2k2ls
Well-Known LVC Member
ok ill try to make this quick and painless...
the body shop I "wanted" to do this conversion said it was going to be $300-$500 because they had to remove the bumper and it was a "tight fit in there". This little how to is how I did it to get good results and save some money. No bumper removal, no crazy wiring nightmare no b.s. I hope this helps any one who intends to do this conversion however, It is only a guide.
1. start by removing the plasic covers by the latch and the radiatiator support.
2. remove old headlights (1st pic)
3. pop out bumber lights
4. remove hood latch (2nd pic)
5. move the wire harness for some clearence (3rd pic)
6. now remove the headlight brace. theres 2 bolts on each side. the top one is visible the bottom one you can reach through the hole where the bumper light was (4thpic). also loosen up the 2 top bolts towards the middle. Now a quick way to get the old brace out was the old dremel. I cut it in 3 and then bent back the tabs (5th pic) and out she came.
7. now for the new brace. first a few cuts have to be made. the slots on the new brace dont match on the bumper so snip the tabs as necessary. ( I set the brace on the bumper so I could mark all my cuts) (6th pic).
8. part of the wire harness will get snagged up so you have to free up some slack. remove the bolt on the plastic tab going over the rad support (7th pic) also the harness has a little plastic L bracket. carefully remove that from the harness to free up a little more slack. (8th pic)
9. pictures 9 & 10 show the 2 pieces I had to cut off the bracket to get it to slide in.
10. this is the step where you need to be patient. GENTLY work the brace in place. this might take a few tries.
11. after its in place and you said every curse you know its time to bolt it in. Make sure the harness on the pass. side has enough slack otherwise the brace wont sit down all the way and you risk cracking it!!! Then begin with the outer bolts. When you get to the center brackets press them back down flush against the brace. I wouldnt use the tightening of the bolt to press it down again you dont want to chance it cracking!!!
12. The new brace wont have the holes in the right spot for the tabs on the harness. a simple dremel tool fixes that right up.
13. wire up the lights. Now I must admit my boy dave wired it up pretty quick and as you can see (11th pic) he used the original harness from the old headlights and with the dremel put a slot where the stock harness plug in. This way we get to use the cars harness and not risk damaging anything. Im not sure what colors go to what he did it pretty quick. I recommend taking it to an alarm/ audio shop those guys are usually cool enought to help someone out for decent fees If your in the long island area the number to his shop is 631-666-9560.
14. thats pretty much it start putting your car back together and try not to leave spare parts. remember this is a quick how to there will be a few minor things here and there that will vary by person or car. Also keep in mind this was the way that was easiest for me to get this done. All together it took a few hours of my day but it wasnt all that bad. If you decide to go at it yourself and need help feel free to drop an email hope this helped...
the body shop I "wanted" to do this conversion said it was going to be $300-$500 because they had to remove the bumper and it was a "tight fit in there". This little how to is how I did it to get good results and save some money. No bumper removal, no crazy wiring nightmare no b.s. I hope this helps any one who intends to do this conversion however, It is only a guide.
1. start by removing the plasic covers by the latch and the radiatiator support.
2. remove old headlights (1st pic)
3. pop out bumber lights
4. remove hood latch (2nd pic)
5. move the wire harness for some clearence (3rd pic)
6. now remove the headlight brace. theres 2 bolts on each side. the top one is visible the bottom one you can reach through the hole where the bumper light was (4thpic). also loosen up the 2 top bolts towards the middle. Now a quick way to get the old brace out was the old dremel. I cut it in 3 and then bent back the tabs (5th pic) and out she came.
7. now for the new brace. first a few cuts have to be made. the slots on the new brace dont match on the bumper so snip the tabs as necessary. ( I set the brace on the bumper so I could mark all my cuts) (6th pic).
8. part of the wire harness will get snagged up so you have to free up some slack. remove the bolt on the plastic tab going over the rad support (7th pic) also the harness has a little plastic L bracket. carefully remove that from the harness to free up a little more slack. (8th pic)
9. pictures 9 & 10 show the 2 pieces I had to cut off the bracket to get it to slide in.
10. this is the step where you need to be patient. GENTLY work the brace in place. this might take a few tries.
11. after its in place and you said every curse you know its time to bolt it in. Make sure the harness on the pass. side has enough slack otherwise the brace wont sit down all the way and you risk cracking it!!! Then begin with the outer bolts. When you get to the center brackets press them back down flush against the brace. I wouldnt use the tightening of the bolt to press it down again you dont want to chance it cracking!!!
12. The new brace wont have the holes in the right spot for the tabs on the harness. a simple dremel tool fixes that right up.
13. wire up the lights. Now I must admit my boy dave wired it up pretty quick and as you can see (11th pic) he used the original harness from the old headlights and with the dremel put a slot where the stock harness plug in. This way we get to use the cars harness and not risk damaging anything. Im not sure what colors go to what he did it pretty quick. I recommend taking it to an alarm/ audio shop those guys are usually cool enought to help someone out for decent fees If your in the long island area the number to his shop is 631-666-9560.
14. thats pretty much it start putting your car back together and try not to leave spare parts. remember this is a quick how to there will be a few minor things here and there that will vary by person or car. Also keep in mind this was the way that was easiest for me to get this done. All together it took a few hours of my day but it wasnt all that bad. If you decide to go at it yourself and need help feel free to drop an email hope this helped...
ooopsie!
