Projector Retro, It FINALLY stopped raining for 2 consecutive days! Options

[GriffGirl]

So I've been working towards this for a while, and I finally got the time and a dry weekend to complete my projector retrofit. This is my first time doing anything like this, so go easy on me! I used Rayme's lenses and his stickied How-To write-up for guidance. I took pix along the way sort of as an appendix to his write-up for those of us who do better with detailed visuals. I put clear lenses on all 4 headlights, but the pix below specifically pertain to the low beams, as the high beams is self explanatory.

Before:


Lense Removed from one of the low beams:


"Exploded view" of the components that make up the low beam internals:


Tiny stainless bowl of vegetable dip mix (!) and bathtub faucet ring for shroud and bezel use:


Cut out the bottom of the bowl for the lens to fit through:


Cut out the reflector to fit the back of the projector through - no turning back at this point!


Test fitting the projector. When I marked up the reflector to mount the projector, I removed the lens from the projector so I could make sure the cutoff shield was level. Then I test fit the projector in the reflector only, to make sure it bolted in correctly. Once I was sure that it was correct, I mounted the reflector back into the headlight bucket, tightened it in, and then drilled the projector mounting holes all the way through. By doing this, I'm able to adjust the alignment of the projector itself within the reflector.


Test-fitting the shroud I made. I had to cut a notch at the top of it to allow it to recess into the reflector without the glare shield mounting point obstructing it.


I also bent the bottom part of the shroud up to flatten it down some. The bent part doesn't show once it's in, but it allows the shroud to fit better into the reflector unit. I probably could have just cut this part out, but I wasn't sure how much of that would show, and I wanted to keep it as finished looking as possible.


Test fitting it over the mounted projector (still without the lens on it, so I didn't risk chipping or scratching the glass lens:


Mounting the shroud to the reflector unit. JDM, yo!


After.
This morning I learned that JB weld was a bad idea, as it doesn't bond metal to plastic well at all. Note the top part of the shroud on the passenger side. Now my celi has a lazy eye. Bummer. If I get home in time tonight, I will take it apart and figure out a plan B. It will probably involve using the mounting point where the glare shield went to screw the shroud to. The screw is small, and will probably not show at all, but we'll see.


Close-up of the driver's side. Other than the issue with the passenger shroud, I'm really happy with how they came out. Once I get the passenger side fixed, I will aim them and take night shots of the cutoff. It looks really good though and has nice color banding at the top.

[d0w0rkS0n]

wow! that looks so sexy!! great job griff!

[96bluevert]

nice work!

Props for originallity.

This post has been edited by 96bluevert: Apr 6, 2009 - 4:17 PM

[manphibian]

Great Job!!!!

I think you should keep the lazy eye! It looks hilarious

Seriously though, the drivers side looks great

[DEATH]

Holy fcukin sh*t - nice job Griffy
Now make me some

[njccmd2002]

rivets, that bonds well

[GriffGirl]

Yeah, I was thinking rivets

Holy fcukin sh*t - nice job Griffy
Now make me some

Dude... seriously, it took a LONG time and a lot of work. I can see why people charge a lot for this mod, not to mention the cost of the projectors themselves. Luckily I made nice friends with this mechanic guy who gave 'em to me for nothin'.

[dustin15brown]

they look good, how's the beam pattern?
Also, your highs aren't going to work nearly as well since those are just us oem lights with clear lenses. Just incase you didn't know!
I would suggest that you do do something to the shroud. it would be really easy to smooth them out and paint them to match. I did it with one set, but idk where they went.

[DEATH]

Yeah, I was thinking rivets

Holy fcukin sh*t - nice job Griffy
Now make me some

Dude... seriously, it took a LONG time and a lot of work. I can see why people charge a lot for this mod, not to mention the cost of the projectors themselves. Luckily I made nice friends with this mechanic guy who gave 'em to me for nothin'.

was just playing girl

[GriffGirl]

they look good, how's the beam pattern?
Also, your highs aren't going to work nearly as well since those are just us oem lights with clear lenses. Just incase you didn't know!
I would suggest that you do do something to the shroud. it would be really easy to smooth them out and paint them to match. I did it with one set, but idk where they went.

