HID headlights

[QSPres]

I know I've seen it somewhere, but my searching this forum hasn't turned up anything. Who makes the 70 A-body HID headlight kit? Anyone try it? Any opinions/mods that needed to be done?

[Musclerodz]

We have a H4 kit almost ready. Already have a few in the field including the V8TV 496 Chevelle. HID kit is in the works. We are working with another company trying to make it work.

Mike

[QSPres]

Any mods needed to the headlight housings? I'm going to strip and paint them shortly.

[Musclerodz]

No mods to the housings for the 5-3/4 lights. they drop right in.

Mike

[Musclerodz]

Here is video of the H4 kit install by V8TV

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/423/43/

http://v8tvshow.com/content/view/424/43/

[QSPres]

Yep, that's what I'm looking for. Let me know when they're available.

[ZZ3ElCamino]

Mike, can you please PM me a price for this kit? I have a '67 El Camino and I am in desperate need of brighter head lights. The stock T3's just aren't cutting it. I am assuming this kit is the 5.75" kit with the low, high/low set up. Thanks.


We have a H4 kit almost ready. Already have a few in the field including the V8TV 496 Chevelle. HID kit is in the works. We are working with another company trying to make it work.

Mike

[69bird]

I got my 5 3/4 H4 lenses from ebay for my 69 bird. Just had to roll the lip in a little on the retainer ring.

[QSPres]

Only thing I found on e-bay is a set of 7" 71+ Chevelle headlight housings and bulbs. No wiring or relays. The $25 price tells me its not great quality, even though the housings are supposedly glass.....

If the quality and price is reasonable, I'd rather get everything at once.

[COYBILT]

when you get these in let us all know
I need a setup for my 65 gto

[Musclerodz]

Mike, can you please PM me a price for this kit? I have a '67 El Camino and I am in desperate need of brighter head lights. The stock T3's just aren't cutting it. I am assuming this kit is the 5.75" kit with the low, high/low set up. Thanks.
Kit will be $249. Trying to get custom boxing made so I can ship nicely as a kit.

[69bird]

Here's a link to the ebay listing and a picture of them installed in my firebird. The quality seems pretty good to me and the price is right. As for the relay kit just wire up a relay to feed the lights. This is how I wired mine.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/5-3-4-4-HEADLIGHTS-XENON-HID-EURO-CONVERSION-KIT_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33710QQihZ002QQitem Z120001322812QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

[ohcbird]

Try Nathan Shue @ www.HID-source.com he has retro kits for most everything, and has been on LSITECH.com for quite some time. I've installed 3 of his kits (my 06 Solstice, 93 4 runner and my 68 Firebird).

[QSPres]

M.R., could you detail the differences between these kits and yours? For a fair comparison.

[Musclerodz]

The HID kits listed there are true HID on LOW beam only, and halogen on high beam. The HIGH and LOW beam HID kits are illegal for street use on older vehicles because of the motorized bulbs. Only legal on new vehicles that I am aware of. You also have to use a non-DOT lense because it will hit the reflector in DOT lenses.

Our H4 kit is a DOT halogen kit with relays to give nearly as good of light as the HID. Our kit comes with everything you need to install. The HID kit above you still to buy lenses.

We are working on a true HID kit, but it will be awhile still. I won;t sell them unless we can get them to work in our DOT lenses.

Mike

[QSPres]

Actually, the E-bay kit does come with glass lenses, you just have to read down a bit further.

All the initial description says is the sealed housings are DOT approved.


I have an e-mail in to the seller asking of the lenses are DOT approved. I'll try to get to the bottom of this!

[QSPres]

Well, HID-source is out for me. $375 for the low beams, $375 for the highs....


Must be gold in there...

[Musclerodz]

Actually, the E-bay kit does come with glass lenses, you just have to read down a bit further.

All the initial description says is the sealed housings are DOT approved.


I have an e-mail in to the seller asking of the lenses are DOT approved. I'll try to get to the bottom of this!
I was not speaking of the ebay kit, I was commenting on the HID website. The ones on ebay are similar to what we have. I can't even buy the lights at that price and they are scewing you on shipping at $26.

