Anyone know why Fiat made the older 124 Spiders Front Left/Right turn signal lenses a different shade of color? Pictured on my car are the original Carello lenses and I’m told by Joe of Joe’s Fiat Service in RWC, CA that the color variation is NOT due to fading, but “that’s just how Fiat mfg the lenses.” Joe who has been working (and still is) on these 124's for the past 35+ years knows this to be true as most every older Fiat he’s worked on has had the same variation, but never knew why. Joe even showed me his stash of New OEM CARELLO lenses to prove it. Of course you won’t see the shade difference in the after market lenses since they’re all manufactured the same shade. I’m fortunate my Carello’s are still in great shape as they add that little extra hint of originally to the car.
*Below are some answers I got from fellow enthuasists on the FB Fiat Spider forum, but would like to know if there’s any other explanations. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts -
(1) Amber was a difficult color for the lens makers to get right. We see lots of variants in New Old Stock units, and we have to play match-the-shade when a customer orders a pair. The shades varied greatly and the yellow formula caused them to become much more brittle over time than, say a red lens. True fact!
(2) Left and right were made one side at a time. They would run out of plastic, mix a new batch, and then make some more. It was silly. The new lenses are mixed using a computer so they tend to match. Personally, I would put on a matching set.
(3) You could always say that it's because the driver always drove west in the mornings with the sun up and east in the evenings with the sun down, so he needed the brighter lens on the driver's side of the car so it could be seen better.... hehehe
(4) I was told by a fiat specialist who just retired after 45 years, that was similar idea for on coming traffic which side of the road your on in bad weather. European design as German cars have a brighter light on the rear like BMW,MB. They were concerned more about rear cars overtaking the slower car. I believe they stopped this in the later 74 models & on. Not quite sure.
