape to make sure the striping is LEVEL across the lense :) Other than that, as stated a few times, center the middle first and the others next.