Well, curiosity killed the cat. Over in the Lightning Rods thread, 88hurstolds and I were debating on the differences between the 84/85 and 86-88 backup lenses.
I went out to the remote garage where the Oldsmobiles sit. While there is a channel on the 84/85, it's slightly different than on the 86-88. The main difference is inside the channel on the 84/85, it's got a scalloped/ribbed pattern to it, even in the channeled areas. The 86-88 texture is different where the red is. Plus, the channel stops at the inside blank section on the 84/85 (the license plate lamp covered area), where on the 86-88 the inside blank section is raised and the channel continues around the inside section.
To be honest, I never looked at them this close before. But from 10 feet away, about the only way to tell is the red stripe. They're very similar, but you have to look closer to really know the difference. It's one of those "once you see it..." moments that you won't likely forget.
Pictures can tell you more than my words, so here they are...
I went out to the remote garage where the Oldsmobiles sit. While there is a channel on the 84/85, it's slightly different than on the 86-88. The main difference is inside the channel on the 84/85, it's got a scalloped/ribbed pattern to it, even in the channeled areas. The 86-88 texture is different where the red is. Plus, the channel stops at the inside blank section on the 84/85 (the license plate lamp covered area), where on the 86-88 the inside blank section is raised and the channel continues around the inside section.
To be honest, I never looked at them this close before. But from 10 feet away, about the only way to tell is the red stripe. They're very similar, but you have to look closer to really know the difference. It's one of those "once you see it..." moments that you won't likely forget.
Pictures can tell you more than my words, so here they are...