Today I drove down to get a hair cut and when I got back to the house, my wife was standing out in the front yard with a look of, "what tha?" and asked me when I drove up, "What happened to your lights?" I jump out of the car to find out that some nimrod has pushed in my left headlight!!!

I mean pushed it into the car. Broke the Headlight Housing completely from the car. The entire Headlight Assy. is sitting inside the car.

Man, this just looks ugly, it looks like my car has been punched in the left eye! Why in the world would someone do something like this? What joy is there in it? I tell you, if I would have seen the person actually do this, there would be one more cracked head in the world.

I have since done some investigation as to the damage and it looks as if the Housing needs to be replaced at the minimum ($145.00 ARRRG!!!). Looking at the Housing from the front of the car:
This is the damage

Left Headlight Housing

Bolt 1--------Bolt 2---Bolt 3
| |
| |
| |
| |
Broken Here |
Bolt 4 Bolt 5

- Bolt 1 has been ripped out of the car and is still attached to the Housing. Took a shunk of car with it, The original screw hole is now about a 1/4" bigger all the way around! Yeah! This is going to be a headache!!! I am lost at how to fix this properly.
- Bolt 2 and 3 are still screwed tightly into the car. Some of Housing has been ripped apart here and is still connected to the car. Which is the best thing that could have happened I guess.
- The Housing has been broken apart at Bolt 4. Bolt 4 is still screwed tightly into the car. Another good thing I guess.
- Hey! Bolt 5 is still holding strong as if nothing happened! What a great bolt! Put up a good fight and hung in there.

I know I have to replace the Headlight Housing, but what else can I do about the bored out hole where Bolt 1 needs to go? Can I attached a metal bar across the bolt holes and re tap, or do you need pictures before we go any further?

Any ideas on how to get the Headlight Assy. out of the car?
The best and easiest method would be great.

And I have to drive to Port Arthur, TX on Monday. This is a daily driver but in great condition. I really do not want to "bubba" it up too much.

1981

 

Sorry, here is the rude drawing again, but formatted for you to see it better.

Left Headlight Housing

Bolt 1--------Bolt 2---Bolt 3
|..............................|
|..............................|
|..............................|
|..............................|
Broken Here................|
Bolt 4.......................Bolt 5

 

Those castings are aluminum, and are known for snapping off and breaking, so maybe it's just a metal fatigue issue....

pull it all out, align it on a bench, and TIG it up.....a buddy of mine tigged up one for me once, some years ago....

GENE

 

Gene is right, they are know to break. I thought they were pot metal? Look for a rip in the metal by the pivot point. I have the same thing on one of mine. There are 4 bolts to remove but you have to clear a path first,might have to remove the vacuum can before you can get it out.
Gary

 

one of my pivot assemblies is also broken so when you come up with tricks to make the repair easier pls let me know, for now i'm ignoring the situation...

 

Although I am sure the pot metal Headlight Housing does fail, I do not think this is the issue. As the damage is extensive across the whole Housing as noted in my first post. A chunk of the car is attached to the Headlight Housing for Bolt 1. I do not see how this could have been fatigue.

The housing will be taken out of the car and replaced, it can not be repaired. Then I will come up with some sort of repair to the bored out hole created when Bolt 1 snapped out of the frame under the hood Assy that the Housing attaches to. After I fix this issue I hope I can reattach the Headlight Housing back to the car.

Can anyone point me to a good location on how to remove the entire Left Headlight Assy, including the Housing from the car? And also de-activate the entire Left Assy. from the Headlight System so that I can still use the Right side for some night driving.

Then I can begin the repairs needed.
Thanks,
1981

 

I bet someone with a tall vehicle ran into it with their bumper. Surely someone did not just come by and damage your car for the he** of it. But you never know I guess.

 

Man I'm sooo sorry, I sometimes think you gotta run a mini cam on your dash just like the cops to keep from driving a wreck.

 

Stoge, I initially thought this the case, but after looking at the light I wouldn't think a Bumper did this damage. The paint is perfect, no dents, no rubs, just broken metal (my car and the Housing) and the light sitting into the hole.

I have removed the entire Light Assy. and plugged the Vacuum lines. The Headlight electrical connectors are taped up, and the right light moves up and down no problem. I will order the Housing for $149.00 from Corvette Central, this is the cheapest I could find in short order.
Anyone have better ideas to find one?

To repair the bored out hole at Bolt 1 I will have a piece of metal welded with a lock nut to allow me to screw the new Housing to the car at this area. I may do the same to Bolt 2 and Bolt 3, but I have not evaluated the damage at this spot just yet.

I would say this was vandelizism. Although I would understand where others may say the light housing could corrode and fail. This damage is not corrosive in nature. Either someone pushed it in with their hands or with their fat Ace while sitting down. I am moving towards the sitting option for now. This helps me to keep hope that the general public is good in nature.

oh well, at least the Headlight will be better off when I am done. Not that I couldn't have spent the time and $149.00 on something else for my car.

1981