New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

So this is what i have been working on last winter and this spring, i had some time this weekend to swap one in and do some more mockup and take care of some fitment issues. I have a LOT of work left before they are anywhere near complete, but im happy to get one light mounted in the car.

Had this idea a few years ago, but never had the time to start and put it on the back burner for a while. I dug it out, picked up another set of 91-92 lights to use for parts, and here we are.

Instead of the stock lights flipping up in the front, i built new frames and made them open to the side, making the car look a little pissed at the same time.
Attachment 389438

Attachment 389439

i think it looks badass, but who knows.

This is the passengerside frame, its a little rough still, needs tome trimming, lightning and a few changes to the mounts for the motor, but pretty much shows the work needed to get the door to open sideways.



Attachment 389440

Attachment 389441

its pretty much all 1/8 aluminum, different shapes and such. I had to bolt it all together since i cant weld aluminum, but i will most likely have it at least tacked welded when im done for a little more strength and to keep certain parts for moving. Again, once these are more finished, i have to blow this all apart and shape some of the pieces to make them look better and to lighten these up a bit. Stock flip ups from the car werre 9.7 lbs each complete, so i shooting to that if possible.

Only parts from the original setups are the 3 mounts brackets, motor, part of the lift arm, and the door cover.

The original idea in my head was to make the hinge parallel to the hood, made sense, was simple and all is good right? after i made the first hinge, i realized that with the parallel hinge, the door will open up and more forward a lot, making it impossible to mount a light and looks silly from the side. So as you can see from the pics, i have to create a hinge thats about level with the ground instead, so the door opens square and maintains a proper gap between the hood and bumper as it opens.

Gaps are pretty good closed, some more tweaking required, the inside of the door is down a hair and im out of adjustment. need to open a hole up a little.
Attachment 389442

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

This is the door open
Attachment 389435

closed

Attachment 389436

the gap on the right looks larger because the door is a little low on that side still

as you can see, with the angled hinge, the top corner of the door swings under hte hood, clearance is tight, but enough and clears everything


the light itself, will be a mini projector, a REAL projector, not the cheap ebay crap. Using 35watt HID 6k bulbs w/ high/low beam solenoid. Not sure where im mounting the ballasts yet, but probably under the light itself if i can.
Attachment 389437

i wanted to stuff a little running light in there too, but there just isnt room for it. Might do halo's though

again, parts are still a bit rough, the light mounts need to be trimmed and shaped to make them more appealing. but they work and will allow the adjustment i need to properly aim them.

Once i get this all figured out, i have to make the lenses and a new bezel for around the light. I have a plan, but like all good plans....

the beginning of the "Angry Eye" mod

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Lol! You gave your car angry eyes!

Can't say i'm in love with the look, but I respect the craftsmanship of the mod

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Looks great to me!!
I hate the lights on my LT1 Formula. It's like I have to say a little prayer every time I turn the switch hoping they will come up.
Usually when it's raining or really cold one or the other doesn't work.....

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Wow man great work! Im really drawn to how pissed off it looks Lol. Im just imagining someone near the front of the car and says like"That piece couldnt even beat my moms town and country!" And then you can flip the headlights and be like wanna bet bitch? Ahaha

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Theres only one word for that....SICK!! I dont even like Firebirds, but that is bada$$......

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

if i can make it work, i want to put another switch in the car so i can make only 1 light come up if i want to, giving it a "inquisitive" look:lol:

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Awesome job

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

i want to see a video of both headlights lifting at once... that would be cool

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

:yup:

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

when they are at that point, i will. Thats a long way off.

i had the driverside one working, without the light mounted. I need to build the up and down stops for the motor, and re-pin the connector for the motors since the polarity is reversed in their current configuration.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

i actually like it. now your goin to get kids sayin "look mommy a transformer" lol. i do like different stuff. are you goin to try and make a surround for the rest of the housing?

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

yeah, it will look stock, or as stock as it can look, when im done. It wont be open like that, there will be a surround and a lense over the projector

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

I like it. It gives the car an entirely different, more aggressive look with the light open.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

ah i didnt see that part. sorry

not makin fun of it cause i actually do like it but it makes me think of this

http://gravec.at/wp-content/uploads/...3/johnny_5.jpg

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Ha, I was thinking the same thing.....I love that movie.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

This.

