Ok first this project should cost you no more then 170 bucks. 100 bucks for the hella projectors and the cost of a hid kit if you wanted to use one. I am using the hella 60mm HL5700 projectors as they fit the bucket perfect. I hope i havnt missed a thread that someone figured this out first

Ok so now proceed at your own risk, this is obviously for off road use only and if you mess up your car or get a ticket, get a booboo blame yourself, im telling you not to do it! Just showing how i did it... Anyways it was easy and only requires very minor mods to the headlight buckets. This modification should in no way keep me from installing sealed beams in the future.... dont know why i would though...

Now this install for sure is not the nicest looking or finished looking so if your looking for something you want to show off while you headlights are flipped up you should definitely buy the blackbird kit. What i wanted is just cheap effective lighting that installs quickly with minimal mods.

OK so first we have to remove the sealed beam light and then remove the bucket attached to the headlight housing. Take the bucket out and grab a dremel with a cutoff wheel. I cut 4 relief cuts in the corners where the wire comes through the bucket. Now grab a pair of pliers and just slightly bend out the metal. just have to bend it out barely enough for the end of the projector to fit through.

Now the majority of this project is done... YEP! it is that easy. Screw the bucket back into the headlight housing. Now grab your projector and place it in the bucket and hook up your wires. Make sure there are no sharp edges on the bucket to cut your wires. Align the projector so the mounting holes are resting against the top and bottom of the bucket.

Take the outer plate that use to hold in the sealed beam and screw it down over the projector.

Now if you've done everything right the projector should be held very securely in place and can be adjusted the exact same way as the sealed beam was... Thats pretty much it. Make sure your cutoff is level and start adjustments. If you want to add a hid kit to the projectors you'll need to find a place to mount the ballast, which is pretty easy. If you use the 9005 bulb you'll need to find a 9005 pigtail and solder it on the to factory wiring. Just save your stock connector if you ever switch back. if you do use hid you should use a relay kit as some ballasts can draw very high current on startup and smoke factory wiring.

Personally i couldnt give a hoot if the lights have a finished look. For one they are only on at night, and obviously hidden when the lights are off. For the price how can you go wrong? Im happy with the light output! now this doesnt have provisions for protecting the projector glass. But there are a couple reasons this doesnt concern me. Number one is the projectors are sealed, which means to me hella apparently figured they would be exposed, thus weather wont affect it and i would assume the glass be strong enough to not pit. Number 2 is that being a transam with the flip down lights these are not going to be exposed as nearly much as a fixed headlight car... Im kind of experimenting to see if the glass holds up, i have no reason to think it wont. Hella makes quality.

 

Is there some sort of cover that goes over the projector glass? I've heard that they need to be covered of else if a rock hits them they will break

 

Camaro fogs are projectors with out covers on them

 

Quick, simple and appears to be effective. I would only suggest you find some way to avoid water and moisture to funnel to the back of the bucket and down into the front of the bumper. The projectors are sealed and intended exposed use but surprisingly damage fairly easily with stones and what not. I would recommend a bit more secure mounting solution for the projector in the bucket. I'm sure its tight but I only say this because you would be surprised how things move around on a car with various vibrations and such.

 

Can projectors be installed in the brights, or are they like HIDs that shouldn't be installed in the brights (the HIDs can't be flashed without damage over a period of time).

 

And get beat up. I replaced my driver side one and it was really chipped and pitted pretty bad. The glass wasn't clear anymore from all the scratches, chips, and pits.

 

i would like to see how well that would work with a lt1

 

thanks man! not nearly as nice as your kit but it is effective.. Since i already had the projectors for 8 months and have like 4 spare hid kits i figured id give it a shot ( i like to build 55w hid spotlights with lipo batteries that run for over 2 hours... lol). To be honest i wasnt sure at first how the projector would stay.. but after putting 200-250 miles on the setup they havnt moved one bit, and i cant move them by hand. it moves the entire bucket when i really try to force and twist it... About the moisture i was thinking of either getting some of that spray foam and try and shape it to the projector for a better look or make a lexan shield. gotta get motivated for that to happen though. maybe next summer. haha

I wouldnt worry so much about the flashing as it may decrease the life but you still may never change the bulb out... even 1000 hours in a high beam is an eternity. Problem is it would be annoying waiting for the bulbs to warm up for usable light....
true but the fogs on the camaro are exposed constantly and low to the ground... the t/a lights are only exposed when the lights are on.

thanks for the responses guys

 

Yes, they absolutely can be and the lighting output & visibility is incredible.
here they are on the Blackbird Lighting Solutions (sponsor here) kit:




to the OP:
I commend you for the initiative, but I'd be really weary of that setup. Doing this is a lot more than just stuffing projectors into the stock bucket. I'd do a little more R&D into figuring out how to make it more stable and also protecting those expensive projector units. Anyone whose seen what rock chips can do will agree that it won't be long until those bare projector lenses will need to be replaced.


*edit*
You must have posted while I was typing my post...
Rocks aren't Diurnal; they're don't run off into the woods at night, therefore you're still at risk. And I'll snap a picture of my eyelid tomorrow when the sun comes out to show you that our headlights do in fact catch a lot of road debris (it's pretty ugly).

 

I know all the risks i said it in my first post.. Im merely saying that the headlights are flipped down for a majority of the portion the car is driven. I know rocks dont disappear at night. the sealed beams are not pitted (appear to be original and atleast 6 years old since ive owned the car) or anything which makes me feel better about doing this. I know im putting them at risk but i want to see just how durable they are... for science! trust me im all about making lexan shields and making a nice pretty install, when i have the ambition and the time. But i wanted projectors in my car, i had a half hour, now i have projectors in my car. I figured anyone else who wanted something quick easy and cheap might be interested in what i did and did without the replacement sealed beam housings that are not designed for hid and blind other drivers.

About the stability in the bucket. trust me they are not going anywhere. I twisted and wiggled them so hard i was afraid of braking the plastic mounts that hold the bucket. Projectors did not move one bit and havnt moved in 200+ miles of driving.

 

Very creative. Thanks for posting this up.

 

Awesome!!! Now I don't have to settle for that over-priced, molded, plexi-glass concoction. Thanks man!

 

I just added this thread to the Lighting FAQ: https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...hting-faq.html

I know you said that these don't move, but I would recommend using some screws to hold them just in case things loosen up.

 

ok OP: Where are you getting $100 Hella projectors from? for both? Are these a fog light kit from somewhere? Because last time i checked, hella 90mm projectors cost over $600 i can't imagine it being that different for a little smaller diameter.



They can be, if in a projector housing. In a reflector housing it is annoying, distracting, dangerous, inconsiderate, and in many places illegal. But that all can be said for low beams as well. There are two solutions. Jersey here showed you the first. Second is a bixenon kit inside the low beams projector beam. Some kits have two bulbs one above the other, other kits physically move the light forward and increase output. My 2003 Audi TT had all of these combined and is by far to the date the best lighting i ever had on any car. It had HID BI xenons, and when you turn the brights on it also had high beam halogens in reflector housings.

 

can the black plastic cover for the lights fit back on after? i dont see them on your car? im sure you could paint the background black and itd look pretty damn nice / finished look. well done

 

the projectors are 50 bucks a piece. bought them from rally lights.. the site isnt a sponsor so just google for hella 60mm and theres a bunch of places that sell them... Not a fog light. BTW even the 90mm hella projectors are 65 bucks. Dont know where you found them for 600 but thats the biggest rip off ever.



yes the covers go back on just like normal, just hadnt screwed it back on in those pics!

 

These are aftermarket halogen headlight projectors which are sealed and ready to install.

Current pricing (you can confirm by going to Rally Lights and elsewhere):

Halogen
Hella 90mm Halogen H9 Low Beam ........................... $65 ea
Hella 60mm Halogen 9005 Low Beam ....................... $50 ea

HID
Hella 90mm Xenon D2S Low Beam .......................... $168 ea
Hella 90mm Bi-Xenon D2S (with bulb and ballast) ... $547 ea
FX Bi-Xenon D2S (bare projector, not sealed) ........... $90 pair (at The Retrofit Source)


I have the Hella 90mm Halogen H9 projectors on my 2001 Formula.

got-a-ls1, has the Hella 60mm Halogen 9005 projectors on his Trans Am.


Maybe you were thinking of the Hella 90mm Bi-Xenon projectors which are too expensive, especially considering their performance. For the price FX Bi-Xenon D2S Projectors can't be beat at $90 for the pair at The Retrofit Source.

 

The 90mm hellas have been about the same price since I put them into my firebird over 4 years ago. VIP did something similar around that time as well. Now that HID kits are cheap, it would be no problem to put an entire HID retro kit together like the OP did, for just low beams, for ~$200 give or take. 100 for projectors, ~65 for HID ballasts, harnesses and bulbs.

The only thing I dislike about the hella units, and I don't know if the 60mms are the same or not, is that the H9/H11 bulb was not a common connector.

The 90mms do not allow the plastic cladding to go back on the firebird light bucket without notching. Good work noting the 60s do. That takes care of an hour or so of 'retrofitting.'

 

So this is an awesome thread and great suggestion for someone who is not willing or cannot afford a more expensive setup.

My confusion is with the hella projectors. They accept a 9005 bulb. But I have an H7 HID kit setup now in a eurolamp housing. H7 obviously being the factory bulb as well. Will an H7 bulb fit into the projector or will I have to change my bulb over to 9005?

 

9005 locks in by lining up 3 different size tabs and rotating 90*, like the factory fog bulb if I am not mistaken. H7 locks in with a clip, I believe, like a factory BMW projector fog. I do not think those will swap without some engineering.