For those of you thinking of going with the Euro Headlights...

First, let me start by thanking LAPD-European Headlights (EHL), plug and play harness, and H4 super whites APC’s (100/90) for $189.00 next day mail-no charge. They Rock! :cool:

I recommend going to http://www.shanehairston.com/c5_headlight.htm to bone up on the whole procedure-what and where things will be, and how to perform the operation.

Your weapons of choice are simple:

Phillips head, Torx 15 driver, a small 10mm wrench, thin needle nose pliers, a flexible 2.5 foot twig with a slight “golf club like” bend (I’ll tell you why later), and a soft cotton pillow case to drape around the headlight to prevent striking your paint. This is paramount, as it prevents scratches by the wrench and the head light as they both repeatedly strike out in anger at you and your car). Don’t bother with ratchets. I’ll say it again for the cheap seats: Don’t bother with ratchets. You are dealing with very tight tolerances, and it will take time and patience. :boxing

As always, before starting anything mechanical on a Corvette, please-PLEASE-remove all women, children, and small animals from the area. You will thank me later. Also warn your neighbors that despite what they will hear all is well, don’t worry about the smoke-and please don’t call the cops. Plus, start early-you will need all the daylight you can get your hands on.

Prepare yourself. Curse loudly for at least a 10 second burst to warm up and avoid a sprain. While doing anything with the headlight hex screws be prepared for them to fall out and drop into the nosecone when you least expect it. Remember when this occurs to curse loudly, breathe, curse more. Don’t forget to breathe! :cuss

The only way to safely remove and insert the hex screw in their little slot w/o dropping them is with the needle nose pliers. Your big fat ham hands will do you no good here. Noodle it in and use your fingernails to pull it through (so much for that $50 manicure Sally!) If it falls, sometimes the pillowcase will catch it. But, just like column lock-it to will fail you, and Grasshopper-you will find a new Zen in cursing as you try to fish the little freaks out. :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss :cuss

This is where the stick comes in. Root around the nose with the stick (not your nose), trying to flick it out from under the front brake cooling duct, where it is probably hiding. Curse maniacally, and invoke demons whenever possible. :reddevil

If you are a tortured man, you too can lose the final hex screw after you’ve managed to attach the other two securely enough to hold the EHL in place. Learn to love and accept Jesus :blueangel: as you discover there is no way your hand-or anything short of a tentacle-can reach down into the nose to find and pick up the recalcitrant hex screws while the EHL is in place. Pee your pants and drool for a few minutes while you walk the razors edge as to whether you remove the whole EHL assembly, get the hex screw, and start over-or remove the whole blasted bumper (which I’m sure is easier). Hmm… :confused:

Face it, you will be unable to reach it with human hands. After spending several moments swishing the hex screws around the driver side nostril with my golf twig, I found a small hole in the noses under pan, relocated the screw pointy side down, and blissfully wrenched it through to freedom.

Pee and drool more-you owe it to yourself…you’re a genius!!! :crazy:

It would seem the EHL was never designed to be attached to the pop up assembly while it is still in the car. The hex screws are designed to cut into the soft plastic of the EHL and make it’s own trail with the help of a smaller drilled out channel. It would be fine if you could apply a bit more pressure to the hex screw head, or had more wrench turning room to get the screw to bite, or a third hand to support the free floating EHL.

I found that by “pre-screwing” (stop laughing) with the wrench and screw outside the car, you, the hex screws, and your EHL have better chances of surviving this ordeal. Try and get at least one secured on each side so you will no longer have to support it (just like with children). Be cautious with the plastic EHL, if the bolts deviates too much it can crack the assembly-and then my friend you are truly f@#ked. :cry

I found out tonight that these lights are a good deal brighter and whiter. I didn’t find a stretch of road without lighting to really see how well they worked-plus, they may need to be realigned. Also, after you learn what not to do on the first EHL, the second is a lot easier. There is so much room for improvement here, I can safely recommend this mod.

Next project: How to get drool and urine off your clothes with ZAINO!
:U

:seeya

 

I have the same Package.....love em :smash:

 

Glad to hear you got them in. I think I will be doing the exact same thing very shortly. Let me know how you like them after you find a nice dark road.

