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SolaraGuy.com • View topic - Gen 1 Projector Retrofit
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Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby Akfahad » Sat May 05, 2012 4:23 pm

First, props to I113GAL and nguyenSTX for answering my questions. Thought I'd throw together a tutorial for putting together some projector retro's in the Gen 1 housing. I did this project after work for about 4-5 days, I'm sure it would take a lot less time, but I didn't have that luxury. As with any project, the biggest factor for me since this was my very first time doing something like this, was to TAKE MY TIME!!!

Here's the parts list:

Bi-xenon: Morimoto Mini D2S 2.0 (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=236) - I decided to do D2S projectors as I wanted to get a different HID kit since I wanted to go with 8000K bulbs, so I scrapped my original McCollugh HID kit
Gatling Gun Shrouds (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?cPath=30&products_id=72)
Bi-xenon: 'MotoControl 9003/H4/HB2 (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=14027) - this will allow you to tap into the stock headlight connectors
Morimoto CCFL Angel Eyes (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?cPath=31&products_id=103) - definitely not needed if your on a budget, but adds to the effect

Here's the paint I used:

Image

You'll also need a variety of sandpaper, finest grit I used was 220.

Left to right: primer for headlights; gloss black paint for headlights; chrome paint for headlights (original mirror finish pealed off when I masked it to paint the rest of the housing black); primer for shrouds and projector cutoff; blue paint for shrouds and projector cutoff

First, take out the headlights, bake them (do a search, there's plenty info on the web on how to effectively heat the headlights to pry the glass off - I used a heat gun since I was in a hotel). remove all the hardware in the housing:
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Paint and/or don't paint the housings, whatever you want to do. Here's what I did:
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Here's another step you don't have to do, but I disassembled the projector to paint the cutoff shield to obtain a "demon eye" effect (use whatever color you want). Sort of hard to tell with blue but when the light hits it right, its a nice effect.
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Finished product of the projector re-assembled:
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In order to fit the Gatlin Gun shrouds into the housing, you'll need to do some trimming. It was actually more than I expected, but below is how I cut them. Its difficult to notice the cuts once they are set in the housing once complete. Its easiest to use a dremel and drill to do this. The first one takes a while (took about an hour for the first one) but once it fits, just use a permanent marker on the second one, which took 10 minutes to cut once I had the outline. Trick is to do a little at a time, test fit, cut, test fit, cut, etc.

Top of the shroud:
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Bottom of the shroud:
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Make sure all surfaces are edged out and smooth.

If you want to do CCFL or LEDs behind whatever shroud you use, here's what I did. Drill a very small hole (as unnoticeable as possible) and use some small speaker wire or the like to tie them down. You don't want to use any glue as they tend to get very hot and will melt and/or smear the color of them. You may notice the wiring I used in the picture.
Image
The wiring for the CCFLs I taped into the corner lights (there's three wires - negative is black/white; positive is green/amber), they will not blink when the directionals are on. More nighttime pics on this.

Follow the tutorial on mounting the projector in your housing:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/trs_tech.php

Here's my shroud painted and glued on the projector (Gatlin Gun shrouds you'll have to glue on the projector) and mounted in the housing:
Image

Since I didn't have an external power source, I tied everything together to make sure everything was functioning before sealing the headlights:
Image

More pictures to come once the headlights are properly sealed and the exteriors are refinished.
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby dinoxor » Sat May 05, 2012 11:01 pm

NICE!!
can't wait for the updated finished picture!

quick question.
1) for the gatling gun shroud, did you purchase the premium or the value one?
2) For your ccfl angel eyes you purchased the 100mm one correct?
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby Akfahad » Sat May 05, 2012 11:08 pm

^^^^1) purchased premium...although not quite sure of the difference
2) correct, 100mm
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby GzNutz » Sun May 06, 2012 10:27 am

Looks like the terminator, only in blue.
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby SleeperSolara » Mon May 07, 2012 6:19 am

Very nice man.
I need to finish mine even though I'll be retiring the Solara soon.....
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Top Speed Run finished at 130 mph. :o
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby Akfahad » Tue May 15, 2012 6:50 pm

output pics with phone cam:
Image
Image
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby trd4life » Fri May 18, 2012 9:50 pm

looks badass
Image
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby Akfahad » Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:41 pm

finally got around to posting some night shots with a better camera to capture how the CCFL's turned out. Here you go:

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Not sure if I like the LED's in the corners or not yet, but I can always disconnect.
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby hari-bhari » Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:33 pm

so ummm how much would you charge to do this for me?
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby Akfahad » Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:14 am

changed my corner LED's to amber so the halo would be more profound.

Image
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby PlateLunch » Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:36 pm

The Amber/Amber combo looks the best! It really makes the corners stand out, nice work.
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby corlon » Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:17 pm

just baked my headlights and took them apart tonight. thinking of doing something similar to this. do you have any complaints on the items you purchased or anything you would change or do different? thanks.
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Re: Gen 1 Projector Retrofit

Postby Akfahad » Tue Nov 12, 2013 12:47 pm

He projectors are decent but if I did it again, I would probably get a little better projector, something similar to Lexus or Acuras. The CCFL I would use an LED instead as I really on lye anted the light projecting one direction, which I might still just go ahead and re-do.
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