No, it means THEY think it is rice, or whatever. If someone wants to call my Lambo or Ferrari rice, I don't care. I knew certian members of this board are going to say keep it stock or else it's trash, but every now and then someone will come along with a really good idea and all the negative stuff pales in comparison. Already, there are 2 different guys making fixed light conversions. Maybe they saw my post and said "Hey, I can make that". So maybe that is the ultimate outcome of this thread, inspiration. I don't know, I just try and keep an open mind to things.

 

No i simply said i did not like your idea sorry my opinin,but i also said good luck at what you decied to do that must have slipped you mind a bit ,but thats ok..i know that the older t/as got fixed lights, any ways,i own a 98 ws6 and the driver side motors went out twice and the passender side once so i know what it means to "replace"ok. i got so sick of it i took apert the whole motor check brushes they where still good,got in to the gear box and that lil shitty plastic gear all aten up..you know you can replace that gear for like 15 bucks and a little labor its done.the corvettes have the same problem but not as frequently,,i found that you can replace that gear with a metal one and itll last forever..now wtf why didnt gm do that in the fist place?that should be a recall for all the trans am owners

 

The people with POSITIVE things to say, please tell me which style you think is better or if you have any other ideas.

The people who just want to say NEGATIVE stuff, please move on. This isn't a thread on whether it should be done, it is a thread on which design looks better.

I repeat, THIS IS NOT ABOUT WHETHER IT SHOULD BE DONE. It's going to get done for sure. So anybody who says I shouldn't do it, is wasting their breath.

Thank you.
Jason

 

Okay, honestly, I like the T/A example much much better than the vette examples. Nothing will mess with the beautiful lines of my T/A :p

 

If I am one of those guys, I got the idea from a friend with a 300zx. His looked bad ***, and didnt cost much compared to the breathless kit.

For what its worth, I think you should go with round lights. The one square and one round makes the car look like it is winking.

 

The 300zx is one of those cars that were sporty yet had popups, so I have seen a few fixed conversions, Miata's have been a big influence as well. Sporty cars with popups always seem to sprout fixed versions, so I try and seek out those cars.

I don't have any square lights, just round projectors. I was mainly talking about the housing and lens shape.

Would you happen to have any pics of your friend car? I could always use some pics of other designs.

You prefer the SLP prototype style?

 

I think the vettes stick up out of necessity. I'm just not sure it's possible to stick some lights into the TA and have the covers follow the stock lines. I'm going to try to find out, but I drive my car everyday, mostly at night, so it's hard to find time to pull one whole headlight out and take measurements.

BabyLuvsMyTa, were you able to make the covers not stick up? Are you using some small lights or is there enough room?

 

I like the sleek look of the SLP prototype. I think having to extend the hood is too much if you are looking to sell these. If you are doing it for yourself then hell yeah.

The breathless looks OK but not good enough for the money. And the C6 headlights are OK too. I like the way the color matches the rest of the paint job.

Price aside, for the right looking headlight I would switch out to the fixed ones.

 

Extending the hood is just the dumbest thing I ever heard. Not going to happen, nor does it need to.

I don't even have time to make my own, much less another set, so selling is definately out.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

 

bump ttt

 

2 others are working on fixed lights. babyluvsmyta, and LT1-7.

 

Yea, everyone's coming out of the woodworks on this idea. Just kidding.

I've decided to take it slow at see what they come up with. I believe I already mentioned these 2 guys to several other people interested in fixed lights. Were you just trying to help?

I don't think I'll post anymore until mine are done and photographed, maybe even a video of them turning on and coming down the road showing the color dance.

 

I decided to post up a newer idea just to get some input. Please no bashing.

This design concept is called "stock day position, but lights up the road"
The design keeps evolving. So far, I am planning on using a single projector mounted in between the 2 regular lights instead of to the left or right of the opening. I am converting the projector to act as both high and low beam. I plan on making a cover piece that looks just like the factory light cover except it will have a small section in front to let the light out. Something like this:


It will be pretty subtle on my black car, so I predict a lot of double takes with some folks not even noticing the lights in the day time.

 

That's awesome! I've been looking for a fixed headlight conversion, but I never liked how big a clear cover would be if it were a stock replacement and I like a square look for the bird. Do you know if there is anywhere you can buy the SLP light and hood package? I want a Firehawk hood anyway. If I can get one of those, all the better.

In case they don't sell it, any sponsers think they can fabricate one of those?

 

The SLP lights never made it past the prototype stage. They were never sold and I don't know of anybody making them like the picture above. Have you seen the other 2 threads where guys are making some new fixed lights?
https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearance-detailing/280494-working-producing-non-pop-up-head-lights-ta.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/pontiac-firebird-1967-2002/281936-fixed-ta-headlights-coming-thread-feb-2005-a.html

The Firehawk hoods can be bought new for about $1000.
http://www.gm-restorationparts.com/e...p?PartID=50918
Sometimes you can find them on e-bay.

