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Thread: Projector Retrofit

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  1. #1
    Experienced TGC Member
    Join Date
    05-14-2003
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    Southern California
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    Projector Retrofit

    Astig's tutorial on how to do the conversion:

    http://home.comcast.net/~c.tangonan/galant...r_Tutorial.html

    Heres my finished product. This couldn't have been done with Astig's tutorial, trust me on this. I spent 3 weeks trying to get the projectors to fit into the stock reflectors. I faced problem after problem. I was able to do Astig's version in one weekend.:



  2. #2
    GalantGuy96
    Guest
    that looks like a shit load of work...
    not worth it IMO....

  3. #3
    Experienced TGC Member
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    05-14-2003
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    Quote Originally Posted by GalantGuy96
    that looks like a shit load of work...
    not worth it IMO....
    DING DING DING! We have a winner! It is a LOT of work. Make no mistake you will be cursing yourself when you start cutting into your headlight housing.

    But give it about 3 or 4 weeks and you'll hate yourself for not finishing it correctly, and you'll do it.

    BUT the payoffs are AWSOME. It has a great cutoff, and gives off blues hues all over.

  4. #4
    looks wayyy to hard for me...haha...looks sick but ima pass haha...nice tutorial tho....

  5. #5

    HOW TO: DIY Projector Headlights Install for 8G

    Since we lost the original thread for this tutorial I'd decided to copy paste.
    http://home.comcast.net/~c.tangonan/..._Tutorial.html

    Warning: If you screw up don't blame me!




    Parts:

    Hella 90mm low beam projector units (2) - www.rallylights.com or www.puma-access.com
    Hella 90 mm high beam units (2).
    5 mm thick acrylic/plexiglass sheet (Home Depot)
    corner braces
    10 x 32 x 2.5" machine screws
    10 x 32 hex nuts and nylock nuts
    washers
    compression springs
    aluminum sheet
    RTV silicone
    JB Weld Epoxy

    Step 1: Dismantling the headlight

    1. remove the headlight from the car. take the grille off first then followed by the headlights.
    2. remove the bulbs and the rubber boot
    3. clean up your headlight a bit since its probably filthy.
    4. pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees your oven. DO NOT put the headlight inside just yet!
    5. TURN OFF the oven after 10 minutes.
    6. Put the headlight on a baking sheet and put it inside the oven. Leave it there for 10 minutes.
    7. Take the headlight out. Using a flathead screwdriver pry the lens of the black plastic housing. Once you can get a grip on the lens and the housing, you can just use your hands to pry them apart. Be careful not to break the tabs that lock the lens and housing together.
    8. Separate the plastic lens from the headlight trim (chrome on 99-01, black on 02+). There is one screw holding them together.
    9. Remove the parabolic reflector from the housing by loosening the two bolts on the back of the headlight. These bolts are the headlight aim adjusters. One may be covered with a plastic cap. Just pop the cap off .

    Step 2:

    1. STOP! THINK! Make sure you really want to do this.
    2. Using a dremel and a drywall cutting bit, cut open the rear of the headlight housing. See picture for recommended cut. I suggest tracing an outline first.
    3. smoothen and even out the edges using a drill/dremel with a grinding or sanding wheel.



    Step 3: Bracket

    This is the main part of the project...creating a mounting bracket for the projectors. The inside of the headlight housing isn't square so I first had to use cardboard to get the proper shape. It's nice to have a tight and snug fit. The inside of the driver and passenger side headlights are mirror images of each other, so I recommend making both brackets at the same time. This will ensure both your headlights would be symmetrical.


    1. Make templates of the bracket using cardboard. This is mostly trial and error to get a nice fit.
    2. Trace the templates on the Plexiglas (or whatever material you are using). The picture below shows the approximate dimensions of the pieces that make up the bracket.
    3. Cut out the desired shapes. It's better to cut too little than too much. Grind and sand till the fit is perfect.
    4. Test fit each piece on the headlight housing. Align the high beam mount with the end of the sloping side (see diagram below).





