I have a set of headlight covers for my car, but I cant decide how I want to install them. I would prefer to not drill into the bumper, but I was curious if any of you guys had any good ideas, or how you installed them.

Thanks for the input!

 

just because you have them doesn't mean you have to put them on. you could always not put them on.

headlight covers on a Camaro invariably look ugly and tacked on. from an aesthetic standpoint, I personally don't like them, and I would tend to think that most would agree.

 

Most of the covers I have seen need to be bolted on. I would think any other form of attachment would risk them being blown off.

Even GM bolted them to the bumper.

 

I personally like them. But everyone has there openion

 

yes. to each his own. but unless you absolutely need to eliminate that fraction of wind resistance, then it just seems like an RK Sport kind of add on.

myself, and I think most people find them unattractive, but obviously there are those of us who find it to be an attractive look.

 

Just because you have a different view on what looks good on a car doesn't mean that you have to be an a$$. I asked for help on the installation, NOT your opinion whether or not they look good. Hey, thank goodness it's not your car right?

 

well excuse the **** outta me. i guess its hard to try and talk someone out of something that you think is a bad idea without sounding like you're being a dick.

i merely looked at your join date, then at your user name and number of posts, and i inferred (perhaps incorrectly) that you are a fairly young guy, fairly new to "hotrodding" and that this may be your first car or first F-Body, or first would be "hotrod." and i do know that when we're young and have our first car or hotrod, we want to immediately start to set it apart from all the other cars and make our own statement. i wish i could have been talked out of alot of things i did to my first F-Body (such as purchasing it.)

if i internally mischaracterized you as a young buck who desperately wants to start throwing mods at his Camaro, then i appologize for that. but its not like i mischaracterized you (or even correctly characterized you) that way and said "you're a ****ing moron "and flamed you and such. if anything, i mischaracterized you and said "listen, there is a ninety-seven and a half percent chance that your Camaro will look better without that particular cosmetic mod. i know that this is just an opinion, but i have almost never seen that mod IMPROVE the look of a car, and it almost always looks tacked on and cheap. those things are inexpensive to buy. if they were a good mod (asthetically or otherwise) i think more people would use them. i think you will find that most of the really nice looking Camaros on this site do not use them.

another .2: those four square headlights are one of the visual ques that says "3rd Gen Camaro."

thats probably more like a buck and 82 cents outta me. sorry for being such a rotten person.

 

Just so you don't panic, I didn't buy those after looking into them. I'm getting tired of people giving their "2 cents". I asked for what others did, not opinions. But in case you think I have a crappy looking car, you're probably right. Here's a pic so you can get your chuckle!
[IMG][/IMG]

 

Great looking car! I think headlight covers both look great and will be aerodynamically beneficial to your car. Too bad others don't seem to be giving any useful input other than bad-mouthing other people's tastes.

 

you...****ing...people...are pathetic! since when is giving opinion and advice counter to someone else's opinion considered "bad-mouthing?" no wonder this country is so polarized.

so you've gotten your hands on a set of headlight covers? you may be better off just not using them. they are often unreliable (they fly off the car), the more popular darkened ones interfere with night time driving, and they almost always DETRACT from a 3rd Gen Camaro's look. what is 'not useful' about that input? i'll wait for your answer on that.

and btw, apparently the OP has had second thoughts and is holding off on putting headlight covers on his car. go figure.

 

Any way back to useful information, the clear headlight covers would make your car look like the 1988 Iroc Concept!

 

that's umm...that's really useful, Junior. whether your buddy wants to admit it or not, he probably has found my input more useful, seeing as how he has reconsidered the use of headlight covers and will probably in no way be shooting for an '88 IROC Concept Clone.

as for this:

Quote:

so you've gotten your hands on a set of headlight covers? you may be better
off just not using them. they are often unreliable (they fly off the car), the
more popular darkened ones interfere with night time driving, and they almost
always DETRACT from a 3rd Gen Camaro's look. what is 'not useful' about
that input? i'll wait for your answer on that

.

I really didn't think so.

 

I actually know for a fact that he has not, we have talked and he said that he will indeed use them for their aerodynamic benefits. I am actually surprised that you feel it worth your time to still be on here. Face it, there is no room for arrogance if you are striving for progress. You sir, have a nice day, and try to avoid posting anything more that will embarrass yourself.

 

well that's silly because its not as if the headlight covers will yield even a measurable increase in fuel economy (otherwise more people would use them). with few exceptions, they are merely an aesthetic add-on.

aaaaand so then I guess I can expect no closure from you on how pointing out some potential drawbacks of a course of action is 'not useful input?'