Mike

[QSPres]

Agreed on the shipping... But it's still a rediculous deal if everything checks out.

[69bird]

Thats where I got mine. Everything was good.

[ZZ3ElCamino]

Kit will be $249. Trying to get custom boxing made so I can ship nicely as a kit.

Mike, is there really no modification required for on the core support to make these work? Just wiring in the relays?

[ohcbird]

$375 may seem high, but check to see what ballasts and bulbs you get. These are true DOUBLE-HID, not HID-style bulbs. Nathan can make you a true H/L dual HID kit if that's what you want. There is a HUGE difference in between a Halogen and a true HID bulb, BTW. Either way, they are both vast improvements on the old lighting- I've been running H4 euro lenses in myF bodies for 15+ years!

Mike is a great vendor here & I hope no one is assuming I'm making comparisons to his kits- I can't speak for them. The quad 9007 kit + relays is going to be a HUGE improvement.

[QSPres]

Sounds to me like the "all HID" kits aren't even legal....


I think I'm going with the E-bay kit. Probably not as nice as M.R.'s kit and certainly not as complete, but relays aren't that expensive and it is an upgrade from stock. That's good enough for me.


I really never understood how one kit that's advertised to be HID is $25 and another is $200... or $600+.. I guess its one of those "if you can't tell the difference, you shouldn't be in the market" deals...

I can spend the money I'm saving on about a million other things that I need...

[Musclerodz]

Mike, is there really no modification required for on the core support to make these work? Just wiring in the relays?
No mods required on a 65 Lemans and no mods on V8TV's '69 Chevelle to the core support or headlight buckets.

Mike

[ZZ3ElCamino]

No mods required on a 65 Lemans and no mods on V8TV's '69 Chevelle to the core support or headlight buckets.

Mike

Any ideas on, ohhhhh, a '67 Chevelle/El Camino core support?

[ohcbird]

QSPres- It's all about what's actually in the kit; most are 'HID-look'; basically a super-white (slight blue tint) set of retro bulbs, inmany many different forms. It used to be that you would have to run non-DOT legal euro housings with H4 bulbs in 55/65/80watt offerings (Hella made, and still makes the best housings). Now- holy crap! Everybody and their brother makes housings for 5 3/4, 7, etc... and they've adapted them to better and better bulbs.

If you see a $600 kit, it better be something special! The cost of the Ballasts have come down in the last 3-4 years, so kits are getting cheaper. Just like any other purchase- you just have to educate yourself.

[CraigMorrison]

Sounds to me like the "all HID" kits aren't even legal....


I think I'm going with the E-bay kit. Probably not as nice as M.R.'s kit and certainly not as complete, but relays aren't that expensive and it is an upgrade from stock. That's good enough for me.


I really never understood how one kit that's advertised to be HID is $25 and another is $200... or $600+.. I guess its one of those "if you can't tell the difference, you shouldn't be in the market" deals...

I can spend the money I'm saving on about a million other things that I need...


If you are concerned about everything being DOT legal, you shouldn't be building a PT car. LOL! When I worked for ARB, their headlights weren't DOT. Only because at the time, testing was about $10,000! The lights were fully compliant, but they just didn't want to spend the 10k. I think you will find a lot of parts like this. The headlights on my '40 aren't DOT and have worked great for 10 years, and the headlights on the GT55 are even better.

Beware of e-bay HID kits. $25 will get you cheap Chinese bulbs with a blue tint. Going towards $600 and you will get something that actually has the ballasts, ignitors and high pressure, high temp bulbs. The ballasts are the big dollar items. It takes about 50,000 volts to "ignite" the bulbs. That's why when you get into a high end car with OE HID's there is a bit of a flash when they come on and then the bulbs "warm" and gradually get up to full strength.

