HID H4 Headlights H4 Projector Retrofit - a patient build thread

[Heus33]

Been waiting for my G3's to arrive (tracking info has them in NJ right now).

Spent some time working with the Morimotos and my Xterra and got them about 70% done. All I can say is WOW!!! Very excited to get the projectors in the Bronco after seeing the results in my X.

 

[jpopsbronco]

I just got the black ones with the "projectors" in the mail today and have one side in and left the other side stock. I'm running 6k bixeneon's in em and if anyone wants pix shoot me an email. They, like everyone says, are cheap and the "projectors" are more of a magnifying glass %) but I'm going to go cruise around tonight and let ya'll know how it goes.
BTW heuss33 I've been following thread--it's great. What do you think of the acura tsx projector? I think im going to try to fit it in the crappy housing depending on how i can make them work currently. Pops

Hosepops@gmail.com

 

[jpopsbronco]

Yeah they suck. They are MUCH worse than my stock h6024's. Have pix from tonight. I had the exact same hid in my bike a month ago and cutoff was great and a ton of light. These housings are a joke.
http://images.bizrate.com/resize?sq=500&uid=1788578879

 

[Heus33]

I just got the black ones with the "projectors" in the mail today and have one side in and left the other side stock. I'm running 6k bixeneon's in em and if anyone wants pix shoot me an email. They, like everyone says, are cheap and the "projectors" are more of a magnifying glass %) but I'm going to go cruise around tonight and let ya'll know how it goes.
BTW heuss33 I've been following thread--it's great. What do you think of the acura tsx projector? I think im going to try to fit it in the crappy housing depending on how i can make them work currently. Pops

Hosepops@gmail.com

The black headlights with the "projectors" in there are junk, well not the headlights themselves, just the built in projector, its pretty much useless. I posted about it in my build thread. Does little to nothing to project the light in my opinion and its just hanging out there with no shield so the light can escape everwhere else causing the same kind of scatter.

Not sure about the TSX projectors - I know they are wideley regarded as a great projector but I've never used them. They are only low beam projectors though - so you'd lose your high beam functionality. And they are just over 6" in length so they are going to be a bit longer than the G3s. Here's some info on them but overall I'd say these are not a good candidate for our small shallow headlight housings.
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=61

 

[Heus33]

Got the G3's in today (not too long of a wait considering they came from China).

Pic of the box and the contents - projectors, wiring harnesses, epoxy and instructions. I'll tackle this over the weekend if time permits.

In the meantime take a look at my recently completed projector project on my Xterra here: http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=21730

 

[jpalmer]

It won't let us non-members view your thread over at Club Xterra. Any chance you could post the pics over here for your Bronco brothers? Looking forward to your results this weekend!

 

[Heus33]

It won't let us non-members view your thread over at Club Xterra. Any chance you could post the pics over here for your Bronco brothers? Looking forward to your results this weekend!

Sure - I've created a duplicate thread of the one on clubxterra over in the off topic forum.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1615219#post1615219

 

[Heus33]

Test fit and update - bad news

Ok guys - spent a few minutes with these and its not looking good as far as fitment goes.

Pic 1 - Overall length of projector
Pic 2 - Amount the projector will stick out using the diamond H4 housings without modification
Pic 3 - Amount of trimming needed to make these fit into the housing

Summary:

The projectors stick out about 2.5" longer than the diamond H4 housings once the bulbs are inserted. This is fine for the drivers side but the passenger side will interfere with the battery location.

At this point I do not think I will proceed. I simply don't drive enough at night to warrant relocating my battery.
EDIT - I WILL PROCEED!!!!

IT CAN BE DONE however - you'd need to figure out a way to mount the shroud to the back of the trimmed housing - I think a sheet of ABS plastic bonded to the back of the housing and trimmed to fit the shroud would work just fine. Add a few screws or epoxy and you should be in good shape. Something along the lines of what this guy did (but with some better aesthetics - http://forums.nicoclub.com/tsx-projector-retrofit-and-hid-popups-t254025.html)

If someone is interested in trying this PM me and I'll sell you my set of G3s for $100 including Priority shipping.EDIT: Not for sale at this time (see below)

 

[Heus33]

I can't quit that easily, its not in my nature.....I started testing the projectors in my Xterra and got inspired again. I'm going to get back on this project over the next couple of weeks.

I'm thinking I can take the trimmed housing and bond a piece of flat sheet metal along the back of it then trim an oval hole in the metal that will fit the back of the projector. I can then run some screws from the back of the sheet metal into the shroud to mount it securely.

I'll then need to figure out how to make it fit where the battery is - if all that works out I'll be in business!

FYI - here's a pic of the Xterra's projectors. I still have to spend some time adjusting them - they're too high now (especially the passenger side). But THIS is how sharp a cutoff should be (just imagine it about 6 inches lower and even across with only one "step" in the middle).