 

I will use the covers indeed. Let's go back to the original question. I asked how others installed them. I DID NOT ask for opinions. Especially from a guy who assumes who someone is that they have never met. Ultimately, what I do with my car is up to me. Please don't concern yourself with how I build my car. This is what truly is wrong with America: people aren't willing to try something different. Instead, they get treated in the most ridiculous way. Please take a moment and think how pointless it was for you to post. You gave NO useful information about how to install them, where as one of the other members did. For future reference, double check and make sure you know what kind of question a person is asking before you start throwing in your opinion.

 

Boys boys boys...relax! Your beating a dead horse. Leave it alone...

OP, use the covers if ya like em. I think the black ones would look pretty good. But remember to remove them come night time or tickets will b had. My dad had em on his car and he used industrial strength velcro strips to hold the L brackets to the car and the covers to the L brackets. Never had a problem with them coming off with daily driving. Post pics if ya install em! Cheers..

 

Thanks for the input! I'll look into installing them that way!

 

And people like him are the reason I rarely use this forum anymore...

 

The factory headlight covers were not screwed in. GM drilled three holes into the leading edge of the headlight opening and inserted the three studs into the holes. They were secured to the top of the headlamp assembly with a piece of plastic that connected to the headlight frame and then plastic push pins locked them in. They were easily and quickly removed for cleaning by pulling up the pin, tilting the cover forward and lifting up.

The aftermarket sets don't fit the opening well and allow air to get in behind them and allow them to lift off while driving. They also don't attach as well, so they fly off easier if not secured well. My suggestion or opinion is to fabricate your own, similar to the factory design on the top side, but attach to a bracket on the bottom that is secured to the fascia with 3M double sided tape.

 

I agree with you. he should ABSOLUTELY use them if he likes the way they look, and we ARE beating a dead horse. but this dead horse has nothing to do with headlight covers, at least not from my perspective. its about not being able to tell somebody, 'hey, before you drill holes in your bumper, that thing you want to do is generally regarded as NOT a good mod, and here are some reasons why.' because evidently, that makes you some kind of jerk. I don't know what it is... this therapeutic educational system maybe? there are no bad ideas and everybody gets a trophy. or is it our polarized political culture? anybody who has any opinion different than yours is Hitler.

energy derives from both the plus and negatives, I always say. or was that Metallica?

 

[quote=Soon2beBad91Z28;5675576]

good! use 'em. honestly, a better way to move forward after I TRIED TO HELP YOU OUT, would have been to say something along the lines of "well I LOVE the blacked out light cover look, and I just want to find out the best way to install them so that it looks professional." not...all that other stuff.

you mean my assumption that you were very young and dealing with your first F-Body? so, how far off was I on that assumption anyway?

 

3M double sided tape? its strong! oh and i like them too, only in clear

 

Linson...just stop.

I like the clear covers as well. I would start by using the 3M double sided tape, but be sure to get the stuff that has the red backing on the adhesion band. That is the strongest bonding tape they make. I have found it before at HomeDepot.

 

yeah, I think I will - after this. this is the OPs thread about ways to affix plastic lens-type deals over his headlights and I've taken up a lot of real estate (NOT shitting on the OP or plastic lenses) but trying to defend the notion that "negative input" for lack of a better term is as valuable as positive input.

so, one last time i'll explain everything that has transpired.

in the OP's original post he states that's I "have" which indicated to me that they were probably given to him, or he got them super cheap in used condition from eBay or a swap meet or something. not " I bought" or "I made" a set of headlight covers, in which case he would have probably done the research before buying them or assessed the installation early on in the fabrication process.

now, thinking that these were not home-made nor expensive to get, I deduced that these covers were likely the "smoke" colored GTS type. I then scanned the OP's user name: Soon2beBad91Z28, and deduced that 1) he was young and this was probably his first project (a scan of his profile confirmed the youth aspect) and 2) that he was looking to do some modding on his car.

