I've been working on this conversion for a couple weeks now. I baught some 4x6 "Euro style" headlight housing from ebay and a HID headlight kit, also from ebay. Now i basically baught the cheapest housings just to see if i liked the HID look and if it was really what they said it was. Turns out they are actually good HID's (around $70 for all 4 headlights shipped) and i want some nice housings that will focus, perform, look good because the cheap-o's just dont controll the light even close enough for the extream amount of light these HID's put out.

I am wondering if anyone has done a similar swap to housing and H4 bulbs instead of sticking with the stock sealed beam lights. I would just like to avoid buying and taking back 100 different housing before i find one that looks good, and gives me an adiquit light pattern.

Thanks to all who read/reply to this!

 

the car looks nice man. ive done it to two different cars over the years. on my 80 the housings look similar to yours where the had a reflector in the center. it provided good lighting once they were adjusted. i also did it with the pilot housings and they didnt have a reflector and it was blindingly bright. i also purchased a set of projector housings for my 78 nose but the header panel and the rest was thrown out of where i had it stored so i cant give you results. i can tell you that they looked pretty good. i got them from ebay for fairly cheap. these are the ones that i got. they wont fit your year but just for reference.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/78-79...Q5fAccessories

 

I think it looks good. Good luck on your quest.

 

I happen to live just a few miles from summit racing here in ohio so I ordered a set of projector style lights to try out and sold the cheapo's from eBay on craig's list for about what i paid for them. This way when I am dissatisfied with the functionality I only have to drive 15 miles. Once i figure this out I will post links to the kits and headlights i bought for future reference. I am sure us guys stuck with sealed beams wish we could stick it to those imports running these holey bright lights .

for now i will link the crap lights and the ones I should get monday, along with the eBay HID kit.
HID kit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...=STRK:MEWNX:IT
crap lights:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...=STRK:MEWNX:IT
new lights: a little more expensive, but you get what you pay for.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GRM-09-1081/

 

Where you located? I'm in Niles.

 

I live south west of Akron. Near Barberton if you know the area.

I have done a little research on the HID headlights and doing a conversion and Ive turned up it requires abit more work then I had anticipated. They call if "retrofitting". It requires finding true HID projectors, either from an online store or finding a car in a bone yard that came factory with them. Somehow remove the projector housing from the donor headlight and fitting into your own. There is a lot of info and DIYs on www.hidplanet.com. It is a very useful tool with a lot of knowledgeable members. I recommend posting and reading before attempting or buying anything.

 

I got my new headlights in last night (only 2 for testing) and I am fairly satisfied with the performance of the PNP (plug N' play) kit. I did how ever have to make some glare shield to further focus the light through the projector lens but it was minor at best.

The main problem with HID bulbs in a housing made for halogen are mainly glare and focusing issues. As in a halogen assembly the light is produced with a filament at a finite point and is relatively easy to control. An HID bulb uses up to 20 KV (20,000 volts) to ignite a gas that is stored in the ignition chamber of the bulb, thus giving a brighter and more pure light emission. The problem comes about when trying to focus this light, as it is emitted in an infinite amount of directions from the ignition chamber. Most auto manufacturers use an assembly that is separate from the headlight housing to collect and then focus the light through a convex lens called "projectors".

The two types of projectors are referred to as "bi-xenon" and "xenon". There are also halogen type projectors that are basically the same in construction but utilize a less drastic lens as the halogen lights lend themselves to an easy focus. Other then those differences the lens is the second contributor to projector performance. OEM projectors are commonly equipped with a frosted or glazed lens to adhere to all highway safety standards. Limitations are derived by the SAE and limit the candela of headlights. Changing the frosted lens to a clear will increase the output of any projector (don't skimp here).

Bi-xenon projectors have an actuated door, or flap, that exposes more of the bulb to the lens in a high beam position and respectively less when in the low beam position. They also may move the bulb its self, thrusting it forward approximately 1/4 to 3/8 inch closer to the lens.
The regular xenon projectors do not have this function and are set as a default to low beam applications, but can be modified to expose more of the bulb to function as a high beam.

As you can probably tell in my first few pictures the glare is over powering even when the sun hasn't fully set. They are taken with reflector housings that aren't meant for an HID application. The best way I have found to assess if your lights emit excessive glare is to stand at about a 70 deg angle from the front bumper at about 10 feet and look at the inside wall of the headlight. If you cannot make out the design or it is painful to look at for more then 10-15 seconds the light is polluting housing and blinding your fellow commuters.

Easy fixes are commonly "Glare" shields or "Casper" shields. The shields help in gathering the light emitted from the ignition chamber and aim it forward, toward the projector lens, or up, in a reflector. Most new or aftermarket reflector housing utilize a forward facing collector which takes light that is traveling linearly out of the tip of the bulb and turns it 180 deg from where it is then reflected forward and down by the main reflector face. Researching refraction and the laws there-in will explain why the light must be focused upward.
These are non-issues in OEM or even reproduction projectors as they have the necessary built in structure to adequately focus the light output. Most after market "projector" headlights do not this technology but, have simulated projector look. They employ a lens that is held up by several sheet metal legs to give the outward appearance of projectors, but little of the function. Having low quality lenses and no structure to prevent pollution.

I built my own glare shields so i could customize the pattern, a more broad for low beams and tighter pattern for my highs. I will include some pictures later tonight of the glare shields. For now I have some pattern pics as well as some installed.



notice the lens in the center.



notice the light doesn't pollute much onto the housing sidewall.



The left beam is with my final glare shield and the right is with a less restrictive one.

 

i have an 82 and i wanted to do the same thing to my car i just dont know where to begin or what to do

 

I have looked at those but just don't like the looked of the sealed bulb style like that I have kind of been looking into modifying a pair of old m3 headlights to fit


I