Electric Headlights Cheap!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 2,070
Likes: 5
From: N.Richland Hills Texas
I hang around a friends shop that mostly builds tools for buiding sheet metal planes,RV series, BUT a side job he has had for years is building the actuators for Firebirds headlights... He uses motors from Graingers and makes the rest...
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,831
Likes: 10
From: Springfield MO
St. Jude Donor '07
There are plenty of threads and articles out there about the now-unavailable McSpeed kit. I've got almost everything I need to do it myself, with the exception of the left-hand Firebird motor.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 3,372
Likes: 215
From: Peoria Arizona
Been wanting to can the vacuum headlights for electric for a while now. Being the cheap b*stard that I am, I didn't want to pay big bucks for one og those kits. I know the vacuum actuators have about 4" of travel, and saw 4" linear actuator on ebay for about $150 a pair. Then I ran across a pair of Linak 4" linear actuators for $60 a pair, $75 with shipping, except that they were 24 volt instead of 12 volt. I figured what the heck. I tested them with a 12 volt battery and they moved about an inch every 3 seconds, or about 12 seconds for 4" of travel. I removed my buckets and replaced the vacuum actuators with the new electric ones. I made 2 "L" bracket housings out of steel for each one, and I replaced the original pins with 3/8" bolts. I had to modify the aluminum housing for clearance, bought a double pole, single throw toggle switch, which I mounted under the dash in the headlight overide position. The acuators sit in front of the radiator with no clearance issues, except, I had to modify the hood prop rod, shortening it about an inch, so now the hood does not open quite as far, but is still plenty accessible. They work like a charm, but take about 12 seconds to fully open or close, not bad for under $100. I should be able to sell by vacuum switches and actuators for much more than that on ebay. Then maybe, I'll buy some 12 volt actuators, which should make them open and close twice as fast. I'm sorry I did not take any pictures while the hood was still off, because they're very difficult to see with the hood on.
Thanks!
Adam
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,971
Likes: 7
From: Longwood Florida
Did your dad try the $35 bronze gear replacements? Throwing money at the stock nylon gears is silly. There is nothing at all wrong with the motors themselves.
There are plenty of threads and articles out there about the now-unavailable McSpeed kit. I've got almost everything I need to do it myself, with the exception of the left-hand Firebird motor.
There are plenty of threads and articles out there about the now-unavailable McSpeed kit. I've got almost everything I need to do it myself, with the exception of the left-hand Firebird motor.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,971
Likes: 7
From: Longwood Florida
http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/0408vet...t/viewall.html
Going to see if we can make a kit... who would be interested?
Going to see if we can make a kit... who would be interested?
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,796
Likes: 1,706
From: Summerville SC
Follow this thread towards the end where he uses ford probe motors. That seems to be the easiest way to make them work & simplest to wire.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...c-new-way.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...c-new-way.html
The ORIGINAL and bestest
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 10,009
Likes: 240
From: Toronto Ontario
Toronto Events Coordinator
Follow this thread towards the end where he uses ford probe motors. That seems to be the easiest way to make them work & simplest to wire.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...c-new-way.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...c-new-way.html
Much easier than using the Firebird motors that require a seperate controller.
