Headlight modification

[2seater]

This is just a rough beginning to what I have toyed with off and on for a few years. Below is a low res. photo of the two light styles I have considered. The one on the right is the small sealed beam as used in some mid-'90's GM cars. I think this one is from a Pontiac GTP and the reason I chose it was the individual metal holders so the low and high beams could be located independently to match the angle of the Reatta front end. I know they don't have the best reputation for light output but I found the bulb inside can be changed to something else. A low/ high pair will just fit in the existing opening which is approx. 12" wide.

 

      The fixture on the left is a 55w 2" diameter projector beam. In this case it is of Chinese manufacture and was purchased from Britain, (exclusive dealer), and is E4 coded approved in Europe. It does not have a DOT approval that I can find and the lights above definitely do. I did find another reasonably priced projector light, which claims to be DOT approved but is another Chinese product and has a 2.5" diameter lens. The low (dip) beam projector lights would definitely make good fog lights with a razor sharp cutoff.

 

       My original intent was a modified hood from a donor car with the notch filled in for the pop-ups and remove the whole pop up mechanism, with the angled forward portion removed to expose the lights. Finishing the opening into something attractive would require some serious thought. I thought possibly the small projector lenses could protrude directly through a solid front fascia and the hood still be able to clear them due to the angled nature of the front of the hood. The more I have considered this project the more I feel the round projector lights would look all wrong on the car since everything else is rectangular. One possibility would be to use either of the lights above in place of the stock large 6054 bulb and limit the popup mechanism to a 2.0"-2.5".

 

       All suggestions/replies are welcome, even to tell me it's a waste of time ? Honestly I have great headlights on the car now, freshly rebuilt, and 80/100 E-code Hella lights with supporting wiring upgrades. An even more extreme option would be to do the Riveatta, the Riviera front clip on the Reatta, to eliminate the pop-ups.

 

[Frogware]

If you want to stay with a rectangular look you might try looking at a truck body newer style like a suburban or something similar. I think most of the cars will have a wrap around style that includes the amber signals, anyways just my thoughts. Sounds like you have great ideas/plans.