how much did this project cost ya? cause I love it. What is your turn signal?

 

Thanks So far I've spent $6-700 in parts alone and countless hours... really a much larger undertaking that I first anticipated. For the turn signal I am adding another area to the bezel. It's that white thing in my most recent pic.

 

wow really? what was so expensive cause you said you got a good deal on the projectors. what rang up the bill?

 

damnn i didnt think it would be that much but it's lookin good.. and i think u should just use a gloss blakc.. i love the alll black look.. keep us update and more pics!

 

Ok, here is the break down, note all prices have shipping prices as well.

$80 - Headlamps
$100 - Headlamps (the first ones I got had terrible lenses)
$150 - Shrouds alone were expensive if you want 'nice' ones
$50 - Wiring harness (all parts local)
$70 - Projectors and Bulbs (bi-xenon)
$50 - Projectors and Bulbs (xenon)
$100 - ballasts

So that's a total of $600 and I was able to sell most of the second headlights I had to buy so that probably cut about $70 off my bill.

So for a quad projector retrofit parts alone are a little more than $500 (with nice shrouds)... same setup with just the bi-xenons looks like it would have cost me $450ish.


@ blk ss/sc 1 - Yeah, I think I'm going to go with the black but it's going to match the stock black of the grills and be more flat than gloss.

 

Yeah that's about right smartdude... My single Bi-xenon retro was around $475 due to the shrouds as well. It seems if you want a set that's not flaking, you have to shell out for them.

I put well over 50 hours of labor into mine, but I wanted them perfect.

 

they look great though man, I think i'm going to have to do this now. Probably be my winter project this year. I just have some ?'s where did you get shrouds? and how tough was the wiring harness. Me and electrical things don't seem to understand each other well.

 

thanks again can't wait until they are finished... so close right now.

the shrouds I got from the For Sale section at Hidplanet.com, but beware that they were not cheap nor are they up for sale for very long. It seems like people buy shrouds within the first hour or two they are listed... lol so like set your homepage to the for sale section to see if new shrouds are listed. eBay is also a good place, just type in xenon shroud or projector shroud.

I keep saying this, I promise I will post a decent wiring diagram of my harness, but I've been extremely busy. It really isn't that hard at all. As long as you can 1) measure and cut wire 2) strip and crimp wire and 3) solder and heatshrink decently enough you are good to go if you have a wiring diagram to follow.

 

that would be awesome if you could post that wiring diagram at some point. I'm sure it will a few people. I know it will me. This is definitely gonna be my fall project. And thanks for the tip on HID Planet. I'll be keeping an eye on that.

 

Ok, last exam is tomorrow... so like I promised, I will get that wiring diagram up.

This will be the last photo update until the 27th as I am leaving town the day after tomorrow until then. Currently I have the aiming done and the housings fiberglassed. All I have to do is a little bondo work, choose a color to paint and I can stick a fork in this thing

Anyways, it's been really nice out lately so I couldn't help but mock-up what my expensive shrouds will look like on the car:

 

nice job man.. them are lookin sick!

 

Its looking really good man . The finished product ought look awesome . Nice find on those shrouds , I wish I coulda lucked out with retro Im doing right now in the style I needed ....like u said though , the good ones are desireable , expensive and really hard to find . I had to fab my own shrouds and send them out to be chrome plated

 

Having them chromed is what kills ya. I sent a pair out to get chromed, only to have the USPS man scratch them all up while delivering them. Wish they would have shipped them back in a 9'x9' box instead of an envelope with bubble wrap, lol

 

im doin my own retro too and i have the same bezels as you, there e55 bezels and go for around 85, but they are reallly nicee

 

thanks guys

yeah, good choice... I've always liked the E55 shrouds

and thanks again Silver... still watching your build in your gallery... looks fantastic!

 

Thanks man and glad I could help ya out ....I will send ya a preview pic next week , theyll be done .

Switt - You shoulda seen my package being sent out 2% parts 98% bubble wrap and air cushions .

 

gawd dayumm those things are sex and a half :

 

thanks dude

I got my clear lenses today and OMG they are sick! The cutoff is so sharp and blue... its totally insane how sweet it looks. I will try and post pics tomorrow before I leave town

 

couple questions , does your fx45's have a 3" lens ? If so where did u get the clear lenses and how much . Either the clear lenses on my E55's or a switch to TL projectors is in the works for me .

 

the FX is actually a 2.5" lens and you can find them on eBay or they are sometimes on HidPlanet.com like I did... best addition, next to the shrouds I have done on this build and they weren't too expensive either.

Yeah, I would do a lens swap if you wanted a really crisp, blue cutoff. I'll definitely post some pics later tho


Here are some 3" clear lens auctions:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-ZKW...spagenameZWDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-A...spagenameZWDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-...spagenameZWDVW

The replicas are decently priced and probably just as good as the $250 ones, and the cheaper purple tinted ones would look pretty cool

 

Thanks for the reply man . Im doing this more for an extremely sharp defined cutoff rather than color . The E55's I use have a nice cut off but its nowhere near as sharp as a TL or clear lens .

Hmmm , the ZKW knock offs look very nice .

 

bump any updates???

 

i think you should color match the inside with a sweet clear coat, it could kind of resemble the newer vette headlights

 

Hey everyone who watches my build... I've been away recently and before that I was finishing school and I just started a new job this week so time to work has been limited, but there isn't much left and I'm motivated to get 'er done!

@cobaltmatt23, Yeah I totally agree... I am working on a new set for a customer and he wanted his black, but I really don't like how it looks on a silver car... especially a sedan (less sporty than a coupe) and I think color matched has the potential to look really sweet on my car. But here are some pics of the new build I am doing and hope to have done early next week to ship out. They are almost done, just waiting on some parts

 

wow man...those bezels are sexxxxxxy as hell !