93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

[T-Mill]

Since a bunch of my roommate's junk just got moved into the garage, I'm stuck with idle hands...

This came up in another thread... why aren't there any plug and play headlight replacements for the 93-97's out there? As some know I have plans for a custom front end that will eventually go on the car, and with it I've also had some plans for custom headlights that I would have to make... so while I'm waiting for garage space to clear up, I'm going to start toying with a plug and play style headlight replacement for the 93-97 Camaros...

The reason I'm posting is because I can't decide right now between two basic designs

1. have the lens of the headlight flush to the body of the car, like what you'd see with our cars that have headlight covers... I have two issues with this, the first being that it wouldn't end up looking that much different than regular headlights with covers... and second being that in order to mount them, you would almost have to drill into the front bumper cover or they'd be too unstable and even then i feel like they wouldn't be solid, so I'd have to make sturdy brackets, and sturdy usually means bulky so there's a few problems there

2. have the lens of the headlight recessed, but not quite as far back as the current headlights sit... this is what I'm leaning toward, but am not sure how it would look...

I'm going to start making molds for the back of the headlights where all of the mounting would be and will try and figure out what to do with the front between now and then...

any input or interest? also if I do this I will be making everything with the intention of it being repeatable ;)

[enzia35]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

I think the Camaros look okay with they the headlights sit. Maybe if you could PS them up front as in #1 or up a bit further in #2. Or #3, bulging out.:D

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

I think I'd go with #1. Maybe even require modifications to mount them (ie cut out the little side thing) to make for better side visibility. Though I think either design could work better.

The main thing I want to see is better light output, namely with the use of projectors. So I'd like to see something that uses a projector but still goes with the style of the car. I'd probably mess around with drawing or renderings if you have the artistic capabilities before building anything.

The biggest problem I see here is trying to make something that looks good, has good light output, and uses lights that are already available for individual purchase. Unless you get a company involved, that rules out all use of free form clear lens lights and will make it hard to make the finished product look as if it's not a bunch of things pieced together. This is assuming you make a drop in unit that replaces both high and low beams.

The other option is to keep the same style and general size, but retrofit a projector into a rectangular housing of similar size and shape to stock while providing better light output and styling. Something similar to that which is available for 3rd gens and early 4th firebirds.

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

I toyed with an idea or two.. So far I'm unable to really come up with anything that ditches the rectangular style and looks somewhat decent, this one is based off my last idea, the projector in a regular housing like what is available for the firebirds and older camaros. I also made a few copies of this picture with the headlight area left blank if you want a template to work on.

[T-Mill]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

I've got a rough design in my head for both ideas... I'm not even going to try and explain what I have planned bc there's no point without a visual, so I'll be drawing some things up to show what I'm thinking, mainly so you guys can tell me potential problems with it that I'm not seeing, lol...

after looking at it for a bit, I think the easiest way would be to remove the part of the header panel that sits behind the headlight, but keep the part that the front bumper cover pins to. My header panel's damaged there anyway so I'll probably do that tomorrow and see if the rest of the panel is still stable. This way I can make some sort of bracket that attaches directly to the body and to the headlight bracket instead of to the plastic header panel.

The lens will be made out of acrylic... I've done some molded acrylic for speaker boxes in the past, but they were always pretty simple... If I make it to Lowe's tomorrow I'll make a sample lens, see how it looks... and start work on the housing.

I think my only option is to do a projector because if not I would have to make a reflector that looked good, and my only option there is chrome spray paint which almost always turns out looking cheap. Doing projectors I can just make the inside of the housing black, or any color, I guess, and it would still look clean...

[T-Mill]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

I like your drawing skills... very Foose-like, lol... I made some templates from pictures of my car doing basically what you did, but I have more patience for photoshop than pencil and paper lol... I really think what I have planned could work, but we'll just have to see if I can get the plastic to do what I want it to

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

Didn't really like how this one turned out, I thought I'd see what it looks like to take out the corner piece. Obviously very scribbley, but this is more of a one-piece design than the last one which was pretty much modified sealed beams and a clear headlight cover.



And I really screwed up the proportions on this one, but the idea was a modified sealed beam with a halo type ring around the rectangle/ellipse and a projector inside, otherwise black for a bit of contrast.



I might be a little bias making these drawings as I seem not to like the ones that are drastically different and that could be because they are in fact ugly, or I'm just too used to the rectangle look to really be willing to change it much. I'm curious to see just what you have in mind.

[accident_prone247]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

how bout trying projectors recessed into a circular hole . like what the mid 90s acura had where it was a round headlight with the bumper having the round recesse in the bumper. just instead of a lense use projectors.

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

Here's an idea based off the 5th gen..

[ssms5411]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

I would like to see #1 I like the areo dynamics of it and it flows with the car. Thats why I liked the Probeam covers I had. Maybe a set of the new corvette lights would fut in there. The only thing I like about the 98-02 Camaros is there lights and there intake design , but their throttle bodys suck , if the maf goes you need to replace the TB thats crazy, 93-97 TB's you can replace anything on them. Come up with something and I'll try it out, I have 6000K HID's in both low and high beams and they both come on at the same time if I want them too, really lights up the road and noone flashes me becuase I have angled properly.

[T-Mill]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

Here's an idea based off the 5th gen..

That's close to what I have planned for the headlights for the front end I'm building

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

That one is my favorite so far. I also made one up that doesn't have the cutout in the bumper, but I think the first one looks better. I'm excited to see what you come up with!

[T-Mill]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

I do like the way that one cuts into the bumper, but for my purposes I'm trying to avoid that since I'm trying to make something that an average "garage" mechanic could buy and install fairly easily... I called a plastic supply store to see if they'd sell me some large remnants for cheap, and the guy said he'd have to check with his boss, so he's going to e-mail me today before closing...

I spent some time last night measuring and drawing up some designs... I've got one in mind that I think I'm going to try out first... I was going to post some of the pictures I drew, but it's hard to see what I'm getting at with a 2D drawing, so I'll wait to post something here until I have an actual "prototype" formed which I'm going to start working on here in a few mins... My idea is basically to bring the headlight out close to flush with the body, but will probably angle the lens so that it's more vertical. This will bring it flush to the hood, but not quite flush to the front of the bumper cover...

It's windy as hell and is supposed to storm soon so I'm not going to be able to build what I need to form the acrylic, since I'd have to do it outside, so I'm going to start with fiberglass and foam to make the rear of the housing, this way I can use it as a mold later on if it works out... I will test some acrylic and some polystyrene for the rear housing to see what gives the best results for the best price. It all depends on what kind of deals I can get on the supplies, since I think both would be suitable for what I need from them... iirc polystyrene is cheaper than acrylic in thin sheets, but the thicker you go, the more expensive the polystyrene is... but I'll have to check into it...

hopefully I'll have some pics to post up tonight!!

[T-Mill]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

Also... anyone know where I can buy some projectors similar to this for as cheap as possible? A website or eBay link would be awesome... I think these are a little small for headlights, but they'll do for now, I could always modify my "prototype" for a bigger projector later on


I did a very quick google search and could only find universal projectors with halos, which isn't what I'm looking for...

[T-Mill]

Re: 93-97 Camaro plug and play headlight design

also, gr8... What size projectors do you think I'll need, or would like to see?

Also, I have never even looked at an HID setup so I know very little about them... is there anything that I could do to make it easy or easier for someone who would want HID's or can it be done on any headlight setup? I don't really need to know anything about them other than if there's anything I could do to make it easier