Euro Tail Light Lens

The lens you pictured does not successfully mount to the stock tail light housings. They used an entirely different housing than the OEM tail lights.

you are correct they are from an Alfa Romeo Berlina 1750, 1967 through 1971.

To my knowledge no one is reproducing the housings. There are reproduction lenses but I would not advise their purchase as I believe you will be disappointed in their quality.

I have specialized in obtaining, restoring and selling the group 4 tail lights for over 15 years. I have sold over 100 pairs. Please contact me with a private message if you wish to discuss a purchase from me.

Larry  

Thanks Larry. Do you know what vehicle they are from? Thanks again, Steve

Yes, I do know what vehicle they are from.

Larry

If you reread Larry's response I think he confirmed what they are from! The left side is far rarer than the right, I am told this is because the tailpipe was on the left and frequently damaged the lenses, so a lot of left's got replaced.

Euro lenses with an amber lower to fit the stock taillights are available and used on Alfa's, Maserati's & Bricklin's, they are functional but don't look as much the part as the Group 4 lights IMO.

Thanks Joules, and thanks Larry (I think)....

Steve, you are welcome. Since the answer to your question had already been posted 😎 in my first response, I thought I’d just have a little fun...... at your expense.😉

Years ago, when I wanted a pair for my car I soon realized a complete set was a rare thing to find, so I started purchasing housings and lenses in order to get the four pieces needed. It was at that point I started learning the lights were made by Carello and Altissimo. differences in production and deterioration of age often results in noticeable differences in the tone of the amber and sometimes the red sections. The Altissimo lenses will fit a Carello housing but not correctly, and the Carello lenses will not fit on an Altissimo housing. The lens attachment screws are often rusted in the housing fittings, and the mounting studs on the rear are occasionally broken or missing. And you really haven’t lived until you have a perfect new old stock Altissimo assembly that is basically glued together because the white sponge rubber gasket has ....literally.... melted during its 50 year Storage. Photo  

by the time I had a matching set with matching colors, I had leftover pieces. And so began my hobby-based business endeavor  😉

good luck on your search.

Larry

No problem Larry. Funny, because back in the 1990's I had two Pateras - the second one I di a GR5 make-over on, and I bought a bunch of second-hand Alfa tail lights and managed to 'repair' them so that they held together, and fitted them to my car. I'll see if I have some old photos of it. Those ones (as per the photo in my initial post) are the best looking lights for a Panera IMHO.

Hello,

The European rear lights are also installed on the alfa berlina 2000, maserati merak, ect.

Carello No. 34.390.718

Have a nice day

Just so folks don’t get confused, the part number shared by Francis is just the part number for the reflector and not a part number for the housing or the lens.

The tail lights we are discussing were all originally installed on 1967-1971 Alfa Romeo Berlina models, both the 1750 and the 2000. Both styles of tail lights have the same footprint and use the same electrical connector.

The style used by Ford was from the model 2000. This is the style that has three sections, clear, red and red, in a horizontally divided style. There is a European version of this lens using clear, red and amber. The United States department of transportation (DOT) did not allow a rearward facing amber light in the 1970s, but amber was being widely used in other countries. Converting a stock Ford Pantera to the European lens is a simple upgrade that just requires a screwdriver, and hundreds of owners have made this conversion.

The tail lights often referred to as GRP4 tail lights are the tail lights installed on the 1750 model. Again, there were both USA and European versions of the tail light lens: clear, red and red or clear, red and amber.

The GRP4 lens divides the three sections vertically as opposed to the horizontal divisions on the model 2000 style. It requires its own specific GRP4 electrical housing, but the footprint and the electrical  connection remains the same. ALSO, while the two mounting studs for the 1750 housing are located in the same place as the model 2000, those 1750 studs are too short to reach into the engine bay and must use 8mm barrel couplers and all-thread (or bolts) to be successfully mounted in a Pantera. Additionally, the two styles use a different black rubber gasket between the housing and the lens. You can FIT a 2000 gasket on to a 1750 assembly, but it is the incorrect thickness (too thin) and you can easily snap off the lens mounting studs if you over tighten the mounting screws.

To further complicate Pantera tail light conversions, all styles were manufactured by  two companies, Altissimo and Carello, and while visually very close cousins, the housings and lenses do have minor differences. Almost all of the model 2000 assemblies were made by Carello so there is little chance of miss-matching the components.

But there are multiple examples of GRP4 assemblies made by both of the manufacturers.  The Altissimo lens is deeper than the Carello lens, so the divider panels between the three sections are different. A Carello lens will not mount on an Altissimo housing without modifications, and an Altissimo lens will mount on a Carello housing but it is not an good match.

I have sold over 100 pairs of GRP4 tail lights, so I know them inside out. Variations in condition and manufacturing will often have different tones of red and amber, complicating the assembly of a matching pair of tail lights. Not to mention the problems with broken-off mounting studs, lens screws that are rusted in place, and light bulbs that are completely rusted into their sockets.

and now you know more than you ever wanted to know about the tail lights originally installed on 1967 - 1971 Alfa Romeo Berlina models 1750 and 2000.

Larry

P.S. - I do not recommend the purchase of reproduction lenses. Their quality is quite inferior to the originals, being manufactured of clear plastic that is then sprayed with a color tint on the inside of the lens. Originals were actually, somehow, constructed with a thin veneer of red or amber plastic that will not flake off and is easily polished the same as you would polish an aging modern headlight lens.

@SteveS posted:

Those ones (as per the photo in my initial post) are the best looking lights for a Panera IMHO.

I agree, and I especially like them with the "silver edge" blacked out, see photo.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply Larry