Amazing paint.. Wow! But odd side marker lights above the originals (They didn't want to drill out the rusted Mera bolts?) that spoil the lines a little, IMO.
MERA tail lights listed on ebay, only $1499.99 or best offer per set of 4. Not mine, no connection to seller, 2 sets available. Males me feel better about what I paid to have a set reproduced by DAMAX in Australia when I bought my MERA 10 years ago.
Be prepared to make custom bulb housing when the black plastic portion either melts or deforms due to the use of normal incandescent bulbs. There is a reason that I converted all of my Meras to LED tail light bulbs but do not ask me what it is.
MERA tail lights listed on ebay, only $1499.99 or best offer per set of 4. Not mine, no connection to seller, 2 sets available. Males me feel better about what I paid to have a set reproduced by DAMAX in Australia when I bought my MERA 10 years ago.
Funny because he "borrowed" a picture of Dan's driver side lights:
[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 04-13-2023).]
I never liked the way my door panels turned out when I had my Pisa Euro Dash covered so I finally changed them. I think they fit the rest of the car much better now.
They look fantastic! fit well with the seat style and so conservative in appearance. Just....tasteful! Nicely Done.
Thanks, are you going to the 40th? It would be great to have several MERAs show up in Pontiac, MI. There is another MERA owner in KC that is going to bring his MERA. It's in the process of an engine swap/total restoration but will be finished before the show.
Hi All, new to posting on the site...I've had mera #7040 for a few years now and am finally getting around to doing the body. Today I pulled the door skins, trunk, hood, front bumper and started work on the front clip. I was wondering if anyone can answer a couple questions on the front clip removal. 1. Aside from all the fasteners on the actual clip and the inner fenders, is there anything else you recommend removing to get the clip off? 2. Any paint recommendation for black plastic pieces? I will need to repaint a few things and wondered what others have used (eg. inner fenders, rocker panels) 3. I have one slightly damaged piece on the drivers side mirror bracket (its the black plastic piece that goes between the actual painted surface of the door and the metal bracket that the actual mirror attaches to. I could make do with what I have but if anyone knows if they are available anywhere, then I might just replace it. 4. Is there any instruction for how to remove the rear bumper? I found some info on the forum for the front bumper removal which was very helpful, but nothing so far on the rear bumper 5. Last one...my front bumper needs some work and I was wondering if anyone has tried to remove the original foam that is inside the plastic to replace it. If so, what did you use. thanks for any help on these questions
Thanks Rexgirl...that is very helpful. I won't have time to get at it until the weekend, but I will give it a shot then. I was going to try to do body work and paint with all the panels in place, but I've since realized that I will get a much better result if I strip it right down (although I will leave the back end in place). I want to stay with the original yellow, but I am thinking of going with the Lotus Saffron color instead of the original mera yellow
My Mera was a yellow factory color (a Corvette OEM color actually) and I retained it because my car came to me very stock, but I agree that it would have looked prettier with a more yellow hue. Good idea if you need to renew the finish So great you are taking such terrific care of your wonderful car ! We want pictures if possible, K?
BTW, the top pic shows my skilled body guy showing how many washers it took to align the bumper's right side with the left. He still thought the Mera was very beautiful !
Looking at my photos, it's possible there are two other bolts through the same bracket which can be accessed through a cut on the bottom of the bumper. It appears that one of my trapped nuts was rusted on to one of those bolts, as shown here:
Since the body shop did the work, all I have are these pictures.
Also, like with your car, the foam in my bumpers was damaged in a few (small) places, and I thought maybe I would replace it with the Great Stuff from the home improvement stores. In the end, I decided nothing would significantly reduce damage from a collision.
those pictures are very helpful...I noticed the same issue with the spacers on the bumper...mine are all on the passenger side. I will try to get some pictures but things are a bit of a mess at the moment as my shop is filled will body panels along with a bunch of other junk. I really should have cleaned it up first, but I couldn't resist starting the project as soon as I had a couple free days. I have a body guy coming Friday morning to have a look...he painted a fiero gt that we had a while ago and did a nice job, so I am hoping he has time to take on this project. He just has a shop on his property and takes on a few jobs. I will attempt to get some pictures next time I am working on it. I was thinking of the foam more for the sake of the shape since in my front bumper the foam is actually broken inside the bumper. I was thinking of great stuff too, but I was worried it might expand and warp the bumper...still not sure what to do with that. I might make a frame to hold the bumper to the size I want and then try to refill it.