I always try to help a younger guy out when I can because I've done a few projects and made a few mistakes. this is where I sometimes offend people, I guess, when I say stuff like "sell that basket case for scrap and get something nicer as your starting point - you'll be MILES ahead in time, money, and aggravation" or "I don't think that getting '85 FIREHAWK GT-305' painted across your hood is a good idea" or in this case "you don't HAVE to put those cheap plastic lenses on your car." i'll admt I'm a terrible Politian, but i'm not a dick or an ***.

now, as I said earlier, based on the elements before me, I assumed we were talking about dark, GTS type, plastic covers. I could be wrong, but its likely. as YOU AND I know the fitment on those type of covers is usually not great, and they usually appear tacky. (they appear tacky because the fitment is usually less than perfect, which exposes them as an add-on.)

based on the fact that most people on TGO, including the ones with top tier, super nice, highly modified Camaros (such as yourself) don't use headlight covers, I foresaw a likelihood that the OP in a couple of years would regret using them and want to take them off, and possibly be left with unsightly holes in his bumper and/or paint damage from removal of adhesives. thus my admonishment that just because he has some headlight covers doesn't obligate him to use them, and my assertion that an overwhelming majority of people that know and love Third Gens (TGO) don't like that mod. and to be clear, this admonishment was not out of desire to stifle the OP's free will or to show disapproval of his particular taste, but to offer an experienced point of view because I can see how an 18 year old would be like "GTS headlight covers? Hell yeah! lets stick em on!"

FWIW, that 3M tape (which I use all the time on my work vehicles to affix satellite radio receivers and flashlight chargers) may have some drawbacks. it can lose its adhesiveness especially when exposed to cold - don't know how much if any Montana winter driving the OP was planning to do. worse yet, it could potentially lose its adhesion on the lens side while practically bonding with the raccoon-eye headlamp housing side which could require you to remove the tape which could take some of your paint with it. not to mention the **** could still fly off. not to mention, those things are a pain in the *** for night time driving, requiring you to use your hi-beams just to see at night, and then effectively not having hi-beams. its like putting sunglasses on your headlights. if you take them off every time you drive at night, the adhesiveness will wear out in no time, requiring you to remove the tape, possibly removing paint with it........doesn't matter. i'm sure this is pretty much useless information anyway seeing as how it only addresses some possible drawbacks rather than full-throatedly endorsing what the OP wants to do.

if I absolutely HAD to have headlight covers, I would look into what pwrdbychevy HAS and HOW he put them on. I think he has a recent thread in this section that highlights his headlight covers.

i'll let the OP (or someone else) have the final word.

 

I love the look of clear covers. I like the idea of smoothly redirecting air over the headlight pocket. But I agree with Linson that its probably not a good idea. I dont have any because I am so dissatisfied with the fitment and retention of the current products available.

I would also suggest leaving that car as visually and mechanically stock as possible. They are fairly rare and very very few visual mods to these cars do aanything except make them look trashy. Cheap headlight covers are one of them, although I love the look if properly executed (see the factory 82 pace car pictures example)

 

Headlight covers on a Camaro? Wouldn't go there either. The exposed headlights are part of what gives a Camaro its distinctive look. Don't like what they've done with the new Corvette headlights in that regard either, very fast Im sure, but an ugly car compared to the previous generation IMO. Oversized butt, staggered wheels, round headlights and a tiny nose. Its Chevy's answer to Niki Minaj.

 

Lol most people like it a lot. For what it costs it compares to some very expensive competors......sorry they didn't ask for input lol

 

Oh and I like well done clear headlight covers. Big but? Staggered wheels? You just described the 90-95 ZR1 my next car............very soon shopping now. Hate on.........

 

Lol, yeah youre definitely right about the cost comparisons. Im just partial to the '84 body style because I remember thinking they were cool when I was a kid and they first came out. If someone gave me a new one Id take it, but I think the previous gen looks better.

 

They made C5's and C6's before the new......I think you know that,but you make it sound like the C4 was the last design.

 

Well, Id say the C4 is the best looking. I guess Im a product of the era I grew up in. A lot of older guys like the C3's better. But yeah, the general idea of the newest Vette style started showing up in the C5, thats where they started losing me. I feel the same way about the 4th gen Firebirds. They're ok, but not as cool as the 3gen's. Thats why I joined this site.

 

You can still cover the headlights and it wont change the distinctiveness of the car unless they're opaque or tinted. Clear ones completely preserve the look of these cars.

What do you think about this car? I think the covers look great on it and it still is completely IROC in character.

 

Thats an awesome car, but I still think itd look better without the covers. Could be if its used for racing the covers are a big help for aerodynamics though.

 

I have followed this thread since it started . the whole thing is about opinion . opinions are like rectums & elbows , everyone has them and they are all different . my opinion , I like them on some cars (if done right) . I am on my 3rd , 3rd gen and I have not installed them on any of my cars . all that said , stop bashing the OP . if you can help fine . if not just shut up .