[desigNation]

r.k.ramesh-theres a thread on my baleno called my modified baleno please check it out.but then it dint go to the extent of this kind of a mod job .its very basic.

[R.K.Ramesh]

@ SRK - regarding LEDs in the tail lights - we did put in the R&D effort and t seems to have finally come good for a first effort after a couple of false starts...that will be revealed as this thread progresses.

@rjstyles69, yes the front has been decided - we have imported, from Thailand, a pair of aftermarket Honda Civic lights from a previous model not sold in India.
We have not calculated the exact weight of extra sheet metal that has gone into the job, but going by the number of sheets we have used, i'd say something like 25-35 kgs would be the overall weight penalty on the body - the weight of a young teenager I guess...

@ esteem_lover The back did at that time resemble the Lancer - in fact many visitors thought the donor car was a Lancer or an Astra. Surprising how much (boring) character the square original tail lights gave the car. Just concealing their cut outs made the car unrecognizable from the back. Well it doesnt look anything like the Lancer as you will subsequently see.

@desigNation liked your black Baleno too - nice and simple. Good idea to visually alter the look of the tail light - works with the black colour.

[R.K.Ramesh]

The unconventional use of the headlight as a tail light meant that we had to give the rear boot lid a new profile as the bulbulous semi spherical headlight casing didnt fit into the original cubical tail light box of the Baleno.

We then proceeded to give the boot lid a new profile as that as we mention now seemed to look like the Lancer boot lid. This proved to be a simple straight forward solution as it went with the overall stance. We also worked at harmonising the new shut lines with the new boot profile which would now reflect the road marking as the car moved due to it's lip looking downward.

On completing this task we saw an interesting new look emerging which gave the car a simple but powerful hunkered down squat. The rear glass appeared shorter as the boot lid was lengthened a few inches. The stance appeared wider with the curved shoulders wrapping around the lights...


Ohhhh what a play on our eyes these optical illusions can be .

[smsrini]

Wont the VW Passat ( old model ) or the mondeo tail lights fit your requirement. Both are round, and integrate all the functions required...

[R.K.Ramesh]

@smsrini The one catch is that they are of a different profile (so cant use them directly on the 3D contours of this body style) apart from being expensive.
Even if we had found an old example of these models' tail lights we would need to seperate the round graphic element from inside these tail light casings.
To get the round portion of the Passat and Mondeo lights seperated would mean a trial and error process where we risk breaking the plastic components. And after that comes the effort of making it weather proof and installing it in a suitable casing...which might not work out in the interest of finding a cost effective replacement part should this item get damaged for any reason in the future...

Incidentally we did try out the round component of the older Corolla's LED tail lights but that didnt work out in a hassle free manner - so dropped that idea too.

In short the Passat option (which we actually considered) and the Mondeo option was dropped at the initial stage due to cost/time/ availability considerations.

[R.K.Ramesh]

We then went on to fashion the rear bumper...



This continued to maintain the development of the newer more sporty stance of the car since the cant of the rear face has now been changed.

[R.K.Ramesh]

To develop the rear end a couple of panels had to be redone to get the desired lines...






And now the skirts to visually balance the bumper with the rest of the body...

[mac187]

Very well planned design. Involves alot of work.

What do you have in mind for the paint job?

[R.K.Ramesh]

Thanks mac187. Yes it was quite a bit of work to get the tinkerers to bend their minds to accommodate the lines and the finer nuances of metal sculpting.

For the paint job we thought of the following options
- Black
- Yellow
- Dark metallic blue
- Ferrari Red

[R.K.Ramesh]

A sporty sedan would like a sporty undertray in it's rear bumper; complete with the numberplate box and the wind splitting fins...ICEMAN was given these as can be seen here...



Please note that this undertray is more for aesthetic rather than for practical aerodynamic application. There was not enough space to optimise the diffuser angle without cutting into the boot wall and floor. An area which was not included in this project.

[rjstyles69]

ramesh IMO those fins on bumper looks out of place, wouldn't a simple bumper look fab ? Something on the lines of this one below, plain and subtle.



Once again to each his own, just my 2 cents.

[nithin_86]

I feel the same way as rjstyles69. The fins kind of look a little too wild for the car. It could be because of the partially completed look. I guess once the complete work is done it will fit into place perfectly.

[R.K.Ramesh]

@rjstyles69 The fins look this way as of now. The white modded Baleno you posted above IMO has a rear bumper that is too slab sided for the design we are working on. I did consider something on these lines initially but the car simply seemed to ask for something more...Also we were careful to ensure that Ground clearance and ramp angles were within practical limits. In fact GC is better than the stock Baleno though the car 'looks' like it rides lower.
The white Baleno above will sure have departure ramp angle problems with the bumper surrounding the lower lip of the large free flowing exhaust pipe which seems similar in size and approximate location to ICEMAN's exhaust pipe.

@nithin_86 I'd say the final result doesn't look wild - it is rather restrained agression - the 'wait and watch' stance will pay it's dividends now You will see what I mean as we go on.

Now that the basic metalwork for the rear face is done...


the putty work started; and it is amazing how an even colour tone on the surface can being out the details so much more clearly.


We felt that the simplicity of form on the top half of the rear face is well complemented by the visual complexity of the lower half of the rear bumper. You may percieve now that the rear looks more squat and visually wider though dimentionally it is nearly the same.

And just so that you catch the drift - the bonnet too is a bit on the aggressive side with prominent flutes and an unusual twist which grows on you as you keep looking at it .

[R.K.Ramesh]

The sides are done and the back is largely done so we came up to the front now.
The bonnet was given a very pronounced bulge as this feature gives the car that large hearted (engine) look and therefore a powerful look.



We thought at first that it may be a bit too 'over the top' but it dovetailed amicably with the overall design as we shall see further on.

The front bumper then had to be fashioned from scratch to match this aggressive stance of the car...and I won't be surprised if it polarizes opinions

[R.K.Ramesh]

Putting in a pic of the full rear face that I had intended for post #27...