[QSPres]

Your first statement makes no sense at all... A PT car has a modified suspension and brakes (and perhaps a drivetrain). That's it. Maybe a few "comfort" options that weren't around "back then", but there are plenty of "modern" PT cars too...

I can buy a ton of cheap Chinese bulbs for $700... That's what I do know...


The E-bay lights will allow me to see better and the car will look different. Those were/are my goals and the E-bay ones meet them. Honestly, if I could find people that had as much money to waste as some of the folks I see on these forums on a daily basis, I'd burn my own...

[69bird]

The ebay kit is NOT hid. It uses H4 bulbs.

[QSPres]

Close enough for me..

[dookie]

sorry to put my two cents in , but buyer beware , the ebay 25 dollar bulbs are no where near Hids , they are only the bluish bulbs that you used to see on every riced out civic , and from what i have seen , they arent even a big improvemant as far as lighting goes , my wifes last three cars has had H.i.ds from the factory , and believe me they are far far superior to any bulb only upgrade.... move up a little and buy at least on of the knock off kits for around 150 ......

[QSPres]

Nope. With the proper relays, they'll be much brighter than stock. Stock headlights are much brighter than "stock" with relays..


$150-$70= $80. Still buys alot of bulbs.

[dookie]

Im in ,, Tell me the proper steps , and what items to purchase , i will also try them....

[DHARROD]

After a little research and looking at chats in a couple of forums I went with the kit Musclerodz for a couple of reasons. I purchased mine even before V8TV posted that they were using them and then showed the installation.
Real guy on the phone (Mike answered question on the phone, emails, and in forums) - his business, his reputation has a positive vibe in the forums, and I felt I was utilizing a 'car-guy'. Finally - if you look at the scope of this membership/community they, on average, are trying to put the best/right components into use - in many cases leading edge. I've already tried the cheaper route, several times and have had to put out even more money to do the right thing. I'll probably do it a few more times because we all have budgets/limits and its tough to know when its enough. I was just walking through the vendors at Goodguys in Charlotte and there where several headlight opportunities for much less -- it all just helped me feel very good about my path... As soon as I can get the car assembled and the lights in I'll post how things turn out.

http://www.lateral-g.net/members/harrod/

[QSPres]

Quite honestly, I don't see where the debate is...

All the housings are glass lenses and I would assume plastic bodies. No matter who's kit you buy. They're probably all from the same mold. One probably done here in the US, one probably knocked off in China.

Therefore, the only difference is in the bulbs. While some are true HID's and some apparently aren't, that appears to be the only difference to me.

Relays are a couple bucks each. The extra expense in this case seems to be unjustified.


While I do appreciate customer service when it comes to complex parts or things that I may not be able to fix myself, these aren't in that class. If the bulb goes out, you get a new bulb. If the lens cracks, you get a new one. There's no need for talking on the phone..

While I am impressed with M.R. and the time he takes here and on other forums, I have to be practicle and save money where I can. This is one of those cases where I can save and still end up with a similar product.

[QSPres]

I'll do what I like, thanks...

Couple questions:

1. Who said I want my 37+ year old car to look "like the high dollor luxury cars"? And how does a set of headlights exactly accomplish that?

2. "aparently you have never see a true hid kit" Does it count if I've seen one?

3. "remember you get what you pay for, and if you dont feel like buying from one of our SPONSER!!!!! the people who make this for posible by paying thier monthy sponser fees, thats fine." So I don't have to kiss the sponsor's asses, or do I? Last time I checked, that wasn't a requirement of membership....


But perhaps what sums it up best is that you claim I sound totally ignorant yet "i understand what your saying".

BTW, capitol letters start sentances, and its "you're", a conjunction of "you" and "are"... Must not be alot of mirros in the Jay household...

[skatinjay27]

never mind...
remove your head from your a** and grow up

[QSPres]

You're sorry, yet you came back to do it again............


Yeah.... :rolleyes:


Please, please buy a spell check..

[QSPres]

Got everything in tonight. Will start assembly hopefully next week!