Jerry

 

Makes me want to run out and buy them right away! :eek:

 

Hi: Having done this mod myself, almost peed my pants when reading your instructions. Everything you said was true, but the results were worth the cussing and chasing the screws around the nosecone. My neighbors still run when they see me approaching the Vette with a screwdriver or wrench. Are we all nuts, or what??? Would'nt have it any other way!!!! :D :D :D

 

mail me your twig thingy and I'll do mine or you COULD drive down and do 'em 'cause you got 'sperience..... hehe

 

DAP-

That's a great post! I actually waited until the wife, kids and dog were out of town for two days before doing this, since I knew that at some point I would become a raving maniac. Turned out to be true!

I was lucky enough to be able to get the full export assemblies for the headlights before the price got ridiculous and got the export fogs at the same time. Replaced the stock headlight bulbs with PIAA H4 Super White Platinum Series Twin Pack 80/80 watt bulbs that you can use with the stock wiring harness. The full assemblies are rock steady (no bounce of the lights when hitting bumps) and easier to install than the capsules - really just three bolts. And boy does this work nice! Still, my hair was on fire by the time I got this done!

 

If you really want to add to the joy of this installation try building your own 10 gauge wiring harness during the installation :D Even with the help of my Brother-inlaw who is an EE, it took me a solid 6 hours to do this installation© One of the units that really helps when installing the Euro headlight capsule is a flexible shaft driver© My wife bought me one for my toolbox from QVC that I never thought I would use ;¤ that ended being a lifesaver© It has a snakelike 10" extension that runs into ratchetlike screwdriver base© The flexible shaft allows you to drive the bottom torx screw into the unit and since it was magnetic I didn't drop the screw into the nosecone more than 50 times © The light capsules themselves only took about an hour to remove and replace, it was running the wires and soldering and shrinkwrapping all the connections that took all the time©The heavy wires are necessary for the brighter bulbs and possible heat load©

Despite all the cursing, there is no doubt that this mod is worth it© My only problem is I tend to stay back from other cars since it does put out so much light© They are aimed right, and I never have oncoming cars flash their brights at me© It is the poor guy ahead of me that feels like he is being examined :smash:

 

In my opinion, a must have. The LAPD EHL and plug package is very professional looking, priced to sell (and send), and a no brainer to install-with the exception of the !@#$ing hex screws (which is :chevy 's fault-not mine or LAPD's!!)

I'm thinking now about the euro fogs as well, because I did notice the yellow fogs seem to drown out the white light directly in front of the nose.

Apparently, there is even more room for improvement by upgrading the entire lighting wire system, as they are too weak and lose a lot of power as a result-and the bigger the bulbs, the more loss (meaning improvement, but not as much if it wasn't a bottleneck) and higher chances of smoking fuses.

But even I must draw the line on an '01 with 4900 miles on it! :rolleyes:

If you like this one, I should probably re-post my Throttle Coolant Bypass Debacle story... :D

I've also been thinking of writing something on my Vortex/GMS/LAPD HF duct install-but every time I think about it I begin to hyper-ventilate and need to find my tin foil hat :crazy:

It's not the voices in my head that bother me, it's the voices IN YOUR HEAD!! :p:

Glad I gave you guys a laugh. We could all use a little more laughter nowadays :flag

 

Excellent story-- :lol: :yesnod: :smash: :cheers:

 

Just ordered a set from LAPD yesterday. :cheers:

 

Dap,
Would the magnets that extend help keep from loosing the screws! Magnet on a stick :)

 

You'd still need the golf twig! I haven't seen the one's that bend, but I'm guessing they have them somewhere...

 

DAP,
Thanks for the heads up. With your discription in hand, I parked the vette up on a steep driveway. When i dropped the bolts I was able to reach down and grab it easily. Additionally, I removed the bracket that the headlight covers attach to (only four t-15 screws). This allowed greater access to the hex bolts with a flex socket. 30 minutes to complete the job. Thanks again for your information. :cool:

 

Glad to help...someone...finally! :D

I was thinking about that, but was very concerned about the assembly, and it's alignment. Also, the other guy's webpage I mentioned didn't say anything about it, so I figured it was something I shouldn't try...

In fact, just removing one makes the top bolt a lot easier-but fear overcame me... :eek: