Another retrofit write up

first of all thanks to retrofit source. 15% off and they shipped it same day. Hell of a company. Thanks to the cool TW members for making that happen too.

Enjoy as I slowly chip away at this little endeavor.

Edit 8/18/17:

Watch this video, then read this entire post!

https://youtu.be/HAlr59hz9QI

Shoutout to SO Motorsports for this.
My write up is a much more specific and in-depth analysis of the retrofit process. This will get you going and be a good reference. I do a lot of things differently, it's all about preference.

 

Walk-throughs on splitting these is beating a dead horse IMO. So we're omitting that.

These are the headlight guts, stripped of their chrome with easy off from walmart. Good luck finding it, but it is there. One can seems to be plenty but I bought two just in case.. (can't hide money)

It took the shrouds about 30 seconds and the headlights about 3 minutes. Regardless of what other forums say this stuff works like a dream. Rinse with the ol garden hose and repeat as needed

 

Subd

 

Ahh.. no respectable write up leaves out key details. Thoroughly inspect and make sure you have removed ALL OF THE SCREWS. Set your oven to 225F and go for five minutes. I can guarantee they won't split, but you wanna heat them not cook them. Keep checking. Start pulling from the corner where the reflector is BY HAND. If you take screwdriver to your OE heads (the only lights you should do this to btw) and crack them.. make sure to post it here so we can lol at you. They should slowly start to come apart. Make sure to release the one way clips around the sides. This is my first build so I wanted to be frantic due to nervousness. Don't. Chill. They don't cool down for a while. Do not rush and break anything. If you live with a woman that cooks, wait til she goes to bed and simply play dumb when she wakes up and finds her oven smelling like shit and chemicals.

 

As far as this guy goes, wiggle and pull

Also to be noted, as far as I am aware, at no time should the builder of the lights be cutting or drilling holes into anything. Only a little tab cutting/grinding, which we'll see later on. (Don't stress, the grinding is easy as it gets)

 

Pulling the reflector is easy. Push the lip of the two clips over the ledge, and out.

The running lights are just two Phillips screws. No bs there. The main dome for the light does have to come out for this to be done. Period. But, it's easy too. Get a drink and get comfortable, and loosen (counter clockwise, standard thread) the two bolts circled in red with an 8mm socket screwdriver for the next 30 minutes. Do not a grab a drill because we don't use power tools on delicate plastic. Once you have freed the dome from those two bolts, there is a ball joint that holds the dome in. Get your strong hand ready and pull until it comes out. With some control, ya animal. If that does not come out, you might have to get a fine bent pick and try to depress the tabs in there. If successful, the light dome comes right out. Shout out to SO Motorsports on YouTube and on here for that tip.

 

Sub'd

 

Sub'd!

 

x4​

 

Thanks guys!!

 

Ah heck, I'm in. Sub'd

 

And subd

 

Me as well, but beer instead of popcorn.

 

Ah crap well I'm out now.






































JK lol

 

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Setting trends

 

I would like to see this develop also. Care to let us know what parts you got from retrofit?
Just to be clear. You are taking your stock headlights, disassembling them to put new upgraded parts in. Are you converting to HIDs or LEDs? Which one is better? I never thought you could use LEDs for your main headlight. Won't the HIDs melt the stock lens?

 

In for pics of cut-off once installed.

 

Everything is primed up. I'm not a painter so take this with a grain of salt. Or the whole shaker. Whatever.
After everything is stripped, don't rush. Let it air dry. Take a scuffing pad (equivalent to 15-1600 grit) and scuff everything. Use rubbing alcohol and wipe everything down. USE COMPRESSED AIR AFTER THAT. whatever rag you wipe it with will leave lint, there will be dust from sanding no matter what. That's the most important part. Make sure it's dry and shoot with primer. I brought my stuff inside. It's humid. If you didn't get in trouble for baking lights in the oven, try painting inside. Clearly your wife/mom is cool. Life is about growth. Let us know what happens.

EDIT: scroll on down to where I grind the tabs off the back of the headlight dome. DO THAT BEFORE PAINT. I did not and it's a real pain to get the dust out off of the paint. Not a huge deal but clean up is a lot easier when not trying to protect the precious rattle can paint

 

I'm converting to HID's. I got everything from TRS. It is the 35 watt HID kit, mini D2S projector, and the install kit. I think my order is literally one item and you select the things you want. If you're a n00b like me just call them honestly. I am probably not gonna get the parts right if I told you. I can post pics if you want it's no big deal.