03-05 neon retro-fit how-to

[aww sheet]

This is a general how-to on retro- fitting projectors into your oem style headlight using vacuform.

Parts needed
-dremel w/ various cutting wheels
-.080 thick sheets of acrylic (size depends on the size of your oven and frame)
-vacuforming table, and frame (instructions on how to make one found here Building a Vacuumform Table)
-oem depo headlights (stock one can be used but plan to spend an hour on each light taking them apart)
-projector of your choice. ( g35 3” projectors will be used for this example)
-paint and primer color of your choice
-22ga or thicker sheet of steel
-machine screws, nuts, and washers
-nissan taillight sealant
-jb weld
-goop
-$200 to give to your g/f to go away while you do this


Instructions
taking apart headlights no pics
-Preheat oven to 225o
-place one headlight on a cookie sheet in the oven for around 10 mins w/ the door open
-with a flat head, carefully start prying the lens apart where the turn signal is until you are able to get a few fingers in to pull the rest of the way.
-now that the lens is off, take a flathead and put between the reflector and the inside of the housing. Carefully pop each mount off the back of the reflector. So now you should only have the reflector in your hand.
-repeat processs for the other headlight

Cutting and test fitting
g35 projectors



This is where it gets messy.....
-take your dremel with cutting wheel, and cut out a 3.5" diameer hole in the center. (one thing you can do is have a squirt bottle handy to spray while cutting to keep the dust at bay.




test fit the projector there will be more cutting needed. thats the good thing about vacuforming, its hides everything.



Making a bracket

There are 2 reasons for making a bracket
-to retain your stock headlight adjustments
-projectors are heavy (especially bixenons) doing this will take the stress off the reflector

start with a template. transfer it to you sheet of steel, and cut away.









*to ensure that you will have a level cutoff. reference the 2 bigger mounting point at the top on either side. when in the the car, they are perfectly level. when making the mounting points for the projector to attach to the bracket, make sure that the cutout shield is level (not aligned) with the two mounting points of the housing. (thanx njkiko)

heres an example. note the dotted line on the steel sheet

once you happy with the way the projectors are mounted to the bracket test fit them in to the housing with and without the lens, and use the stock adjust to make sue that it does not hit the lens.







assemble your bracket, projector and reflector.
it will go in this order
-projector ->bracket
-projector and bracket->reflector
the projector should not be attached to the reflector at all. it will look like this.


Time to vacuform

place the entire assembly in the center of your vac table. prop it up to that it can stand straight up and can't be tip over easily.

[aww sheet]

-Preheat oven between 290 and 350o
-Place sheet of acrylic in your frame and remove the bottom protective covering.
-place in oven ( i would suggest elevating it with something to keep the acrylic from sagging on the the oven rack.
-let it heat for 5-7mins. (until the center of the acrylic sags at least 3-4"
-turn your vacuum on
-remove frame from oven and immediately place over the assembly. make sure the frame is completely sealed against the table so you can get decent suction (no jokes please)



*for a better draw while vacuforming remove the lens from the projector

turn vac off, and let you mold cool. at this point, if you picked up the the acrylic the assembly will come with it. take your dremel and carefully cut around the out perimeter of the reflector. i cut about 1/8" more so that that acrylic can snap on the reflector, eliminating the use of glue. but i still used alitlle.

once you're done cutting, it should look like this



painted


fitment



ok time to add alittle subtle accents

drain stoppers purchaced @ target



cut the out rim



with alittle goop attach it to the assembly



Close it up
-take your nissan sealant (rubber butyle), stretch and place into the groove of the housing.


-you should be able to get 2 headlights out of 1 roll.


-Carefully pop the entire projector assembly back into the housing



*with the vacuform shroud, you will need to trim away the fin on the turn sig reflector for everything to go back together work properly

-take your oem headlght sealer and place around headlight
-place lens onto the housing and clamp down just enough to ensure a good seal be careful not break the lens.
-heat entire housing with a heat gun, and let it sit over night
-take the rear gasket and cut to size, and re-install.

*if you're using a bixenon projector you will need to put a small hole in the back of the headlight to run the wires out, i would use a grommet to ensure that it is sealed.

here is the finished product






night shots with 800k bulbs. (that was all i ahd at the time)






How to aim you new retros
follow these steps
1. park on level ground, 25 feet from a wall
2. measure the height from the ground to the center of the headlight projector.
3. then measure that same distance up at the wall and make a mark.
4. the lower cutoff should shine 2-3inch below that mark.


disclaimer
try this at your own risk. i am not responsible for any mishaps.
this was a general how to for retro-fitting. depending on the projector, and other circumstances some steps will differ.

hope to see some of you try this out

[conroy9940]

awesome write up

[aww sheet]

for those of you that elect to use oem headlights instead of depos

Taking apart the headlights

1) Preheat the oven to 250°F

2) Place 1 lamp at a time in the oven on a cookie tray and let soak for 15 minutes

3) Remove from oven and start prying with a flat head screwdriver or small pry bar at the point closest to the turn signal area (I've found having at least two screwdrivers or pry bars is a huge help, as you can get one through, then further down the lamp start prying with another to help open the gap)

4) After about a few minutes (3-5) of prying (don't sit there for 15 minutes trying to get it apart, the lamp will cool down too much), return the lamp to the oven for an additional 5-8 minutes

5) Pull lamp out again and keep prying

6) Repeat steps 4 & 5 until you can get a couple of fingers of each hand in between the lens and the housing and pull them apart. Once you can get a few fingers in there, you're pretty much set. Just pull gently, but firmly until the two halves pop apart.

[wiggyx]

One other thing that you may want to add is that, if you heat up the Nissan sealant after you've placed it into the groove, it makes assembly a lot smoother. I used a heat gun on the low setting, but a hair dryer on high should work just as well. It gets super soft, and you can easily mash the lens back into place

[Loyalty]

I'm guessing this will be moved to the How-To's

[wiggyx]

It better be.

[04BlueSkittle]

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STICKAY!!!!!!!!!!!

[aww sheet]

Quote: Originally Posted by Loyalty

I'm guessing this will be moved to the How-To's

i've posted a link to this in the how to.

[neonXonXsteroids]

Thank you so much for this. I'm getting an extra set of stockers tomorrow, and wanted to try doing a retro fit, but wasn't sure how to do it. I was hoping something like this was on here. Thanks so much.

[-ND4SPD-]

I find that I can disassemble the Depo's all in one shot but the stockers I have to head 3 times to get them apart. The 2 screwdriver suggestion is good too. You can get a heat gun on ebay or at Harbor Freight for like $10-$20 & it really is helpful on the disassembly & especially the re-assembly.

It's fun to see how others do things. Nice work!

[StayGold03]

good job man! nice work those are sex! I'd be surprised if this wasn't stickied

[neonXonXsteroids]

Does paint stick to acrylic good, or should some kind of plastic primer be used?

[wiggyx]

I would use some adhesion promoter for plastics. You can get it at almost any auto parts store (around here anyways).

[aww sheet]

Quote: Originally Posted by neonXonXsteroids

Does paint stick to acrylic good, or should some kind of plastic primer be used?

thats one step i forgot to put in there.

sand it with a 600 grit until its no longer clear. then prime and paint