    5. Glue the pieces together using JB weld or plastic welder epoxy. Make sure the pieces are perpendicular (90 deg) or at least close. 90 deg clamps are almost a must. Don't worry if they're not exactly 90 deg. You can later make adjustments to the projectors' adjuster screws to aim them. let the adhesive cure overnight.



    6. Attach corner braces to the bracket. The braces will be used to mount the bracket onto the headlight housing. Note: We still haven't gotten to the point of drilling holes for the projector screws/adjusters.



    7. Mount the bracket into the headlight housing temporarily and test fit the projector units. Mark off where the adjuster/screw holes and the "BIG" holes will be. You'll need 3 adjuster/screw holes for each projector.



    8. Remove the bracket from the housing and drill the holes for the adjusters/screws and the big circles. Make the holes slightly larger than the diameter of the screws so you'll have the ability to rotate the projectors for beam aiming purposes. Use a rotozip to cut out the big circles.
    9. Mount the bracket back into the housing.

    Step 4: Mounting the projectors

    1. Attach the adjuster screws on the projectors. I used 10x32x2.5" machine screws, washers and hex nuts. Make sure its very tight. I also doubled up on the hex nuts, but you can also just use a nylock nut.



    2. Mount the projectors on the bracket. You will need compression springs to fit over each adjuster screw. Each has to be about 1.5". I couldn't find individual springs of the size I needed to I just bought 2 long springs from Ace Hardware and cut them using a saw. You will need a total of 12. Make sure you put washers on both sides of the mounting bracket, one in front and one in the back.



    3. Tighten up hex nuts in the back.



    4. Test fit the lens. Make sure the lens isn't touching the projectors . If it is touching, just tighten the nuts in the back to pull the projectors inward.
    5. I would suggest doing a preliminary beam alignment at this point. I used one stock headlight on the other side as a guide. Park your car on a level surface facing a wall or a garage door. Turn on your headlights. I first just wired the projector straight to the battery terminals. Set the projector at the correct height and aimed straight. Also make sure the horizontal cutoff line is indeed horizontal. Rotate the projector as needed. Careful, the projector will be hot.



    6. Once you are satisfied, remove the projector headlight from the car.

    Step 5: Interior trim and shield


    1. Put the interior trim on the headlight housing and mark the areas that need to be trimmed down. Here's mine after being primed for painting. Green shows the areas I trimmed.



    2. Make a shield or cover so the bracket and screws wont be seen. You can use cardboard to get the proper shape first. I used aluminum sheet metal for my shield. To cut perfect circles, I used a tool that attaches to a drill (see picture).



    3. Prime the pieces. Then paint with engine enamel or hi temp paint.
    4. Use JB weld on a few spots to attach the shield to the projectors.
    5. Attach the interior trim on the headlight lens.
    6. Remove the old sealant. Heating it with a heat gun will make the job easier.

    7. Make sure the lenses are all clean and spot free.
    8. Run a bead of silicone.
    9. Attach the lens to the headlight housing. Make sure the tabs lock in place

    Step 5: Rear Cover
    (I used carbon fiber, but you can just use fiberglass instead. I am not going into the full details of fiberglassing.)

    1. Cover the whole headlight in aluminum foil. Tape the foil so it doesn't shift.
    2. Lay fiberglass of CF cloth on the rear of the headlight.
    3. Tape the edges of cloth to the foil.
    4. brush on polyester resin with hardener.
    5. Put on another layer of cloth.
    6. brush on polyester resin with hardener. let it dry for about 30 min then brush on another layer.
    let it cure overnight.
    7. trim the edges and cut a hole for the low beam bulb.



    9. For weatherproofing, I used thick rubber electrical tape. It sticks really good.

    Step 6: Wiring
    ( basically you wanna convert from your single-bulb H4 to a 2-bulb setup. That's easy!)

    1. Face the H4 socket towards you. For the low beams, use the TOP and the RIGHT sockets. For the high beams, use the LEFT and RIGHT.

    Step 7: Put it back on the car and aim your headlight again. I think that's it.


  6. #6
    Wow, very nice tutorial.

    Black '02 2.4L ES ~ TGCLI


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