NPU Headlight for TA need some Fiberglass help (lots of pics)
09-04-2009, 04:25 AM
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NPU Headlight for TA need some Fiberglass help (lots of pics) *UPDATE*
I know its been awhile guys, sorry for the break in commo, I am currently working on my remaining car, trying to get it the way I want it. in the process Im revamping the lights to see how I want them, I am confident in the ability to finish them, the lenses I have on there have been working pretty well for going on 3 years so Im gonna stick with the basic idea I had in the beginning. but I am playing around with how they look, they work well so functionality is not an issue, Im looking more towards the pleasing to the eye and keeping it pissed off looking, so some comments and or feedback would be appreciated. Here are the latest pics....
here is what I had before I rearranged things
Had been working on these for a number of years before I got deployed and now that I will be coming back soon, I have been trying to get ideas about how to finally finish them, sort of a list of things to do. I know how to form the Lexan or Acrylic lense depending on which I want to use(have tried them both Acrylic comes out so much nicer looking it just cracks as opposed to Lexan which scratches easy) I have used 3 different kinds of projectors to try and get the size right. my main issue has been getting the inside part of the headlight correct, the part that covers the headlight and holds the lense on.
Here are the lenses
I actually painted a lid on the lense to help cover the screws I used to try and hold the lense down.
1 cheap ebay projector(colored lense) and 1 E46 projector on each side
picture head on with both sets of projectors in and lenses semi attached
lights actually on
angel eyes(LEDs not CCFLs)
I actually did get a pair that worked totally together, they were finished in a hurry as I had to drive the car from California to Kansas to finish moving. to say they look rough is an understatement.(but I did get to see how the lenses worked out on the drive..no cracks and the bug guts cleaned off pretty easily)
sorry these are so small, they got saved to a digi picture viewer and the large version gets blurry.
Anybody good with fiberglass...when you make a design out of wood or metal that you are going to cover with glass and then have it fit beneath something else as well as have attachments (such as CCFLs or angel eyes) really just how would you attack something like this? I am really open to ideas or any insights....dowels? Mesh? I have tried them before, just ended up with a messed up piece and it never matched the other side. any comments or help would be appreciated
I know its been awhile guys, sorry for the break in commo, I am currently working on my remaining car, trying to get it the way I want it. in the process Im revamping the lights to see how I want them, I am confident in the ability to finish them, the lenses I have on there have been working pretty well for going on 3 years so Im gonna stick with the basic idea I had in the beginning. but I am playing around with how they look, they work well so functionality is not an issue, Im looking more towards the pleasing to the eye and keeping it pissed off looking, so some comments and or feedback would be appreciated. Here are the latest pics....
here is what I had before I rearranged things
Had been working on these for a number of years before I got deployed and now that I will be coming back soon, I have been trying to get ideas about how to finally finish them, sort of a list of things to do. I know how to form the Lexan or Acrylic lense depending on which I want to use(have tried them both Acrylic comes out so much nicer looking it just cracks as opposed to Lexan which scratches easy) I have used 3 different kinds of projectors to try and get the size right. my main issue has been getting the inside part of the headlight correct, the part that covers the headlight and holds the lense on.
Here are the lenses
I actually painted a lid on the lense to help cover the screws I used to try and hold the lense down.
1 cheap ebay projector(colored lense) and 1 E46 projector on each side
picture head on with both sets of projectors in and lenses semi attached
lights actually on
angel eyes(LEDs not CCFLs)
I actually did get a pair that worked totally together, they were finished in a hurry as I had to drive the car from California to Kansas to finish moving. to say they look rough is an understatement.(but I did get to see how the lenses worked out on the drive..no cracks and the bug guts cleaned off pretty easily)
sorry these are so small, they got saved to a digi picture viewer and the large version gets blurry.
Anybody good with fiberglass...when you make a design out of wood or metal that you are going to cover with glass and then have it fit beneath something else as well as have attachments (such as CCFLs or angel eyes) really just how would you attack something like this? I am really open to ideas or any insights....dowels? Mesh? I have tried them before, just ended up with a messed up piece and it never matched the other side. any comments or help would be appreciated
Last edited by Scrws6; 02-28-2012 at 05:25 PM. Reason: update
09-04-2009, 10:58 AM
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Pretty sure there was a guy on here that made his own with HID and projectors...was a very nice setup could be in the Lighting FAQ in the appearance section.
