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For this second installment of the ’57 Bel Air bike build, we take a look at how French bike builder Lupo tackled adapting a car taillight to his project. At first, it looks as if you just take the stock taillight and slap it happily onto the finned fender and call it a day. Well… there are many things coming into play here. For instance, the lights are not symmetrical down the middle, because the shape and contour of the inner and outer fender panels on a ’57 Chevrolet are very different. Since Lupo is using the outer panels of two fenders to create the bike’s ‘big fin’, he had fabricate a special taillight. He had to take a mold of the outer edges of the taillight assembly and bumper extension in order to made both halves.
The following photo sequence speaks volume as to how complicated the subassembly turned out to be. Enjoy…
There’s a left and a right taillight and bumper extension, so the shape is not symetrical, however the bike’s fender is… Lupo had to purchase two taillights and bumper extensions and prepped them to take a precise mold of the outer half.
Fiberglass work is always messy and ugly, but done right, results are amazing. This is not Lupo’s first rodeo and he was able to produce a taillight that fits his chopped down fender perfectly.
The copied ‘halves’ have been glued together and finished with gelcoat. The plan is to have them eventually chrome-painted, using a proven water-based technique that yields an amazing chrome look.
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Moving to the front of bike, here’s a look at another interesting subassembly, where Lupo deviated from the original design. He decided to place another ‘tip-of-the-hat’ to the ’57 Chevy from bumper. He formed an air dam from sheetmetal, grafting a Chevy-inspired bumper bullet for good measure.
Lupo mocked up the bike just in time for a local custom show, with the taillight and bumper still in gelcoat. Mission accomplished; it looks like it was lifted right from the back of a ’57 Chevy.
Make sure to check out Lupo’s website to find out more about his creations, including the custom Rolls Royce pictured below.
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