 

My headlight project is on hold for the moment. I had trouble getting the bulbs and ballast, so I cancelled my order. I used the money elsewhere. Once I get some more money for the HID parts, I'll get back into the swing of things. Here is an update on the parts and the sheetmetal designs I have made to seal off the projector assemblies.

The awesome E46 Bosch Projector:



Some of the paper sheetmetal designs. The white piece will be shaped from a flat piece, folded and then the edges will be soldered air tight.



This black piece is the shape of the metal backing plate. It will be thicker and will be bolted to the projector. I plan on using high temp silicone to seal them together.



Then the white front piece will slide over the front of the projector to work as a light shield and also to make the whole thing air tight. High temp silicone will be used around front hole to seal it. Then more silicone to seal the white to the black parts and they will be screwed together. This will allow the whole thing to be disassembled later if need be.



The black piece being of thicker metal will have it's sides sticking out which will allow me to physically bolt the whole assembly to the vehicle. I haven't decided if I should use steel or aluminum sheet for the construction. Steel is easier to get and solder, but aluminum is lighter and would dissipate the heat better. I'm having trouble locating the aluminum in the thickness I need. I'll just have to check around some salvage places I know.

Notice the rear of the reflector will be exposed to surrounding air. The chromed reflector is the part that generates the most amount of heat. I designed the rear backing plate to leave that rear area exposed in the hopes of the whole assembly running cooler. Then I will be adding small, filtered air vents to the upper part of the white housing (just like OEM lights) to allow the air to expand and contract due to the temperature variations while keeping water, moisture and dust out.

There will be an access hole in the side of the white piece so I can get into it during assembly to hook up the solenoid rod. I plan on mounting one solenoid to the bottom of each unit to actuate the hinged cutoff shield. This will give me the high and low beam. Here are the solenoids. They are continious load units and should work just fine.


I still have some ideas for the adjusting mechanism so that the lights are aimed just right. I have also been experimenting with some small custom shaped shields to be place directly behind the glass lens to block excess scattered light to make the output even more focused and to create a very nice, blue color band at the cutoff line. Then there is the outer cover which will give the lights their final look. They should be the easiest part of this project.

Until next time,
Jason

 

awesome start. i really like the projectors you are using. i like the look as you were asking which looks best.. the slp version on the firehawk looks awesome. i have been following this thread but not saying anything yet and waiting till you get further on in the project so i can do it myself as well =D i have always like the nonpopup fixed light look on cars... for me the supra has been my inspiration... i just don't have the skills or knowledge to start the project myself without having seen others' work.

i really like what you have done so far and it looks awesome. maybe i can photoshop some stuff together when i get some time to match what you have done and the lights you are going to use...

 

I'm really doing it the hard way. The fact that I want both high and low beam HID with a low budget means I have to make it myself. I could get the bi-xenon E46 projector, but I already have the low beam version. You would still have to seal it off with some kind of housing.

It is by far easier to use the Hella 90mm sealed low beam and a second lamp for the high beam. They are sealed so it saves you a lot of fabrication. Just pull the factory light hinge bolts out and pull the whole headlight assembly out. Mount the 2 hella units with the optional adjusting brackets that are available. Then make a cover from metal or lexan. That's far easier to do.
http://www.rallylights.com/hella/90mm_modules.asp

The way I'm doing it you would need some pretty good fab skills and a lot of time. I'm doing it the hard way to get the finished look I want. Definately not a thing for the average guy to whip up. Phamspeed my not produce them, it's a wait and see game. BabylovesmyTA might still be making some complete units for a lot less than $1000. I forget, maybe $500-600 or so.

Are you following his thread?

I'm looking at some new tires soon and a video setup in the TA. I may mount a 7" wide screen LCD in the stock radio hole. Along with a CD/DVD player some where else. Put all my MP3's on a single 8.6GB dvd and never have to change the disc out. Sweet! Plus it will play movies, like I need that. Mainly the screen in the dash will act as a big radio display controlled through the steering wheel controls. Plus there is always the ability to hook up a car computer to the monitor. I already hooked up one of my home PC's TV output to the little monitor in both 800x600 and 1024x768 and the little bastage is actually readable! Surfing the web in my car is really unlikely unless I'm parked in the driveway (wireless high speed router), but it is appealing.

Well, I'm rambling, but the point is I may not have the funds to finish the lights any time soon. Or I may just stick some Silverstar bulbs in there and finish them off with those. It would still be a big improvement and I could get the ballasts and stuff later on.

So nobody hold their breath over this headlight project, OK.

 

i just hope somebody comes out with a cheap alternative to the breathless lights. i think they look absolutely sick and would love to put some on but at a price of 1000 i don't have $1000 just sitting around.

 

i hear you jasonww, i know how it is when you have different things you can do with only so much money and time. =) if you have some suggestions i am definitely looking into doing some stuff myself. i am not hardcore into fabbing up mountings, etc.

i will have to PM you when i get some time to look into this more since you are unsure which direction you are going to go with the t/a.