09-04-2009, 12:00 PM
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Thank you, I do still want to make the fiberglass part myself, but 6 or 7 pairs later...I`m really wondering if there isnt some kind of trick I am missing, I can tape the area up and lay the fiberglass down well enough, but when it comes time to pull it and actually start work on finishing it it just ends up looking like ***...I have been looking at the way the guys build sub enclosures, and that looks to be a good starting point, but building the actual frame is kinda what I am looking more into.
09-04-2009, 01:09 PM
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Lexan on one side and Acrylic on the other, this was due to me having to rush the final pair getting done and having to use what i had on hand. both ended up looking ok after the drive but i noticed the Lexan fogged up on the inside sometimes....
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09-09-2009, 10:25 PM
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There was a guy on here who did his own for an LT1 Trans Am, it was a pretty nice setup....Thats all I have for pics right now, have about a week till I get back so will be getting started on this soon. I did find some answers as far as the fiberglass insides if anyone wants to take a shot at it.... The same way guys use to stretch cloth to build custom sub enclosures, thats how I am going to make the inside of the headlights...build a mock up out of wood inside the actual headlight area...glue the cloth to it and stretch it in the shape I want it. This should solve the clearance issues I had been having and give it a better shape without all the sanding I was doing. It shouldnt be hard to make both sides the same either. Anybody have any input on this?
09-09-2009, 11:15 PM
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You can get some of that floral foam from a hobby store and mold it to your liking even with the cut outs for the lights. After you get it how you want it, wrap it in automotive paint tape so that the fiberglass resin doesnt melt it and stick to it. After that you will have a great mold.
Nice idea i have been wanting to do this myself. I'm really looking forward to seeing yours finished.
Good luck
Nice idea i have been wanting to do this myself. I'm really looking forward to seeing yours finished.
Good luck
09-10-2009, 12:16 AM
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I did give the foam idea some thought before, the only issue I found with that is that your trying to shape from both sides and make it fit within a certain area, to be totally honest my shaping and carving skills are not up to par and my patience ran out(along with my ex wifes and the mess I was making) I guess you could say I`m taking the easy way out by using the cloth and fiberglass. Thank you for the input!
09-10-2009, 09:57 PM
#16
i know this may be a long shot but.....would it be any easier to take a set of corvette headlights and have them molded in? like have em fiberglassed into the front fascia and trim/fiberglass the hood to fit up against them? just me tryin to think outside the box.
So far what you've got looks great tho!
So far what you've got looks great tho!
09-10-2009, 11:36 PM
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95TAJade
Appreciate the offer, might take you up on that someday
2000pewterN20
Not saying it wouldnt work if you could get everything to line up and match underneath as well as up top and still make it look good. The newer Corvette headlights helped fuel my freakin obsession with these, I want to try and get mine to look that good. The issue with getting these to work is making the lights,the inner cover and the lens to fit and still look like something that could have come stock on this car. I`m not trying to really change the lines of the car, but still give it the mean look without the pop up headlights....If this works i really do want to see what a normal non HID setup would do for it too..use the 2 square lights that came stock, really experiment and see what I can do.
sorry for the long a$$ post, obsession is a nasty bug
Appreciate the offer, might take you up on that someday
2000pewterN20
Not saying it wouldnt work if you could get everything to line up and match underneath as well as up top and still make it look good. The newer Corvette headlights helped fuel my freakin obsession with these, I want to try and get mine to look that good. The issue with getting these to work is making the lights,the inner cover and the lens to fit and still look like something that could have come stock on this car. I`m not trying to really change the lines of the car, but still give it the mean look without the pop up headlights....If this works i really do want to see what a normal non HID setup would do for it too..use the 2 square lights that came stock, really experiment and see what I can do.
sorry for the long a$$ post, obsession is a nasty bug
09-14-2009, 12:00 AM
#18
i really think will be awesome when you get everything just right. i wish i had the talent/patience to do something like this. yea, i freakin love the C6 lights too. Maybe i can get my hands on one to actually get a close look at the shape/dimensions of it and sit down with my local body guy. Keep us posted man!
09-15-2009, 12:19 AM
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Yeah as long as I can get it right, I have been looking at a fiberglass forum and someone actually fabricated a corvette hood to fit on a Fiero, it has the lights in the hood...of course some might say thats blasphemous, but they did an ok job of it....cant wait to get started on these again, cant believe I was wearing the answer the whole time...seriously the things you dont think to do!
L I think about to do custom headlightw/HID on my 2002 Camaro,also would be full lexan over where the Camaro OEM headlight line.