[skatinjay27]

Got everything in tonight. Will start assembly hopefully next week! cant wait to see your H4 headlight conversion, good luck.lol

[QSPres]

Can't wait to see you graduate from the third grade....


Good luck, LOL.............

[QSPres]

Got one side completely stripped, painted, and assembled today. They look great! I have the other side stripped, painted and 99% assembled, but the guy I ordered the headlight adjusters from only sent 4, I needed 8.

Big ups to 69Bird for recommending the e-bay kit. Even with my time, POR 15, new headlight adjusters ($14.50), springs ($7.00), the headlights ($70.00)and the headlight door mounting kit (18.00) I wasn't anywhere near $240 and everything from the headlight base plate to the lights themselves are brand new!

There were three modifications that I had to make to get them to work:

I had to modify the trim rings by laying them on a flat surface and rolling in the lips to go over the headlight glass.

I also had to trim the bottoms of the headlight mounting cups because the new headlight bodies are much longer than the factory bodies. They actually stick out through the bottoms of the mounting cups. By a good 2"!

I also had to enlarge a couple of the slots that are in the mounting cups for the base of the headlight lens to fit in. The lugs in the headlights do not match up with the slots in the cups. A dremel tool with a small cutting wheel and a small grinding stone made quick work of that.

But it was still worth it in my opinion as the price was nice and none of what I had to do took longer than 30 minutes. Everything that I used other than the POR 15 was purchased on E-bay, with a fairly significant savings over "retail"....

[QSPres]

Just a little bling for my spelling challenged buddy....

[deuce_454]

i propably got screwed at that price... suspiciously low! bit i figured.. id give it a try, http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190171022557... its on its way..

[QSPres]

Wording of the ad is a little fishy to me. Being a certified ISO 9001:2000 auditor a short time ago, I can tell you the phrase "ISO-9001:2000 Approved" means nothing.


But I wouldn't doubt that's someone elses' technology knocked off in China and brought here for cheap $.

Good score!

[69bird]

A litte cheaper here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/H1-H3-H4-H7-H11-9005-9006-9007-HID-CONVERSION-KIT-XENON_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ36476QQihZ007QQit emZ170166527926QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
What's a few bucks?

[deuce_454]

yeah.. but the other kit is a bi-xenon, so it uses HID for both low and high beam... ill update once i recieve the stuff

[AJSZR2326]

i've had hid's retrofitted into a half dozen of my cars (low beam only) the three manufacturers are mcollough and philips and some german ones forgot the name. all have worked fine although the lamps have failed first , replaced online for $20/ea for just the lamps any color temp. most problems occur when you flash to pass the high beam will come on and the low beam (hid )shuts off then has to restart leaving you with no light for a second or two. hid doesnt like to go on and off quickly or repeatedly. if you do high and low you'll need 4 ballasts and 4 lamps (relays and wiring harness will keep you from frying the wires too. there is the new bi-xenon that does hi/low in one lamp and housing it uses a magnet to raise/lower a shield for hi/low and is expensive. good luck whichever you choose, they really make a big difference in light output over halogen and way more than incandescent. all kits are illegal and for off road use only(liability purposes) and if you go too blue 8k or higher the cops will pick up out of a crowd, and make sure their aimed properly or you will blind oncoming traffic.

[slyck68]

Just a little bling for my spelling challenged buddy....

This is one of the funniest threads I've ever seen on this site. We've got one guy teasing another member for grammatical errors only to spell "sentences" wrong in his rant! And what the heck is a "mirro"? Oh the irony! Of course I'm just giving you a hard time and don't mean anything by it. The point is someone asked for advice and another person gave his opinion. Whether you agree or not, it's what you asked for. There's no need to make personal attacks. BTW, your headlights turned out very nice. Well done.

"BTW, capitol letters start sentances, and its "you're", a conjunction of "you" and "are"... Must not be alot of mirros in the Jay household..."

[QSPres]

No worries about spelling correctly when the other guy can't tell the difference....

[Yan69]

Ok' Blue corner ready?
Red corner ready?
Let's get it on! :rofl: