88' Celica Alltrac refresh
- Thread starter Curry
- Start date
Argh still haven't had time to work on that damn splitter and the second shroud. I did get a chance to install my FMIC which took a lot more time than I expected. Air still flows great no overheating on hot days except one day I let the car idle really long and it got hotter than usual. But the coolant has not been overflowing or anything like that and I did mix in some water as well.
I really wanted HID's for this car but I wanted to do it right. So to get things rolling I ordered a set of those cheapo projector headlights from ebay. My plan is to open them up. Take out the crappy excuse for projectors they have in there and retrofit some FX35 projectors or RX400 projectors.
I've done a similar retro on another car which was much more difficult so this should be a piece O' Cake. I'm going to be building a sump for my 30g saltwater tank so i guess when im done with that I'll start on the lights.
I got the lights in today and they LOOK okay but you can see all the flaws right away.
1. Projectors look a bit off center :doh:
2. Refector not needed (going to paint black) :doh:
3. Projector is not sealed around the lens. :doh:
4. There is NO cutoff bar :doh:
Besides all that I can make do with the rest. The most important part the glass is not fluted so no work to be done there.
Heres a pic of them. I'll take more shots of the construction of the lights a little later.
I've done a similar retro on another car which was much more difficult so this should be a piece O' Cake. I'm going to be building a sump for my 30g saltwater tank so i guess when im done with that I'll start on the lights.
I got the lights in today and they LOOK okay but you can see all the flaws right away.
1. Projectors look a bit off center :doh:
2. Refector not needed (going to paint black) :doh:
3. Projector is not sealed around the lens. :doh:
4. There is NO cutoff bar :doh:
Besides all that I can make do with the rest. The most important part the glass is not fluted so no work to be done there.
Heres a pic of them. I'll take more shots of the construction of the lights a little later.
underscore
Well-known member
Curry":1c89sqw2 said:
Unless you spend literally thousands of dollars that's not going to happen...
underscore
Well-known member
ZeroDrift":mj0oz0th said:
But it still won't function like a proper, legal system would (auto-leveling, etc).
phattyduck
New member
Legal systems don't require auto-leveling... they just require leveling. Check an STi or similar range car with HIDS - manual headlight leveling switch. Of course, not matter what we do the lights won't be truly legal (no certs, etc.).underscore":qanbbhyv said:
That said, adjust them correctly and they can function just as well and much better in many cases than stock systems out there.
-Charlie
ZeroDrift":3jzix82t said:
That was my thinking as well. I never knew a proper HID setup to cost over 1k unless you use some crap out of a Porsche or something. I've seen many done using TSX or Honda S2k projectors which seem to be the most popular. All resulted in even lighting with no hot spots, no glare or anything of that nature. None of them had auto leveling either.
Sorry for the lack of updates. Haven't really done much. I've just been driving it to and from work and enjoying it. Trying to get minor things fixed before the weather gets all cold here.
Mostly been busy with my fish tank. I've done some major work on it and recently installed a sump so thats been draining my time.
Its a mixed saltwater reef with live coral
pics of the tank and sump since I have nothing else car related to show you guys. LOL.
Mostly been busy with my fish tank. I've done some major work on it and recently installed a sump so thats been draining my time.
Its a mixed saltwater reef with live coral
pics of the tank and sump since I have nothing else car related to show you guys. LOL.
MrMcQuacker
New member
Nice tank. I have a 60g Cichlid tank with 3 Tiger Oscars. That's also my other hobby besides cars 
.
.entrax":4zxwd3la said:
I'll let you know how it goes, waiting on some projectors to arrive. I installed the lights as-is just to see how they look since I don't drive the car much these days. They look good and I haven't been highbeamed by anyone yet so thats good lol. There is glare but not as much as I expected. I spent about $200 for the projectors, figure another $200 for misc crap and the phillips ballasts and bulbs.
88gt4DE":1lmu8gfg said:
Lol thought I disappeared huh? I got a couple of updates for ya. I was between jobs the last couple of weeks. Finally quit staples and got myself a life changing job. yea it was that bad over at staples...
Anyway... I'm still looking for a head to replace my cracked one. I drive the car here and there no place to far.
Just got a heat blanket for the turbo, gotta install that also.
Template is cut for the splitter, I just need to start the fiberglassing (when it gets warmer)
Coilovers came this morning, i'm just waiting on random bushings, endlinks and other suspension related stuff to come in before I install them.
I finally cleared out that stock intercooler crap and did the front mount. I did not notice much lag at all... I didn't quite finish since we got done late, I parked it up and left it. Things that are left to do:
- fix all that random wiring
- run extended hoses for the intake
- secure intake
- remove intercooler reservoir
- clean up engine bay
I got rid of that crappy ugly dirty shift boot lol
88gt4DE":j7wird79 said:
I shall check your thread out. The boot was from ebay, at first I couldn't get it on the metal ring but I pulled the ends to stretch it a bit and it fit nice and snug. I didn't see any with the black stitching but I didn't look really cause I wanted one to match the nardi wheel I was looking at.
heres the link: http://stores.ebay.com/AutumWish/Shift- ... 34.c0.m322
Yea my OEM one was all sticky and weird.
Now I just need one of these: :twisted:
MrMcQuacker
New member
Thx about the cichlid tank. Ya it's hard to take care of them specialy when you have many from different islands. They will fight for the territory.
Also keep up the good work fellas. Eventually I'll post some stuff or make my own project thread. My car is slowly comming along finally
Also keep up the good work fellas. Eventually I'll post some stuff or make my own project thread. My car is slowly comming along finally