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jfryjfry
jfryjfry Dork
2/16/20 8:26 p.m.

Great idea.  What are you going to use to glue/attach the cover back on?

Toyman01
Toyman01 MegaDork
2/16/20 8:35 p.m.

In reply to Run_Away :

I didn't. I had one low beam projector that had a broken ballast which is why I started the project. Like most cheap lights, they put out a lot of light in the foreground without sending much down the road. They were fine for around town, but get out on a dark road headed to an event at 4 am or home at 10 pm and visibility was poor at best. The bulbs were a aftermarket HID that were too blue for me. 

What I'm hoping for is something like this. This is SanFord's headlights, a mixture of Hella 500s and 7" halogens. If I get close, I'll be happy. 

​​​​​​​

Toyman01
Toyman01 MegaDork
2/16/20 8:39 p.m.
jfryjfry said:

Great idea.  What are you going to use to glue/attach the cover back on?

They were originally glued with what looked like self-leveling urethane so that's what I plan on using. 

Run_Away
Run_Away Dork
2/17/20 9:10 a.m.

Morimoto has a product called retro-rubber used for re-sealing headlamps after opening.

I think it's just butyl rubber

Toyman01
Toyman01 MegaDork
2/29/20 8:06 p.m.

Here is a headlight update. 

I'm going to call it a success. Much more light thrown down the road and a much better color light. The cutoff on the low beams is nice and crisp and the high beams don't wash out the foreground like the previous set. I also don't have to wait for the high beams to light off like I did for the HIDs. 

On Run_Away's recommendation I resealed the housings using butyl. It will be much easier to get appart if I have to go back into the housings for some reason. 

Low beams. 

High beams.

Toyman01
Toyman01 MegaDork
3/1/20 4:22 p.m.

Finally got the front of the car back together. Unless you look closely, you can't tell I cut the headlights apart and changed everything. 

Other than some missing chrome and the removal of the angel eyes, they look pretty much the same. 

This is before, above is after.

Toyman!
Toyman! MegaDork
3/12/22 5:21 p.m.

Wow, this hasn't been updated in a long while. 

It's turning into more of a build so I'll start keeping this updated now. 

The last TT of last year was hard on the G35. My wife and I were back to back running it and on the 4th trip out, my wife brought it back in with a severe rod knock. Scratch one VQ35. 

20210919_123204_HDR.jpg

My original plan was to LS swap it when the original engine puked, but after some research and studying, I've decided to go back with the VQ. I could buy a used engine for about $1500 but I'm going to do a rebuild instead. 

The first step of the process started today when I traded the old Lemons Civic for this pile of parts. 

20220312_124336.jpg

In this pile are a known good short block, 2 sets of heads and intakes, 1 complete engine with a rod knock, and assorted miscellaneous pieces. Between this and the engine in the car, I will be building a fresh engine. 

The next step will be to pull the entire mess down and measure and check everything.

If anyone has thoughts, please share them. 

 

 

birdmayne
birdmayne Reader
3/13/22 11:02 a.m.

Good plan! I've been tempted to buy a knocking VQ to rebuild for my Z, so I'll be watching closely. 

 

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