LoL. Your car can now express emotions via the head light doors.

Even scarier if you found a place to mount the scanner people might think you had a Johnny 5 laser in there too.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkzxP...tailpage#t=76s

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

I lol'ed

Hard

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

johny 5 alive! i love it. wanna see this go somewhere.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

You bastard! How could you put this up without telling me?!?!
Is that my D2S projector or the H1 you got?

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

i always thought somepone should try to make them flip like the vettes used to. but interesting approach i like it

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Excellent work. Very innovative. Ever think of putting that effort into not having flip up lights at all!!???

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Non pop-up headlights for 3rd gen Firebirds has already been done a LOT, so it wouldn't be anything new.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

unfortunately there is absolutely NO WAY to delete them and make it look good. Seen a lot, tried some things, never works. Your pretty much stuck with them. Figured i would just have to make the flip ups "better"

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

:lol: Eh, i wasnt going to post it up, but i got bored and figured why not just do it.

they are the H1's which actually have the same friggen size lens as the D2s's, the housing is just a little narrower and they have a smaller thread stud on the back. They have nicer connections for the bulbs too. they are about the same length too.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Do show

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

That is really cool!

:thumbsup:

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

really awesome idea, looking forward to the finished project. great work!

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Im not sure how I like the look on thirdgen bird... but Ill have to see it with the door painted the same color, and everything finished off and working. That will probably go a long way in making them look more in place. I think I like it...but gotta see how you finish her up.

I cant help but think about the Lambo Murcielago air intakes. And thats not necessarily a bad thing!

http://image.automotive.com/f/roadte...air_intake.jpg

Do you have them working automatically? Like...you turn on the lights and it pops up? If so, a video would be awesome.

Props for thinking outside of the box, and having some very creative fab skills!

J.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

He sent me a video a while ago, but as he stated in the thread they are working backwards right now. He needs to re-pin the motor connector so they open and close properly. I guess because the way he made all the parts work together he needed to make the motors work the opposite of stock. No big deal though, I have to get him the weatherpack de-pin tool I have.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Or so you can wink at the ladies

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Depin the connector at the module with a paperclip the easiest

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

that may be true, but i want to be able to swap the stock lights back in without having to change the wiring everytime, so i will be changing the pins ion the weather pack. I will also be cutting and splicing another 3 pin weatherpack in to the light connector harness so i can swap the lights back and forth easier without fighting with the bulb connector every time (they seem to be a bit short and i find them to be a PITA to unplug with messing with the light a bit), and also allow me to tap off the wiring and properly wires the harness for the ballasts and hi/low beam solenoid.

I havent had much tome to work oin these yet, hopefully later this weekend. Laying out parts, angles and such take a long time.

I dont have a video of them working because i have to finishing mocking up both light frames and the projectors, then i have to temporarily wire them so ican aim the lights. After they are aimed, i have to build the up and down stops for the motors. then i can make a video. But this all takes time, time i dont have at the moment.

As for the lids for the doors, the plan was to just swap the stock ones to the new housings once they were done. However, during this project i have noticed that the 91-92 headlight lids weight about 2lbs each. thats a crap ton for what they are. I have since picked up a set of 85-90 lids, and they are lighter. It would seem than the casting changed in 91-92 since they doors now have "pontiac" engraved into them, and the new material is denser than before. What im probably going to do is have the set of 85-90 doors painted to match the car and use them instead, should save me a little over a pound between the two lights and help me get these things as close to the stock weight as they were before.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

i like it...

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

badass, can't wait to see them done. Almost makes me wish my Camaro had flip-ups just so I could do this.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

It reminds me more of the little truck from transformers 2 that kept humping Megan Fox's leg. I think you should leave it without the bezel, gives it a high tech/robotic like appearance

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

i just about laughed out a lung ^ hahahahaha

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

agree 100%

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

He HAS to seal the HID housing or water will ruin them since the car is a DD for him, but I sort of like it open like that too

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

At this time, i plan to enclose everything, i want this to look as clean as possible.