 

[jpalmer]

Atta boy, way to keep at it. We like it when we aren't the guinea pigs. ;D

 

[DirtDonk]

What about thinking "outside the spheroid" Heuss? As in, just mount them somewhere else
Maybe inboard of the stock housings so they don't have as much to clear? Might be a tight fit between the radiator tank and battery on the one side, and radiator and reservoir/light/whatever on the other, but could it work?

Or, turn your battery lengthwise and dimple the fender to let it fit?
Or just remote mount it somewhere-the-hell-else in the truck?
Or, leave the lights and grille alone and mount the projectors in the bumper? You know you wanted a fancy-ass custom bumper anyway, right? Hmmm, front roll-pan maybe?

Give me some time. I'm just getting started!
Just kidding. I'm done.

Paul

 

[Heus33]

What about thinking "outside the spheroid" Heuss? As in, just mount them somewhere else
Maybe inboard of the stock housings so they don't have as much to clear? Might be a tight fit between the radiator tank and battery on the one side, and radiator and reservoir/light/whatever on the other, but could it work?

Or, turn your battery lengthwise and dimple the fender to let it fit?
Or just remote mount it somewhere-the-hell-else in the truck?
Or, leave the lights and grille alone and mount the projectors in the bumper? You know you wanted a fancy-ass custom bumper anyway, right? Hmmm, front roll-pan maybe?

Give me some time. I'm just getting started!
Just kidding. I'm done.

Paul

Haha - thanks for the kick in the ass Paul. I'm leaning towards mounting the battery legthwise as you mentioned but haven't really noodled other options.

I've been playing around with the abs mount and think I've got a few ideas that might work - need to get some extra epoxy.

 

[msweb]

I actually like the custom bumper idea... And how about modifying the grill to accomodate a dual headlight setup with the Projectors inboard?

Oh, and you don't need more epoxy Tom - If you have enough JB Weld, you can make ANYTHING! Just decide where you want it and stick it!

 

[Heus33]

I haven't done much with this over the weekend. Got the mock up light cut out and the piece of plastic temporarily attached to the back. I'll continue tonight - plan is to complete the mock up housing and start test fitting.

 

[DirtDonk]

One of my favorite Bronco front ends was a friend's '72 with his 7" round driving lights mounted into the grille just inside the headlights. Very slick!
Since they were typical driving lights though, they weren't as deep as your projectors, so putting them inboard of the lights didn't really create any clearance issues inside. With that size they were probably well inside the area of the radiator, where the deep projectors would interfere.
But boy, they sure looked cool. Been wanting to do something similar to mine ever since.
And that was 35 years ago now, so you can see how I work...

Paul

 

[Heus33]

More progress

My mock up has gone well so far so I've moved in to the permanent mounting solution.

* Cut the housing right at the hole where the city light is held, about 1.5" from the lens - pic3 -(I'll get final measurements when complete). Take your time with this - you want the cut to be as flat and level as possible - I used a file to even things out a bit. I used a cutoff wheel which seemed to be the easiest way to cut through this plastic.
* Took a piece of fairly heavy duty plastic (I used the cover off of an old rubbermaid type storage bin) - cut this to be just a bit wider than the opening.
* Cut a 3" hole in the middle of the plastic to mount the projector. - Keep this snug, start out smaller than 3" and enlarge the hole with a file.
* Scored the plastic and applied some JB weld - put a weight on it to hold it down and let it dry overnight, bonding the two pieces together. I then applied a bead of sealant that came with the kit along the back to fill any gaps from not getting perfect cut (in step one above).

In the last two pics you'll see that we have enough room here (good news). Once the bulb is inserted it will add approximately 0.5" to the total length. Not an issue on the drivers side - but it will be close on the passenger side. *The last three pics were from the mock-up version, the final version is much cleaner.

 

[Heus33]

Hit a speed bump - need some advice

These projectors are designed to be installed INSIDE of your existing headlight and by design have vent holes to allow the heat from the bulb to dissipate. This is a problem for me since the only part that will be sealed is the lens itself, leaving the rest of the unit exposed to the elements.

Any interesting ideas on how to seal this without impacting the size of the overall structure? I was thinking some kind of shrink wrap or weatherproof tape material but I dont think that will be good for the heat created... Need some brainstorming...

The only idea I've come across so far is to use aluminum tape to seal the back of the unit. I'm a little weary about this and methinks there's a better solution. I'll post a question on hidplanet and see if I get any help there.

 

[Heus33]

Not much new to report today - I purchased a set of Range Rover shrouds to help complete the look once I mount the projectors permantently. And I spray painted the housings just so I could see how it will look when complete.

Probably wont touch this until next week - waiting on the shrouds to come in.

 

[Heus33]

Shrouds are in

Got the shrouds in - they were from a Range Rover (and were only $10 on eBay). Had to trim about 1/16" off of it and remove some of the tabs but it fits great and will complete the look once the projectors are mounted permanently.

 

[Heus33]

Passenger side fitment solution

Good news - with just a bit of trimming of the battery tray the setup will clear without any other cutting. Its close, but it will fit. ;D