Good morning...well after working on some clean up on Monday I have yet another question. On the hood, there appears to be an adhesive type tape that was under the vent grills. It would seem like it would have held the vent grills in place originally. I have been removing it to get ready for paint, but am wondering if anyone has found a suitable replacement. I will try to attach some pictures that might help you know what I am trying to describe. It's about 1/2 inch wide and goes around the opening of the vent.
I had a few rivets as well, but this almost looked like butyl tape or something similar. I think it is original. Are you also doing body work on your mera?
My early 1987 Mera had four angle brackets like yours but in all four corners, and another in the center at the rear. These five are what attached the grill, not the trim you are asking about. It appears your two front brackets are missing, leaving only their pop rivets.
sorry Rexgirl, I wasn't very clear on my description...I have removed the front 2 brackets that hold the aluminum grill...but under that grill there are 2 wire grill/covers that go over the engine opening. I think there were a couple rivets holding them in addition to this 'tape' plus there was another skinny piece of this same mesh/grill material over the center opening (its maybe 1 1/2 inches by 20 inches). Sorry I don't have pictures that show it well...I have already taken it apart and the pieces are stored away. Part of my challenge is that I moved between when I started some work on the car and now, so some parts are still packed. By the way, our mera's look identical...ttops...color...I am 1987 #7040
[This message has been edited by Vernonmera (edited 11-23-2023).]
I am having to deal with a fair bit of cracking in the gel coat...have you run into any of that? If so, do you have a process and products you are using? I am doing a fair bit of the work myself, but then I have a body/paint guy who will prime and paint. I used a grinder to take out the cracking and then he has suggested everglass short strand filler for the cracks before we use just a straight evercoat filler for the smooth finish coat. I might also do fiberglass resin with some strands of fiberglass mixed in to fill any deeper spots.
V, unfortunately you are dealing with normal 80s paint issues. Take it to a plant correction guy and he may be able to help. Other than that, get a great bodyman and have it all sorted out. Tough spot. What you have done so far looks awesome! Keep up the great work!
[This message has been edited by johnyrottin (edited 11-24-2023).]
V'Mera, Okay, now I understand that you are referring to the mesh grills under the top louver. I ~think~ those were secured with two strips (1/4 x1"?) of black wood running fore to aft on both sides of each screen? Maybe those were held on with rivets? Hopefully another Mera owner here can check to be sure?
a rear bumper removal update...just in case anyone else is trying to remove the rear bumper, I have a quick note to add to the helpful info from Rexgirl. There is only a single bolt on each side that rexgirl showed in the photos. There isn't another bolt on the underside...however, what there is are 4 spot welds on each bracket right below the bolt. Essentially, the bracket holding the bumper in place is both bolted and welded in place. Just thought someone else might want to know that if they are trying to remove it. They are visible once you know to look for them...but definitely a challenge to grind off since the access is so limited
Hi All, well our repaint is coming along reasonably well. The epoxy repair is complete and in a few days the whole car will be in primer and hopefully it will be painted in May. I have a few questions that have come up recently that I would love any help that could be offered... 1. I am wanting to repaint the vitaloni mirrors but I can't figure out how to remove the mirror lenses. Has anyone done that successfully? I don't need to replace the mirrors, just to remove for the painting process. 2. I removed the trunk for prep and paint but I haven't taken the hinge off...it seems like there is a fair bit of torque on it so I has a bit nervous to remove it...but of course it would be helpful to have it removed for access when painting. Has anyone tackled that project who has any tips 3. I would love to replace the latch gasket on the hood...mine is pretty ugly. I did see on the regular pennock forum that someone back in 2011 had made a few and was selling them but I can't see anything more recent and I didn't see them on the fiero store...anyone have any idea where to get them or how to reproduce them? 4. I am also needing to replace the rear window weather stripping...again another piece that seems mera specific. I will likely just go into an auto glass store to see if they can match it but I wasn't sure if anyone had found anything that works thanks for any and all help! I am having troubles getting pictures to upload but I will try a couple in another post
The previous owner of my Mera had a shop try to remove the mirror glass and they failed, finally taking a divot out. In the end new mirrors were the solution.
Wish I could be helpful, but you might have more success with this job? BTW, your car is almost an exact twin to Rex; so fun!
[This message has been edited by Rexgirl (edited 04-10-2024).]
I liked the Vitaloni California mirrors that replaced my Tornado's. They came standard on some (later?) 308's. However, some people think those mirrors are hard to see out of, and I believe there are no versions with power adjustments. They worked fine for me.
There are repro replacement mirror glasses on ebay that are slightly convex. I put one in my right side Californian mirror and it made lane changes less challenging.
So great you are taking such terrific care of your wonderful car ! We want pictures if possible, K? 
poxy repair
