None of the retro HID projects that I have seen on here have had an enclosed projector. The ones I have seen and that I have based mine from all have just the forward part of the projector enclosed in the 4x6 housing.


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Pretty cool, you have done alot of work to make this happen.

 

Yeah I've had mine in for close to a year with the back of the projector exposed. It is protected only by being in the engine bay.

 

That is exactly my concern. Either way, this is an awesome mod that will drastically improve lighting

How has it been in the rain?

 

I actually haven't driven the car in the rain in a few years, so I can't say. I stick to my impreza for daily driving, Camaro for nice days.

 

... well played

 

I don't drive mine in the rain either, that's what my Cobalt SS is for.

Either way though, I think you're concern lies with the projector not really being air tight between the front lens and the socket for the bulb. It is made of two halves that are basically screwed together. I have added silicone all the way around where the two halves of the projector connect as well as in between the projector and the plexi-glass I'm using and between the plexi-glass and the 4x6 housing. I'll have to get a closer photo to show you. These shouldn't have issues with condensation because the socket/bulb will be pretty air tight on the backside.

 

The lenses have been attached to the housings and the silicone is drying. Tomorrow they'll be completely done, and the HID harness and bulbs will be here next week (hopefully Tuesday). Then I can put these things to use.

 

What bulbs you going with? 4300K or 5000K? or 3000

 

6,000K

I know they don't have the highest light output but I wanted something just a tad blue.

 

Blue huh? A little biased

 

Maybe slightly haha

my LS1 calipers are being powder coated body color too...


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The headlights are done, just waiting for the harness and bulbs from DDM Tuning to arrive in the mail next week. The bezel that goes around the outside like on the high beam next to it was giving me a fit so I am going to have to give it another try later...I'm kind of spent from taking the T56 out of the car this morning...

 

Very nice, Talking to you about the morimoto projectors last time on faceback got me into getting these done to my 83. Already ordered a pair to get started. Still undecided on the clear or black housing.

Looking forward to see the light output results. Granted I know how good of an upgrade their going to be from our stock lights.

 

Biggest concern I always had with sealing the unit up was moisture. Cant stand that crap in my lights! Bugs the **** outa me.

Juan I have pic's posted of the lighting difference. As I always say, I cant believe I ever drove around without these things.

Probably like the difference between Blue's stock trany and that T56 haha..

Looking great Blue, Defiantly not going to be disappointed!

Oh, almost forgot to ask. Did you go with the 55watt system?

 

Here in Colorado it's so dry that it's not usually a problem, but I made the mistake of sealing it in my home with the swamp cooler on. After a little temperature drop the condensation was terrible and threw the light where it didn't need to be. My buddy with an F-150 had the same problem and fixed it by drilling a small hole on the bottom of the housing, when the bulb heats up and causes the water to start to evaporate it will exit through the hole and water wont go in the hole if it makes it in the engine bay. I tried it and it works like a charm. Hope that helps haha

 

No I went with the 35watt system.

 

That looks fantastic.

 

I got my kit from DDM today, looks like it has everything I need. I'm trying to figure out how it all goes together and hope to be able to turn them on this weekend possibly.

 

By the looks of it, the White is the + trigger from the stock headlight harness and the Dark Blue is the -. Given that those red and black are configured to be + and - on the relay...

 

That is a very noteworthy piece of advice.

 

Finally got to see them on for the first time, well the driver side anyways. I have to figure out why the passenger side isn't turning on, I think it might be the socket is not fully seated on the bulb. Anyways, I'm pretty happy with them, can't wait to see them out of the garage and see how well they light up the road.

 

Here's a good shot of the final product without them turned on.

 

Looks great, definately one the nicer 3 gen retro's Ive seen. I love when people put forth the time and effort to do HID the correct way.

Someone mentioned earlier about the GM looking part numbers, GM has used Valeo's quite often.

 

Thanks, I appreciate that.

 

Very Nice! I want to do this to my 89 GTA, saw some stuff on HAWKS but they don't have any conversions for 89's anybody know a simple bi-xenon setup for one? Your build looks very nice BlueZee and props on a nicely modified 3rd gen!

 

Thanks. I think the problem you'll run into on a bird is finding a projector and housing that are small enough to fit and pop up without interference.

 

Came out great, Zee. Post up some night/output pics when you get a chance!

 

Still waiting for the replacement ballast to come in the mail, but I will!!

 

Did it turn out to be bad then? I know you said they have to test it.

 

Yep, they emailed me saying it was defective (duh)...so now I am waiting for a new one to ship from China. How annoying...it's a good thing there's a lifetime warranty, otherwise I'd have picked a different vendor for this project.

 

these are awesome nick! great job!

 

Thanks

 

Thats too bad you got a defective one right out of the box.
I have done so many HID swaps on cars and every time i used DDM and never had a problem at all. Most of the car's I did them in are going on 3 & 4 years without problems still. I hope once you get the new one its smooth sailing from there!
I would tell you that its the best thing I ever did to my car, but I put my T56 in yesterday and it already wins. I figure you only use the lights like half the time your driving anyways.

 

I got the replacement ballast last Saturday and they're both working properly now. I haven't adjusted them completely, just enough to get the light down the road. I need to adjust them side to side so that the cutoffs overlap more. Right now there's a little dip between them that you can notice about 60ft out in front of the car.

 

Nice!
So, how do you like being able to SEE ??

Oh, a tip. To get mine completely adjusted, I had to have a buddy of mine drive toward me about 1/8 mile away and fine tune them until they overlapped just perfect. Don't like to get blinded so i try not to blind others.

 

Wow those look good man

 

Thanks, I really like them a lot. I'll love them even more when I have them all adjusted properly.

 

Looks great. I've been looking for a headlight upgrade that I'm satisfied with since abandonding the E36 upgrade when I decided not to cut up my car, and yours is the first true 4x6 HID upgrade that I like. When I get my car back together, I think I'm going to take a similar approach, though with some unique changes that fit my tastes. Great job man!

 

Thanks Jim, I appreciate it. Good luck building yours!