kurtb234

I am looking for a kit that will turn the front parking lights, and the fog lights in the bumper into headlights.....Does anyone know where to find this kit, or if one even exists?

dr bob

Kurt--

What car are you talking about?


There have been a few pictures of conversions for the early cars, using GM truck headlights in the bumper. Some have also grafted in American combo turn/fog assemblies. IIRC, the dimensions on the GM truck lights requires some cutting and fitting in the bumper shell, since they are a bit bigger than the originals.

You might consider using the Euro lamp assy's. They are a drop-in mechanically, but require some wiring changes to regain original functionality. This doesn't turn them into headlights but does improve the lighting a lot.

Consider that having the headlights so low will seriously detract from the lighting efficiency. In The Great and Socialist Republic of California where I am a proud citizen, headlights can't be any lower than 24" from the ground to headlight center. That was originally targeted at the low-riders and customs, but in fact it makes some sense. I used to get pulled over regularly in my early Lotus Europa, and headlight height was one of the many things that ere regularly listed on the many tickets. I argued my way out of tehtickets in court regularly, but the truth was that the headlights were ineffective when aimed correctly, and blinded other drivers when aimed effectively. Point is, you'll want to keep your original headlight locations if you plan to drive the car on the road at night. Even if you go with some conversion in the bumper, you'll find that they don't do enough good ubless they are aimed rudely high.

kurtb234

the car i would like to try this on is a 1982 "s"

CaseyH

Not another headlight conversion! I strongly recommend you reconsider. Whenever I show anybody my car, they all think it is pretty cool. But, as soon as I flip those headlights up they all go crazy. These headlights, although such a small part of the car, are one of my favorite parts of the car. Can I ask, what is your reasoning for wanting to get rid of the stock headlights?

rixter

kurt,
if you need brighter lights convert to the euro H4 8" lamps, MUCH brighter

kurtb234

i keep having problems with my lights, sometimes they go up, and sometimes they don't....i put 100watt h3 bulbs in my driving lights for that reason! there aren't to many streets around my house with street lights! Gets real dark!!!

Rufus Sanders

kurtb234 ,

Here's a really simple way to get your fog lamps to be almost as bright as the hedlamps, w/o any mods. Simply get a set of H3 bulbs, and snip off the little tab that keeps them from fitting into he bulb holder for the fog lamps.

I did this to my 82"s" and they are great. You can drive w/o the normal headligjts most of the time at night. and you can have all of then on at once if you wish. - Ruf

Shane

Rufus did you changes lenses when you did this? Or are the stock fog lenses holding up ok with the brighter/hotter bulbs.

dr bob

Hmmmm. Fix the problem, fix the problem, fix the problem.

Start off with Relay-Relay-Relay, since they are relatively cheap and easy to change. Or maybe start off by cleaning the fuse contacts and replacing the critical fuses. After both of those, go after the ground points near the headlight motor, and maybe the one under the dash.

--The motor assembly has some wiper-type position switches inside that tell the motor it's OK to move, and when to turn the headlights on. That can be cleaned or replaced.

--There's a link the mechanism that raises the lights, with nylon bushings at each end and secured with "E"-clips. If the clips fall out, the link can swing free enough to punch a small hole in the AC condenser or radiator.



In the US, I think the driving lights are ornamental for the most part. The lenses craze and fog over white, and the reflectors get dull in a hurry. Bigger bulbs accelerate the processes, but not as fast as they would if the wiring to them was adequate for 100w bulbs.

rhys

I'm really interested in an answer to this before I change my lights over.Anyone??

rhys

bump

dr bob

I have them in my S4, but the housing is different with different lenses. They don't last a long time in there, I'll tell you that. I stock up on 100W bulbs when I see them at Wal-Mart. Of course, I use them for DRL's, so they are on almost all the time the car is driven. The 100W bulbs in the fogs seem almost bright enough to drive by alone, until I switch on the regular headlights. Then the fogs just do some fill-in duty under the low-beam headlight pattern, and otherwise disappear. I have them aimed just a little lower than level so they can be effective in the daytime, but that's really too high to use them at night-- Too rude to other drivers, especially with the 100W bulbs.

FWIW, the 100W bulbs might add 25% to the effective illumination. Worth it? You decide.

I will recommend that folks with aging reflectors and pitted/craxed/fogged/faded or yellowed lenses spend the $ on new pieces before spending money on bigger bulbs. The distortion from the well-used parts makes glare for others without adding any real illumination value for the driver.


I often wonder how some drivers with cars like the Volvo, Neon, and even some Ford models actually see at night, when the plastic headlamp lenses get so bad that it looks like there are old candles flickering behind sheer curtains there in the grill. There is/was some good reasoning behind the old US sealed-beam headlight requirements, when it comes to old lamps needing replacement.

SharkSkin

I agree with Bob.... you don't want your main lights that low. They will cast more shadows from irregularities in the road and make it much harder to see where you're going. I discovered this on my first car -- Bosch fog lights mounted real low were great for illuminating around tight corners, but were useless at speed without also having the main headlights on because of the shadows. As it turned out, my Cibie Z-beams worked better in the fog than the fog lights anyway...

Rufus Sanders

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the delay in responding. On my 82, the lenses are glass, so there seems to be no issue with heat. Are the newer ones plastic? - Ruf

M. Matuza

I found the cable/connector on the dr. side melted. New splice and all fod/ high beams working fine now).. Remove the wheel shrowd in the driveers side wheeel well (easyer if you take the wheel/tire off and make the repair) takes weeks for the settling 0f susp. but fixes lights that fail to work.. Very litttle wire but with sm/med wire plug? G.L.....
JMO & my 0.02 cants............