I am told by a retired GMC fellow that Chevy. made and you could order a clear head light cover. Does anyone have any knowledge of this. He claims he bought a 88 Camaro with employee discount while he was working at the Factory and it had removable covers. I would love the code for these puppys if anyone has it. This Guy is truthful. I have no reason to not believe him! If it was a factory or a dealer installed option then I can run in Gas Coupe with them on. I just need to be able to prove it.
Thanks
Bob ***
Redcatcher Motor Sports

ECTA B/Galt record Holder

 

They weren't made by GM or offered as an option. However you could probably buy GTS headlight covers from the dealer's parts counter as they were GM licensed accessories. You could pay the dealership's service dept to install them for you, but they aren't "factory" parts.

 

Thanks I was afraid of that. But until you ask you don't know. Thanks again
Bob ***

 

the headlight covers were actually a GM part-they came
on camaros exported to europe-they were a high quality
part of special scratch resistant plastic.
When i bought my '82 z28 in 1990,i checked at the
dealer to see if these covers were still avalible-they were
still avalible, but IIRC,they were priced at about $168
for the pair-more than i wanted to spend at that time...
Today i would gladly pay that price for them-who knows,
they might still be avalible

 

The 82 Indy pace car had them too.

 

Any suggestions on which Brand or Supplier is best for clear headlight covers?

Sounds like these GM ones are a good bet.

 

GM had these available for export vehicles. You probably won't find these today. Some have come up on ebay and there were some members here that were trying to sell some a couple years ago. The only pace cars that had these were the 2 official pace cars. The 6360 replicas did not come with these.

The GTS covers are nothing like the factory covers. The factory covers were a sturdier plastic that had mounting clips attached to the headlight frame under the hood. There were also 2 holes drilled into the headlight area of the bumper cover that studs on the covers locked into. This secured them from flying off at speed, but made them easy to remove for cleaning. They also had a much better fit to the headlight opening than the GTS type. You can see them in this picture.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr38/43...n/photostream/

 

@Scott, thanks for the post and link. Very helpful.

Yes, the factory ones seem a better option.

Bit off topic, but do you know if the bonnet on the 1982 Indi 500 Pace Camaro was a factory unit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr38/43...n/photostream/

 

Yes, that is the factory hood/bonnet

 

Looking at the bonnet again I think they just used a bit of black paint rather than having genuine cutouts.

Also notice the front lower chin spoiler, which has some kink or vents in te middle. Very unusual, never seen it like that before.

 

I believe in 82 they would open at WOT for fresh air. They were painted black.

That is the standard 82-84 chin spoiler that came on all Z28s.

 

@AmorgetRS, are you saying there were hinges or something similar for the bonnet cutouts to open?

That would be interesting for engine cooling and cold air for the intake.

Never noticed those early Z28 spoilers before. Neat.

 

Yes, both the Z28 and the Trans Am had a setup that would open with a little solenoid. I know more about the Trans Am setup, honestly. From the tech data it says only the CFI (LU5) cars had it.

 

I've had the GTS covers before. I have a 4th set that is sitting in my garage primarily because I know they'll fly off at 70MPH if I install them again. I LOVE the look an wish I could install them but I'm still researching the best method of installing them. I have ideas that require a bit of work (drilling them from the top of the cover that is hidden under the hood, to the upper rad frame support so they don't fly off and are solidly fixed in place).

Also, by adding black sealant of some sort around the edges to block the wind from getting underneath it and pulling it up (this would have to be some seriously strong stuff, but if done properly it wouldn't look too bad since my car is black anyway). THAT would probably actually make the car more aerodynamic, albeit only very slightly.

 

Here is the car in 2006 (when it was lower and had the GTS blackout covers). Since that pair flew off, I have had another 2 fly off, so now I have another set that will be installed soon (hopefully!)

 

I'd been looking at some after market headlight covers on eBay.

After reading about them flying off I'm glad I didn't buy a set!

What options are there to get a set of headlight covers that don't go flying?

 

The only way is to figure it out yourself by perhaps sealing around the edges, drilling the plexiglass to a bracket that bolts to the stock front clip.. The only problem is that I'm not a fan of drilling into the front clip because mine is in great shape and I would be afraid of ruining it!

EDIT: Or if you manage to find those GM ones that were mentioned above, and you could spray them with VHT nightshade for a blackout style.

 

The factory covers have a long tab from the top center to the top of the headlight assembly. On top of the headlight assembly, there is a plastic slot that gets bolted down. The long tab on the headlight cover has a hole in it for a plastic push pin to go thru. There is also a hole for that push pin in the plastic slot. When installing the factory covers, they have a notched stud at the leading edge on the bottom. The notch in the stud is angled to match the thickness of the urethane bumper cover. So, to install them, you hold them straight up/down, insert the stud into the drilled hole in your bumper cover, bottom out the lower edge of the covers on the bumper and then angle them back, inserting the top tab into the slot and insert a plastic push pin. The angled notch in the stud locks the lower part into the urethane so it can't be lifted out from the bottom.

Remember, they worked for the official pace car and didn't fly off at 140 on the track. The only down side is that you have to have a hole in the bumper cover. The factory design allows for quick and easy install/removal for quick cleaning.