Beam pattern looks potentially great. I haven't aimed them yet, so they're kind of all over the place, at least when parked 2 feet from the garage LOL

About the shroud - by paint to match do you mean paint them to match the color of the body of my car? I thought about that. I also considered smoothing them out to blend them with the reflector - how though? I don't have a vacuum but is there another way?

How can I make the high beams better? (LOL - I should've asked these questions a week ago, huh.)

[richee3]

How can I make the high beams better? (LOL - I should've asked these questions a week ago, huh.)

Three letters: JDM!

Hahaha no, I'm just kidding. I was talking to Remy a few months ago about installing those lenses on my USDM housings. He said what happens is similar to a spotlight. The beam will be focused at one place instead of spread out. He told me they were still usable though.

The retrofit looks really good! I like it!!!

[dustin15brown]

they look good, how's the beam pattern?
Also, your highs aren't going to work nearly as well since those are just us oem lights with clear lenses. Just incase you didn't know!
I would suggest that you do do something to the shroud. it would be really easy to smooth them out and paint them to match. I did it with one set, but idk where they went.

Beam pattern looks potentially great. I haven't aimed them yet, so they're kind of all over the place, at least when parked 2 feet from the garage LOL

About the shroud - by paint to match do you mean paint them to match the color of the body of my car? I thought about that. I also considered smoothing them out to blend them with the reflector - how though? I don't have a vacuum but is there another way?

How can I make the high beams better? (LOL - I should've asked these questions a week ago, huh.)

hahahaha 'potentially great' I dig it
You dont need a vaccum to smooth it out. Just fiberglass, sand paper, primer, paint *of the car or maybe to match the housing* It shouldn't be too hard, but when I did it I was 16 and they looked like ass.
You can't make the high beams better from anything I know. They will indeed look like a spotlight and are still usable, just something I hated when I had them on my car so I bought JDM highbeams

[xs94st]

Awesome work griff..good sense of ingenuity =)

A+ on the drivers side! Good luck with the aiming and fixin the passenger side, you'll figure out something that will astonish us =P

[GriffGirl]

they look good, how's the beam pattern?
Also, your highs aren't going to work nearly as well since those are just us oem lights with clear lenses. Just incase you didn't know!
I would suggest that you do do something to the shroud. it would be really easy to smooth them out and paint them to match. I did it with one set, but idk where they went.

Beam pattern looks potentially great. I haven't aimed them yet, so they're kind of all over the place, at least when parked 2 feet from the garage LOL

About the shroud - by paint to match do you mean paint them to match the color of the body of my car? I thought about that. I also considered smoothing them out to blend them with the reflector - how though? I don't have a vacuum but is there another way?

How can I make the high beams better? (LOL - I should've asked these questions a week ago, huh.)

hahahaha 'potentially great' I dig it
You dont need a vaccum to smooth it out. Just fiberglass, sand paper, primer, paint *of the car or maybe to match the housing* It shouldn't be too hard, but when I did it I was 16 and they looked like ass.
You can't make the high beams better from anything I know. They will indeed look like a spotlight and are still usable, just something I hated when I had them on my car so I bought JDM highbeams

so what is the difference between JDM highs and USDM highs, is it the reflector?

[dustin15brown]

I would ASSUME so, but don't quote me on that

[GriffGirl]

When you molded the fiberglass to make the shrouds, did you use a form to mold it to, or how did you do it? (I've never done fiberglass but then again I'm willing to try it)

[SveNRG]

Respect for your work and originality. They look much better than original lights.
The lazy eye looks like this!


This post has been edited by SveNRG: Apr 7, 2009 - 4:05 PM

[GriffGirl]

Respect for your work and originality. They look much better than original lights.
The lazy eye looks like this!

Totally!

[trdproven]

looks good except for the lazy eye. Just my 2 cents, entire lens does not look complete. It really looks like you retro fitted it. Why don't you get the transition completed from the outer to inner and it'll look stock and great.

[Rayme]

Nice one girl, you made your research well !

[Lil-Joe101]

Kinda reminds me of Number Johnny5 from Short circuit.






[/quote]

Great Job though. Better than anything I could've done.

This post has been edited by Lil-Joe101: Apr 10, 2009 - 6:49 AM

[d0w0rkS0n]

Kinda reminds me of Number Johnny5 from Short circuit.

