Finally a solution for the ghibli's front headlights.

Hi everybody.
I'm sorry, my first post here (long time lurker) will be in english, my italian is too bad.
But I think it should interest some of you, so...



Since the day of purchase, I had problem with the right front headlight of my ghibli.
It was cracked when I bought the car, and it has cracked again less than 1000km after fitting of a new one.
It seems I'm not the only one experimenting this kind of trouble: http://www.sportsmaserati.co.uk/showthread.php/5016-Cracked-Ghibli-Headlights-why


I had to find another solution and here it is: cover in lexan (or similar) to replace the original glass.



The most difficult part of the work was removing the front glass without breaking it, I want to be able to use it again later if needed (maybe in ten years it would cost thousands). You need to be very cautious to avoid any damage (by the way, don't put the headlight in an oven, it doesn't work either).




I've made the choice to paint in satin black the inside of the headlight. I thinked that it would be nicer (the original finish was a little dull and came with some scratches).
To do so, you'll need to do a little sanding, then apply primer and, finally, the color.
It looks way better like that.






Last thing to do before putting the headlight back on the car is to glue the cover.
There is some pictures of the car with the two kind of glass: original one on the left side, and new lexan one on the right side.

It's easer to compare like that.






















I know the car is really dirty but the weather is quite bad here.

You can find these covers @ maseratispares. It's not my shop and I have no link with the owner.
I think the price is on the high side (a sheet of lexan should cost 5€), but there is not a lot of alternative.

What do you think of the final look?

If I can help, you can ask me questions, even in Italian.
I hope you'll find this review interesting.


Gemini, from Belgium.

Congratulations, that was the solution I had imagined a short time ago ... the solution: Lexan!

http://www.maseratispares.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98&products_id=387

I would also change the left front lamp, in order to hae the same solution on both sides so only people expert in this model can notice the change.

Of course I will change the left side too. Don't worry about that.

It was only to show the differences between the old headlight and the new one.
I thought it would be interesting to be able to compare the two headlight on the same car.

I'll post a picture as soon as installation is completed (saturday or sunday).

Good option, and congratulation for the car

Very nice work.
How did you build the headlights in Lexan?

Andrea, he didn't build them, he bought them from this website: http://www.maseratispares.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98&products_id=387

Aoooooooooooooooooooo
Parlamo in itagliano che sennnnnnò un'intendo!!!!!!

Grazie Big, scherzi a parte non avevo letto tutto il thread.

I didn't build the headlight.
I tried to do so but I failed.

It's not so difficult to make a mold of the glass.
Once you have done the mold, it's only thermoforming, quite easy if you have the right tools.

I hadn't the tools so I tried to heat the lexn but the result was really bad.
It's only two months later that I found these covers on maseratispares.

It's quite surprising that nobody never talked about this stuff before, isn't?

Yes,but NOT ORIGINAL...



(and bruttini,very much assaje)

I don't understand the term "assaje"but I suppose it's not positive.

Nevertheless, I understand your point of view, it's not original anymore.
But, it's completly reversible and I still have the orginal glass.
So, really, I don't care.

It wasn't a choice dictated by the will of modify the car. It was a reasonable compromise for me and my car.

Congratulations

gemini ha scritto:

I don't understand the term "assaje"but I suppose it's not positive.

Nevertheless, I understand your point of view, it's not original anymore.
But, it's completly reversible and I still have the orginal glass.
So, really, I don't care.

It wasn't a choice dictated by the will of modify the car. It was a reasonable compromise for me and my car.

Don't worry about Susan boy, he's one of the forum Talebans …

This is an hotbed of Maserati Taliban
Love is an infinite thing.....

BigFoot ha scritto:

gemini ha scritto:

I don't understand the term "assaje"but I suppose it's not positive.

Nevertheless, I understand your point of view, it's not original anymore.
But, it's completly reversible and I still have the orginal glass.
So, really, I don't care.

It wasn't a choice dictated by the will of modify the car. It was a reasonable compromise for me and my car.

Don't worry about Susan boy, he's one of the forum Talebans …

And he is not even the hardest one....

Hmmm, I'm afraid that they will not love my other ghibli.























Don't worry, it's just a photoshop: http://magicmanu.com/tuning/galerie/images_6617-ghibli.html#or .

Bellissima

The perfect car for our friend mauroracing

io non toccherei mai l'estetica della ghiblina.... ma confesso che mi paice (tranne il paraurti ant che è un pò troppo tunign per i miei gusti)

ma perchè è senza prese d'aria?

(ci vedrei bene le prese d'aria delle ghibli cup)

scusate se non sò già automaticamente tradurre in modo corretto in inglese.!

To reassure all the talibans here, I've just done the left headlight (only the removing of the glass, the most dangerous part).
And the glass is still in one piece, already protected and stored.

You can see the tools I used.





Took about 40 minutes.
Best way to procede: take off first the lower side, then the internal side, the external side and it should now be possible to toggle the glass slowly and carefully.

Hi Gemini,


I'm new to the forum here, I own a black Ghibli 1992 and I have the same issue with the headlights.
Unfortunately I cannot see the pics of your work on this post anymore, I am interested in how you removed the glass without breaking it.
The headlights on my 1992 Ghibli are black and they seem hard to come by (and expensive)
Can you PM me the pics?
btw your Ghibli cup looks amazing, do you still own it?

Hi Wimper, sorry for the late reply.
There is no easy way to remove the glass.
You need to scratch carefully the glue and then try to move the glass.

I used this kind of tool and a razor blade, nothing else.


Maseratispares.nl now sells exact copy in polycarbonate. Check on their website.
Where are you in Belgium? 
I still have the cup.
Here with one of my 3200GTs