Clear light and Angel Eye Conversion - The Project and Story

After months of searching for some clear headlights i managed to pickup some on ebay. I didnt feel ready to tear them apart (yet) so have simply swapped them over, also transferred the aftermarket HID's.

Apart from the quad exhaust i must say this is a mod that needs doing to all prefacelifts, as it really takes the years off removing the dated ambers

PS one interesting note - when i first fitted the aftermarket HIDs to the ambers last year i replaced the ribbed lens with clear ones (reduced glare) but the new headlights were different, by which the driver’s side lens was already clear but the passengers side was ribbed - very odd


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So I'm struggling to resist the urge to do this upgrade and thus have begun trolling for donor lights. I've got a quick question: are pre and post facelift lights identical? I know for the donors its doesn't matter if they're Xenon or halogen, but I thought I remember reading somewhere that mounting tabs were different on facelift lights? This may be somewhere in this thread but I'm not reading through all 14 pages again!
 
finally finished my 'cut and shut' clear / angel light conversion last night.

Took longer to do than i first thought, and a very, very, messy job.

I'm now just waiting for the sealant to set and i will be fitting the lights over the weekend.

Thanks to CJ and all the folks who have added to this thread

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Just realised Ranski your lights dont have the weak inner halo... are these prefaclift clears?

Or do only the facelift xenons have the halo?
 
i used two sets of lights that i sourced (although i already have a set of clears fitted, but they dont have angels)

2x back inners with clear indicator

2x chrome inners with orange indicator

So as per instructions i opened up all four lights, swapped over the chrome and clear parts, fitted a single angel in each light.

Im now left with -
- clear/chrome set with no angels that are currently fitted to the car
- clear/chrome set with angels that i will fit over the weekend
- orange/black set with no angels


Yes, i think only facelift xenons have angels/halos
 
billygilly said:
Ranski, I take it you didn't want the double angel look??
Click to expand...

I was 50/50 on this before i started, as i like the idea of a single 'set of eyes'

However, once i glued the first two on i then decided not to do the other two, because of the above, but also as it was the worst part of the job - too fiddly!
 
After a some consideration and debate with some of you guys about having a single angels; I went about and cut the lights open (again!) and fitted duals'

I am now mucho happy with the finish - Again big thanks to the cjeep aka Phil for the jumping first and doing the detailed write-up :thumbsup:

PS you may think I’m mad, but I’m going to take them off again when the weather improves, reopen and reseal - reason is that I can see some adhesive that has overflow into the casing. You can only see if you kneel down close, but it’s already niggling me

Before with LED side lights
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Now with Angels
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Thanks - and an even bigger thanks for the angel light set :thumbsup:

Light cutting - seriously, it isnt hard - ive cut up 3 sets now, just takes time and a decent dremel
 
Ranski,

seriously gorgeous outcome :thumbsup:

you should start doing this as a business, I am well up for a pair but as you have done it so brilliantly, I trust you more than I trust myself :P
 
ranski said:
Thanks - and an even bigger thanks for the angel light set :thumbsup:

Light cutting - seriously, it isnt hard - ive cut up 3 sets now, just takes time and a decent dremel
Click to expand...
Ranski, am I right in thinking you're able to reuse the lights that you're cutting open? i.e. you don't require a sacrificial set like Phil and others did initially?

If so, I'd be keen for some pics as to where you're making the cut. With the talk on other threads of someone possibly fabricating clear boomerangs, this could open up the possibilities of clear indicators without needing a second set... (it's purely been the cost of acquiring clear indicator units that's put me off - I've never got lucky due to bidding wars erupting).
 
It was about time you got on and did the job properly :poke:

Perfect result - well done and looks amazing :thumbsup:


a11y - the world has moved on. When I started doing this I could pick up scrap lights for £10 to £20 so it was simple and cheap to chop them up. also once opened people can see the insides and know that it's perfectly possible to cut them that way. If I did any more I'd not bother with sacrificla sets any more.
 
thanks guys, as detailed by cj it was a cut open job

I orginally had chrome inners / amber hockey sticks lights. I sourced some clear sticks from a forum member (They came from a battered set of lights that had black inners not chrome so I had to cut open the lights, swapped over the black with chrome, then installed angels)

The actual cutting time on the first light took about 45 minutes (stopping ever few minutes to wipe away the dried black glue and get my bearings)

The second light took about 30 minutes to cut open.

Overall the trickest part was not the cutting of the lights, infact it was the gluing of the angels! it is very tricky as you dont want to make any marks, or have any glue overhang - however you need to make sure you apply enough for the angels to stay put.

After a few attempts i found using a glue gun was the best method, as it dries quickly and leaves a sold bond
 
Your Z with the mods you have done must be one of the best looking in the UK.
Thats one hell of a glue gun in your avatar :P
 
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