!!!!!!!!!!!

[GriffGirl]

Totally!

[razor7]

Yeah, I was thinking rivets

Holy fcukin sh*t - nice job Griffy
Now make me some

Dude... seriously, it took a LONG time and a lot of work. I can see why people charge a lot for this mod, not to mention the cost of the projectors themselves. Luckily I made nice friends with this mechanic guy who gave 'em to me for nothin'.

Nice,
Something about snuggling up next to a mechanic for free projectors is something that few of us can do (most mechanics don't like other guys rubbin all over them...) The retrofit looks great! I'd be pretty bummed if one decided to be lazy on me, but at least it's fixable. I can't believe how you made that shroud, I would never have thought about that. Once again, you're giving us more options to consider before doing the project ourselves. I am curious though, exactly what projectors did you use? I like the size and shape of them. Are you planning on putting HID's in them (since I know you do the GB HID sales)?

Man, this just makes me want to do mine now. I have the lenses, housings, just about everything except for the projectors.

Hate to say it, but you need a new paint job.. and is that a crack in your front bumper? Looks like you got angry when installing your fogs :-P

The JDM high beams look like this



vs. the USDM ones (Rayme's)




Looks like they don't have the plastic shroud around the edge, and that the actual reflector is a little bit smaller, more directed. Not sure why ours come out as more of a spotlight to be honest.

-TC

This post has been edited by razor7: Apr 11, 2009 - 11:50 PM

[GriffGirl]

Nice,
Something about snuggling up next to a mechanic for free projectors is something that few of us can do (most mechanics don't like other guys rubbin all over them...) The retrofit looks great! I'd be pretty bummed if one decided to be lazy on me, but at least it's fixable. I can't believe how you made that shroud, I would never have thought about that. Once again, you're giving us more options to consider before doing the project ourselves. I am curious though, exactly what projectors did you use? I like the size and shape of them. Are you planning on putting HID's in them (since I know you do the GB HID sales)?

Man, this just makes me want to do mine now. I have the lenses, housings, just about everything except for the projectors.

Hate to say it, but you need a new paint job.. and is that a crack in your front bumper? Looks like you got angry when installing your fogs :-P

Looks like they don't have the plastic shroud around the edge, and that the actual reflector is a little bit smaller, more directed. Not sure why ours come out as more of a spotlight to be honest.

-TC

No, most mechanics don't like dudes rubbin' up on them. Good thing I'm a girl. Actually I contacted him through Craigslist, but it took so long for us to coordinate schedules that he just wound up giving them to me for free along with a box of random parts. Gotta love a box of random parts! He had them listed as Acura projectors; judging by their size I'm guessing they're MDX projectors or something? I'm not sure. They look bigger than TL projectors though, but I'm not sure.

Yes, I've got HIDs in them. Still haven't driven at night though, but at dusk the light quality looks excellent. Once I get the lazy eye fixed and aim them, I expect good things from them. I think they're gonna work out just dandy. Dandily. . . ? Anyway I think they'll be fine.

As for the paint job - are you volunteering?! LOL j/p I know I need a paint job BAD. The hood is faded, and it drives me insane. I'm exploring my options for paint. I can paint it myself and hope that I do a good job or I can save up for a cheap paint job and hope it doesn't suck. Looks to me like six and a half dozen of the other if you know what I mean. I just can't afford a good quality paint job and don't forsee that in the near future at all. And I have yet to make friends with anyone in the biz up here in Portland. I've actually considered seeing if I could find a part time job at a body shop, just for the opportunity to learn how to do that stuff and use my own car as a guinea pig. But it's hard to find part time body shop work at night since I work F/T in my corporate career-land.

And yes, my front bumper is cracked. It was an added bonus provided free of charge by the previous owner of my car. I plan to repair the crack when I pull the bumper next (SUNNY!!! OW!) weekend to fix the lazy eye.


Now if someone can give me some guidance about that fiberglass action for the shroud, I'm all over that. I just need to know if I need to make some sort of form or something to lay the FG against to get the shape and contours? Anyone? Bueler.... Bueler.... Bueler....

[malpaso]

that's totally cool making own projectors... the best way how to make your car look unique!

[KAOS]

Nice work Michelle...

Or in the words of Johnny 5, "Nice software, Stephanie!"

[razor7]

No, most mechanics don't like dudes rubbin' up on them. Good thing I'm a girl. Actually I contacted him through Craigslist, but it took so long for us to coordinate schedules that he just wound up giving them to me for free along with a box of random parts. Gotta love a box of random parts! He had them listed as Acura projectors; judging by their size I'm guessing they're MDX projectors or something? I'm not sure. They look bigger than TL projectors though, but I'm not sure.

Yes, I've got HIDs in them. Still haven't driven at night though, but at dusk the light quality looks excellent. Once I get the lazy eye fixed and aim them, I expect good things from them. I think they're gonna work out just dandy. Dandily. . . ? Anyway I think they'll be fine.

As for the paint job - are you volunteering?! LOL j/p I know I need a paint job BAD. The hood is faded, and it drives me insane. I'm exploring my options for paint. I can paint it myself and hope that I do a good job or I can save up for a cheap paint job and hope it doesn't suck. Looks to me like six and a half dozen of the other if you know what I mean. I just can't afford a good quality paint job and don't forsee that in the near future at all. And I have yet to make friends with anyone in the biz up here in Portland. I've actually considered seeing if I could find a part time job at a body shop, just for the opportunity to learn how to do that stuff and use my own car as a guinea pig. But it's hard to find part time body shop work at night since I work F/T in my corporate career-land.

And yes, my front bumper is cracked. It was an added bonus provided free of charge by the previous owner of my car. I plan to repair the crack when I pull the bumper next (SUNNY!!! OW!) weekend to fix the lazy eye.


Now if someone can give me some guidance about that fiberglass action for the shroud, I'm all over that. I just need to know if I need to make some sort of form or something to lay the FG against to get the shape and contours? Anyone? Bueler.... Bueler.... Bueler....

That's pretty cool, I'm going to look into the MDX projectors now, should be able to pick them up at a junk yard for fairly cheap.

As for the paint job, I am actually learning how to spray. Now that my dad just picked up a spray attachment for our compressor, I figure it's a great time to learn. I plan on doing a custom paint job to the motorcycle (white pearlescent with red flakes), and I'll probably paint my skirts/splitters/spoiler once I get them. I have a buddy who's going to lend me his car for practice, but cars require a TON of prep work, and realistically should be stripped of all interior pieces before you do the job (so that it's not a completely different color on the outside than it is in the inside). So I'm not saying that I'll do it for sure, but maybe if I feel up to it over summer we can discuss something. I just need a lot of practice under my belt beforehand.

The crack shouldn't be too hard to fix. Bondo or a fiberglass repair kit should do the trick. Only issue is that it'll need to be repainted in order to get a seamless look. Bondo will be easier to flow.

Fiberglass repair kits usually include an epoxy and fiberglass sheets IIRC. You can make a mould out of them, but it requires a little bit more work. There are other options like using a type of hardened foam that is moldable, you basically just make the shape you want and then cut out pieces with a knife and sand down the rest till it flows properly. The Fiberglass repair kits use basically fiberglass sheets covered in epoxy that are shapable and similar to paper mache. Once the mould is set, they're rigid and extremely durable, but this also comes at the expense of not being able to fix errors.

That's the only knowledge I have. I used a FG repair kit on the tail section of one of my mini bikes. It's held up great for a couple of years.

-TC

[GriffGirl]

It's supposed to be warm and sunny this weekend, so if I can gather support and minimize the resentment at home, I'll be delving into the wonderful world of fiberglass this weekend! I've looked it up on line and I think if I use some thin-ish felt to make the form, and then glass over that, it should work out pretty alright. Now I just need to decide what color to spray the shrouds. I think I'm actually going to stick with chrome. I like how it looks and it looks more OEM to me than spraying it an actual color. If my car were black, I'd do matte black, but since it's silver, I think the black would stick out too much and not flow as well, visually speaking.

All ideas and input are more than welcome!

[vile_v]

you should maybe to try painted all the shiny silver part black.. that way it doesn't look so much like bug eyes just a thought.

like this:


I know it looks more like its been tinted, but yeah i think you get the point! but great work i hope to retrofit mine one day!

This post has been edited by vile_v: Apr 19, 2009 - 7:17 PM

[ra65_22re]

you should maybe to try painted all the shiny silver part black.. that way it doesn't look so much like bug eyes just a thought.

like this:


I know it looks more like its been tinted, but yeah i think you get the point! but great work i hope to retrofit mine one day!

lol like mine that would look pretty sik but silver looks good on your car 2

[GriffGirl]

Well that's actually what I wound up doing when I redid my shrouds this past weekend. They came out okay - the design is better than the execution. I'm feeling REALLY frustrated and burnt out on this project, so this is how they're gonna stay for a while until I come up with something different. No lazy eye any more though! Oh and the crack - well, is "less" cracked. I repaired it from the back side of the bumper, but I haven't puttied the front because I don't have touch up paint yet. Once I get some paint I'll probably just paint the whole bumper and hood since they look like sh1t anyway



This post has been edited by GriffGirl: Apr 21, 2009 - 5:24 PM

[95CelicaST]

You should really put some drift ties on that crack.

[96bluevert]

good work... I think they are fine as is.

[GriffGirl]

You should really put some drift ties on that crack.

Looks like Frankenstein

GI Joes has gone belly up and is liquidating. Yesterday I learned their automotive touch-up paint is like 40% off, so I'm gonna go see if I can't find 199 and fix the bumper up a little better. I figured having the crack still showing for now was better than having it patched and sanded. Something about bare primered patches that just says "put me up on cinder blocks" to me.

good work... I think they are fine as is.

Thanks... but if you saw them up close you'd probably disagree. Really, the concept is better than the execution. I struggled all weekend on this damn thing!

On a more positive note though, I'm really glad you got your HIDs worked out! Do you totally heart them!?

[96bluevert]

good work... I think they are fine as is.

Thanks... but if you saw them up close you'd probably disagree. Really, the concept is better than the execution. I struggled all weekend on this damn thing!

On a more positive note though, I'm really glad you got your HIDs worked out! Do you totally heart them!?

Totally! lol

Seriously though, they are such an improvement

I need to get projectors or something now...hmm how to make $800 for new headlights?...

[KAOS]

good work... I think they are fine as is.

Thanks... but if you saw them up close you'd probably disagree. Really, the concept is better than the execution. I struggled all weekend on this damn thing!

On a more positive note though, I'm really glad you got your HIDs worked out! Do you totally heart them!?

Totally! lol

Seriously though, they are such an improvement

I need to get projectors or something now...hmm how to make $800 for new headlights?...

In todays economy: prostitution. Its the only way to make mad cash, NOW. LOL

[razor7]

Well that's actually what I wound up doing when I redid my shrouds this past weekend. They came out okay - the design is better than the execution. I'm feeling REALLY frustrated and burnt out on this project, so this is how they're gonna stay for a while until I come up with something different. No lazy eye any more though! Oh and the crack - well, is "less" cracked. I repaired it from the back side of the bumper, but I haven't puttied the front because I don't have touch up paint yet. Once I get some paint I'll probably just paint the whole bumper and hood since they look like sh1t anyway

Very nice, I like the execution.

I think I have it lucky, I have all of the shrouds that I need to drill and mount the projectors in, so I won't have to take off my bumper until they are perfectly ready for install. However, I must say that it's an intense job for just one weekend, and on a DD it's almost more challenging. It came out very nice, give yourself a pat on the back!

-TC

[GriffGirl]

Where'd you get the shrouds? I'm at the point that I'm ready to start scrounging around for broken parts just to build from. PM me or something', eh?

Thanks for the compliments, btw. Much appreciated!

[razor7]

Where'd you get the shrouds? I'm at the point that I'm ready to start scrounging around for broken parts just to build from. PM me or something', eh?

Thanks for the compliments, btw. Much appreciated!

The shrouds and plastic light deflectors (not the reflector) I bought from Rayme about 6 months ago. They've just been sitting in my garage ever since. My local yard just got in some MDX's, so once I put aside some money (I have to pay for new tires + installation + my mechanics time in helping me replace a bad rod bearing on my SRAD along with a full tear down...) I should be able to start working on that.

Just check out Craigslist for broken celicas, I'm sure you can find shrouds pretty easily. I would snag you some fubar'd headlights, but the tabs are all broken...

-TC