Part 1 of JDM headlight install

[4orced4door]

Well on this car I'm doing things a little different. Taking my time on the little details, not going for all out straight line performance at first (it'll get there eventually). I'm trying to make it balanced - look good, handle good, stop good, and then haul ass. This time I am going to document everything I do, and I figured pictures of the JDM headlight setup would be useful.

The first part is getting the lights ready to go in the car. When the relays and bulbs get here today or tomorrow I will document the actual wiring if I feel a need to, there is already a few decent wiring diagrams out there that might be more useful than pictures.

I got these lights in from Hong Kong, thanks Yiuwa! One looked great but the other was pretty cloudy so I wanted to open them up.



I baked it at 175F for 15 minutes.


Once they are hot enough, you can pop the lens off with a screwdriver. Wear gloves so you can actually hold the light.



Cloudy lens. I cleaned it with a cloth and rubbing alcohol, worked nicely. The burn marks you see in the picture were on the outside bottom of the lens, and came right off with 220 grit sand paper.




Once I got everything apart and looked at it, I decided I wanted to paint the inside of the headlight housing on the plastic dividers. I also painted the other three edges of the lens to try to keep light from leaking out the sides. I used high temp bbq paint.





Comparison shots:



Overall I really like how it came out. They will look hot with a black grill, dark tint, and gunmetal wheels. This car is gonna be nice... give me some time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[14u2nV]

I've never been a fan of jdm headlights, but I like those. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif

 

[JNR]

Looks real good! curious what you used to 'glue' the lens back onto the housing?

Anyhow, it's good you are focusing on the details...IMO, that's what separates the 'average' car from the ones that stand out! Not only does it make it look clean, but (to me), it draws those who are into the 'sport' to see things, then keep seeing other areas and so on...

Good luck with your project...as you know, they never end!

 

[4orced4door]

Thanks guys! John, I heated them back up so the factory glue would rebond. I also used a bead of black rtv all the way around since it didn't look like there was a lot of the factory glue left and I wasn't sure if it was seal good enough. The hardest part is getting the little stainless clips back on... ahhh those things were pissing me off.

 

[mistaVR4]

Great job Paul! I like them with the painted insides..very cool.

 

[CP]

Looks great Paul. Is the oven next on the list of things to clean?

FINE steel wool will also work to remove debris from glass. I use it all summer long on my windshield to remove bugs. It's easier than spraying glass cleaner and then rubbing for 5 minutes. Remember: FINE steel wool or you risk scratching. Probably very similar to the sandpaper you used.

 

[4orced4door]

Thanks Steve and Cy, glad people are liking them! I think it'll be interesting to see how they look on a white car, they would look better on black one I'm sure.

Cy, I would've used steel wool but it was late, I didn't feel like driving 20 minutes to get some, and I had the sandpaper out in the garage.

And no I'm not cleaning that damn oven, my brother left it like that when I moved in, and I'm moving somewhere else this weekend so whatever, haha.

 

[powerplay]

Nice job Paul. I am working on a set of '93s and doing similar. I always thought it made sense to paint the glass on the inside rather than the outside.

 

[CP]

Details Scott! My 93's need a re-spray on the tops pretty soon. Paul already did it once when he got them, but they're flaking pretty badly now.

 

[Yiuwa]

Paul,

Thanks for the great write up. They look alot better than they used to in my car! Can't wait to see how they look in your ride

I may try to do that on my spare pair of JDM headlights. They are very foggy and require serious cleaning anyway

Yiuwa

 

[cheekychimp]

Dude,
Way to go, those look awesome. Drop me a PM some time, we'll see if we can't get this car of yours looking really good. Nice to have you back in the game !!!

Paul.

 

[powerplay]

Cy, it is the same thing as what Paul showed here. You take the lenses off and paint on the inside, instead of painting on the outside, which is subject to the elements to a much greater degree.

 

[4orced4door]

I actually painted on the outside, I never even thought about painting them on the inside of the lens, that is a great idea. -1 for me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

I'm glad everyone likes the lights! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

"ATTENTION MODS!"
Please make this a sticky for the how too section.

 

[VR4ownzU]

I don't know how I missed this. I should do this to my 93 headlights. I bet it would look sick. I've been thinking about swapping my CF grill onto my white car. The car already has a OEM CF hood. Hell I should go Panda on the thing. Its white.

 

[4orced4door]

I've got them in the car now, but I don't have any good pictures yet. Maybe I can get some up tonight when I got home. The difference is not as obvious with the headlights in the car as you might think. They look nice but it's very subtle.

Also Nick, I have no idea how you would do this to a set of '93s as they don't have a seperate reflector inside the housing like the JDMs do.

 

[4orced4door]

Got a few pictures of the headlights done, and back in the Galant (haven't wired them yet, I need a new soldering iron.) First, 93 headlights, 93 grille, eeewww...



Getting better...


Lights are in, but without the grill it's hard to see the difference...


As of now with a '92 grille that I just shoved in the hole because I was too lazy to pop the hood... pretty sad. And it's REALLY dirty, it's been under a tree for the last three weeks, got her home and in the garage last night. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



I think I'm gonna paint the new grille black.