So how many people here know that the driverside and passengerside headlight areas are not symmetrical? I have up to 1/2" differences in places, and its making it a PITA to get the passengerside light aligned. And no, the car has never been hit.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Ok, so forget what i said last post, both side are symmetrical, I found the issue tonight, and it was the spare headlight door that i have is bent.... the front inside corner is bent down 1/4" starting a few inches up on the cover, so its gradual and not really noticeable. Wasted a couple days trying to figure out why i couldnt get it to line up. good thing i resisted the urge to cut and drill new holes in things.

I swapped the passengerside red door for the stock yellow one and it fit perfectly first shot....

so they are both in, the frames that is, hopefully i can get the passengerside light mounts built tomorrow if there is time and maybe rig up the projectors themselves for a test run.

A little side note, apparently, the 85-90 and the 91-92 headlight doors are different. there is one mounting flange on the underside thats moved between the two years, so they DO NOT interchange. Kind of a bummer since the 85-90 ones are lighter and i was hoping to offset some of the added weight of these lights with the lighter doors.

for the record

91-92 doors weigh 1.85lbs each
85-90 doors weight 1lb each.

not sure about the 82-84 doors.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

YES!!!!!!!!!

I had this idea several years ago and did a crappy rendition of it with paintbrush program. I always wanted to do it with my 91 but I never got around to it before I sold it.

I'm glad to see someone else thought this up and actually did it! It really does make the car look pissed and gives it that "get out of my way" look.

Great job!

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Here we go!!!

The flip ups dont work yet, since i still havnet built the up/down stops, but i finished fitting the passenger side light, mounted the projectors and ghetto rigged the wiring temporarily to i could aim them.

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i wish i had the hood closed, cause for some reason i really like this pic
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lights on

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The light cutoff is pretty damn crisp, but for whatever reason the high beam sheild is making a small step in the pattern in two places which you can see on the center garage door, left side. Have to look at that a bit.

So now i can tighten up the light mounts and build the up/down stops to get the motors working. I have to also make small brackets to brace the front of the new hinge to the bumper support for a little more stability. I can move the lights a little bit and they vibrate a little as they are, the braces will make them rock solid.

I didnt get any high beam shots becasure i got the wrong harness and have no way to make them work without adding more relays. I shoudl have the new harness next week.....

Can i get 6k bulbs for the stock floods? i think they need to match in color

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

I was thinking more of a Ferrari 458 Italia when I saw them

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....talia_lead.jpg

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

this may be one of the coolest pics in the history of TGO

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

With all the cool ideas coming in on TGO and the craftsmanship of several of the members, I think its high time for there to be a formation of a TGO Speed Shop. Get a group of members together, license these awesome ideas and sell them to the rest of the third gen community.

Heck, with a little tweaking we could get something like these lights onto Corvettes.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

From what I can see from this picture your drivers side headlight needs to be rotated slightly to line up with the passenger side better. If you look at night shots from other cars you see a double bump from the cut off.
Should look like this kinda
__________________
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I told you they were going to vibrate :welcome:

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Thats not a bad idea, those vette guys always seem to have money to burn....

These things have been a heck of a lot more work than i ever imagined they would be (i imagined a lot). I would HATE to have to make another set, and im not close to being finished with these yet....at least they are looking like something and keeping me motovated. That an i have inspeciton due this month, so i have to get moving on this.:)

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

I though they would, but maybe not enough to matter.... but FWIW, the projectors dont move even with them only mounted by the threaded stud on the back, thats solid, its just the weight on the hinge causing a little flex.

orly... i did aim them close together, but then the driverside light was angled too much and looks stupid so i put it back.

Re: New bird flip-up light mod. A new direction, literally.
 

Thats what IP rights & Royalties are for:) Sell the IP rights for the design to whoever is willing to buy it at a price you think is reasonable and make sure you get royalties so that you get paid for each piece that is sold.

Heck, if JERRYWHO did that for just the tubular parts he's came up with, primarily the 9pt STB & his aluminum bumpers, he'd just about be able to retire by now.