3rd Gen BHLM and light mods

Exactly. Everyone said you needed to wait a few days so the paint could offgas before you sealed the lights back up. I didn't want to do that so I used the oven cleaner. The chrome came right off and perfect black underneath it. I was really shocked at how well it worked.

 

Thanks, yeah I went with the recommended 300F for 10 min to start and when it cooled down as I was working on it I’d pop it back in for a couple minutes.

 

I started with a trs retroquick rx350 to d2s kit. The adapters did not fit the projectors. Not sure if they sent the wrong ones or they were designed for 4.0s but only the top holes lined up and it wasn't wide enough for the lens mount. Luckily the pattern did match my headlight, so I cut them up to make clearance, drilled new holes and made it work. I didn't use the supplied spacers, and instead used a few spare nuts a had. There is still a small gap around the lens and the OEM shroud but it's impossible to see unless the lights are on, and when they're on they're too bright to look at anyway

I did 10 minutes at 300°. First heat I just went around the whole light with a flat tip to lift tabs and start to break the seal. Second heat I started pulling from the reflector side and they popped right apart. I was nervous for it but it ended up being one of the easier parts of my retro.

 

When you put it back in the oven after it cools it needs to stay in there longer than a couple minutes. I would say 5 minutes minimum.

 

Got everything put back together and I must say that I am very satisfied with the results. Being that this was my first time opening up a headlight, the project was not very difficult but I will admit very time consuming.

 

Sounds like people are saying it’s a lot of steady pulling more than prying, is that right? Man these after photos are really making want to take a second stab at it.

 

Steady pull ftw. The side marker area comes right apart, then I used the panel pliers recommend here and worked my way around. I think the key is heat. At 300° I had maybe 2-3 minutes where it was nice and malleable.

 

300F for about 10-12 min should be good. Also try starting at one of the corners. Once you get a corner up the rest of it comes off pretty easily.

 

Nice. I have considered trying those because they took care if that giant step from the 4.0s. If you can snap a pic up close by chance, that would be great

 

Let's see some cutoff pics too. I want to upgrade projectors already lol

 

100% worth the grind...not to mention goes great with the X-Trek Grille Insert

I used the Krylon Matte Black spray paint and made my own acrylic amber inserts (got a couple extra pm me if you need one). Also I'm running LED turn signal bulbs.

Also I wanted make the reflector bowl of the brights look as dark/smoky tint as possible without having to harm the light output. When I opened up the headlights I found a couple of extra spots you can black out that won't harm the light output but will help darken the reflector bowl as the reflector bowl picks up the blacked out spots.

 

Done. Worth every minute spent on doing this job.

 

Will do. I wasn't able to today, it was pouring rain... and I was busy installing my stage 2 tails

 

Ok here are some crappy photos. You can't see the gap in person, but my camera is able to pic it up. I'll probably have to tear them apart and fill the gap now that I know it's there

 

Looks good, and I love that AR coating. What bulbs are you running?

The gap isn't quite as noticeable as I thought it'd be.

 

Yeah, I'd never have noticed it I wasn't looking for it. In fact, looking at other photos on here the stock projector has about the same gap.

Those are just Morimoto xb35 5500ks.

 

I've got an extra set of tuned up RX350s but on the next set I may give the 5.0s a go.

 

What LED's are you running in your DRL's?

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/50P...-White-Red-Yellow-Blue-Green/32796868445.html
Also going to need a hot air solder station and some solder paste if you are going to tackle this. Totally worth it IMO, the amber drls look mean as hell.

 

Is there anyone in Oregon or SW Washington who has done this mod and is willing to help a fellow member out?