|
2014-2015 Non RS camaro + Z/28 Headlight Retrofit DIY WITH PICS!!!
Whats up CamFam,
So i decided i would do a headlight build as a project of mine and wanted to share tips and trick and step by step in case any of you were thinking of doing this on your car.
So for starters i got a set of headlights that had been previously split and modded by Oracle from Nacolsdream2012 so shout out to her for allowing me the chance to risk free build a set of lights.
So the first thing you should know before you start is that this process can get really expensive really fast and DO NOT buy cheap equipment to put in your headlights, because if you ever have to replace a halo or something you will have to re-split the lights.
So here we go....
I am doing a quad projector headlight mod that will be Bixenon(meaning dual beam projector) with 4 Red Halo's and 4 RGB demon eyes.
Things you will need:
-Retrofit Projectors - I used 2.5" Bixenon projectors from Theretrofitsource.com. I Needed 4 of them
- Projector shrouds - I bought black Gatling projector Shrouds from Retrofit source as well
- Stock Headlights - I had a set donated
- Halo's - I have a halo dealer but you can get them from Retrofit source as well
- RGB strip - This is used inside the projector to create the "demon Eye" Effect
- Retro Rubber or some sort of Butyl to reseal your headlight. For this DIY i am using silicone because the person who split the headlight before me ruined the channel where you put the butyl and it seals and instead sealed them with silicone. So in order for me to reseal them well i have to use silicone again.
- Any other goodies you want in your headlight
- Wire to wire all this stuff together once it is in.
- Bulbs to go into the new projector - I am using 4(yes 4) HID bulbs and Ballasts for a quad headlight that flips up for brights
- Paint and primer- The chrome part of the housing is now your canvas, make it a cool color or make it disappear, the choice is yours.
- Epoxy or other glue to hold Halo's as well as picture frame wire
- RGB controller
Step 1: Prepare your headlights for the oven
- Take off all of the plastic pieces and brackets until the headlight has just the lens on front(the clear glass part)
- Make sure the headlight is clean, once ou bake it is is very hard to get a Lens clean if the dirt sets in.
- Plan out how you are going to split the light Before you bake it, really analyze it so you do not make mistakes when it is hot and crunch time
Step 2: Bake the headlights
Many people who do this have different temps and methods to this. For this headlight i baked them at 270 for 8-10 minutes. Many people use 225 for a little longer. You are just heating the headlight to soften the butyl seal that is from the factory enough to be able to split the Lens away from the housing.
Pro tips:
Do nots:
-Do not stick your headlight into the oven while it is heating up
- Do not let any wires or anything like that touch the sides of the oven
- Do not use your mothers oven
- Do not touch the Lens
- Do not pry too hard on the Lens and crack it
-Do not get butyl on the lens or in the housing
- Do not use place headlight onto the metal grate
- Do not cook meatballs right after your headlights
-Do not do this while your wife is home
Do's:
- Place something under the headlight so it does not melt the back plastic
- Do use gloves and care when removing the headlight
-Do bake each headlight one at a time and split each one at a time
- Do turn every vent on in the house
- Do take your time and be prepared for the task at hand.
Step 3: Split your Headlights
Use a plastic pry bar or a flathead screwdriver to GENTLY pry apart the lens from the headlight housing. Take your time and work around the light to get it to come off. DO NOT break the headlight housing to get the lens off, if you have to force it you are most likely doing something wrong.
Step 4: Test fit projectors and prep headlight for paint
Test fit your retrofits and see how they will fit and look, this step is important to do before paint. Make any modifications needed for wires or to mount the projector. Test the height of the projectors if using more than 1 in a headlight to see any adjustments you will have to make to beam height.
Step 5: Paint Housing
Prime and then paint your housing whatever color you are going with, I chose gloss black to give a nice clean look. The rears of my projectors were chrome so they also got painted gloss black
This is where i am at right now and will continue this DIY once i get the HIDs in and the Halo's...
|