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My LS1 Trans Am Projector & HID Conversion Thread

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Old Nov 21, 2011 | 03:43 PM
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Talking My LS1 Trans Am Projector & HID Conversion Thread

Hey all,

So I'm huge into lighting and have been for years. I did projectors and HID's in my last F-body (93 Z28):
https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...installed.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...ogs-match.html

I have 'em in my motorcycle, my Jeep, many past Jeeps, etc. Lighting is HUGE to me as I like to see the road (or trail) ahead of me, especially when going fast.

I just ordered some Hella Projectors through my work:
2 HELLA PROJECTOR 60MM HB3 SAE LOW BEAM 998570001
2 HELLA PROJECTOR 60MM HB3 SAE HIGH BEAM 998570021

They should be here next week. I'll update the thread with photos and info as the conversion progresses.

This is my car with my g/f posing (it was freezing btw):


Parking lot (cell phone) shot of before:




Updates to follow.
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Old Nov 21, 2011 | 03:43 PM
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Reserved 1.

Okay, got bored today after work and decided that I REALLY hate my factory headlights. So, I did an install of the low beam projectors and HID's. I have brackets that I will be ordering for the lows and highs to take care of proper mounting and aesthetics. But, for this moment, I am very happy with the outcome of these (output, not looks). I still need to aim them, still need to get the high beams back in, etc. But this is good for the moment. I'll edit this all later with specific info, but here are the photos I took during the install:


























Last edited by HibachiZ28; Dec 1, 2011 at 07:55 PM.
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Old Nov 21, 2011 | 03:43 PM
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Reserved 2.
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Old Nov 21, 2011 | 05:17 PM
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Bookmarked! Will follow, thanks! And she is a cutie
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Old Nov 21, 2011 | 06:14 PM
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I thought you were gonna do mh1s? I saw your thread over at hidplanet. I was hoping someone would be a test dummy before I try it lol
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Old Nov 21, 2011 | 06:22 PM
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i helped my buddy put hid's in his trans am with the new housings and they looked a million times better. i'm sure yours will as well, can't wait to see.
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Old Nov 21, 2011 | 07:25 PM
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Thanks guys!

Flood: She just said thank you, lol.
dabest: I had the MH1's and decided to retro them into my Grand Cherokee. The issue is that they are not nearly sealed enough. I was going to take some sort of PVC or similar and seal it, but this would cause some sizing/fitment issues into the TA headlight location. Instead, the Hella 60mm projectors are fully sealed. No need to worry about fogging up, etc. Yes, they are designed for halogen, not HID's, but from the reviews/photos I've seen they seem to be okay with HID's. I may adjust the cutoff shield a bit as well - paint them black too. I will be playing that by ear.
LE: Thanks, I can't wait. I LOVE retro'ing vehicles. It's a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and the payoff is almost always great - and if not, just some tweaks can usually resolve any issues.
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Old Nov 23, 2011 | 01:51 PM
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I'm in the process of a DIY HID projector kit myself. I'm tackling it a bit differently than others in the FAQ thread, but same idea. I'll start a thread once I start taking things apart- a month or so.
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Old Nov 23, 2011 | 01:55 PM
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I'll be following-I love aftermarket lighting
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Old Nov 28, 2011 | 04:22 PM
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Thanks guys. Lights will be here tomorrow. I need to get my HID kit ordered now as well which will take a few days to come in. May order up some mounting brackets or fab my own, still in discussion about that with my buddy.
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Old Nov 28, 2011 | 05:01 PM
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In for pics!
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Old Nov 29, 2011 | 01:57 PM
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UPS brought me some presents today :-D





Bulbs, ballasts, wiring should be here by Friday or early next week.
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Old Nov 29, 2011 | 03:04 PM
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Nice! I got my 60mm low beams in as well. Gonna work on the mounting of them this weekend.
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Old Nov 29, 2011 | 03:57 PM
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Keep us updated guys ! goodluck .
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Old Dec 1, 2011 | 07:55 PM
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Posted some photos of the installation.
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Old Dec 1, 2011 | 08:50 PM
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Where did you get those brackets for the ballasts?
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Old Dec 1, 2011 | 09:04 PM
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Originally Posted by TruBloodTransAm
Where did you get those brackets for the ballasts?
Comes with every VVME HID kit I've purchased since 2004
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Old Dec 2, 2011 | 07:39 AM
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Looks good Rick. I was looking into the Retrofit Source place since people have been shying away from DDM Tuning and China drop shipments. I'll check VVME out.

Did you order adapter plates from Tram? I ended up making my own through a friend.
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Old Dec 2, 2011 | 08:11 AM
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Originally Posted by White.Lightning
Looks good Rick. I was looking into the Retrofit Source place since people have been shying away from DDM Tuning and China drop shipments. I'll check VVME out.

Did you order adapter plates from Tram? I ended up making my own through a friend.
Thanks. I REALLY need to get the plates ASAP as it doesn't look too nice IMO. But, it works, and that's what matters right now. I can see! My buddy and I are going to make some brackets with scrap metal, but if it doesn't look/function super well, I'll probably just order a set from Tram.

I've been using VVME for a very long time. I've ordered at least 20 HID kits for my vehicle retro's and friends/family retro's as well. Out of all those kits I've had 1 ballast go bad and it was a "digital slim" ballast. I only run the full size ballasts now, even on my motorcycle. TRS is a great company as well & Matt will definitely take care of you. Go over to HIDPlanet.com and check out their HID forums. LOTS to be learned there as well as direct PM's to Matt and the other guys at TRS if you have questions/want a quote.
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Old Dec 2, 2011 | 08:32 AM
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So do you recommend the VVMS kit over the TRS kit? VVMS is about 1/3 the cost.

I was going to get 9005 style, 35w, 5,000K, regular sized ballasts
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