Rickashay's Projector Retrofit Thread

[rickashay]

Keeping with the theme, I'll keep adding pics of my retrofits here as I complete them.

Now a taste of probably the coolest Tacoma retrofit in existance (that I have seen anyways....)


20120406-IMG_1179 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr


20120406-IMG_1186 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr


20120406-IMG_1174 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr


20120406-IMG_1171 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

- Fx-R Bi-Xenons in the main reflector bowl
- Blazer fogs in factory DRL location
- Custom LED's
- Gatling shrouds
- relocated Turn Signals
- BHLM

 

[rickashay]

Wow, you guys are getting hard to please.... hahaha

 

[quicksilvr]

Wow, you guys are getting hard to please.... hahaha

ROFL. Er.....I was speechless after that Taco post.....DAMN.

 

[fightman80]

ROFL. Er.....I was speechless after that Taco post.....DAMN.

That Taco retrofit is pretty sick man!

 

[chrisdowling84]

Man that turned out really great!

 

[GottaBeTRD]

Holy crap! did you make those Rick? this is close to what I want to do with mt next retrofit. those are absolutely sick!

EDIT: nevermind i just saw the previous page good job man

 

[blcktpgsr]

Man I have nothin' but good to say about the work you do..You know whether you hear me I say it not...I'm a huge fan!...Can't wait to see what you have is store for you rig. Good luck on Crowsnest Pass, too!

 

[rickashay]

ROFL. Er.....I was speechless after that Taco post.....DAMN.

That Taco retrofit is pretty sick man!

Man that turned out really great!

Holy crap! did you make those Rick? this is close to what I want to do with mt next retrofit. those are absolutely sick!

EDIT: nevermind i just saw the previous page good job man

Thanks guys! These lights were the hardest, most involving retro we've done to date at Headlight Hookup but I'm pretty happy with the results and so is the customer.

Man I have nothin' but good to say about the work you do..You know whether you hear me I say it not...I'm a huge fan!...Can't wait to see what you have is store for you rig. Good luck on Crowsnest Pass, too!

lol Thanks man! Means a lot coming from the guy with one of the most unique and creative builds on this forum. Trust me, I spend a lot of time drooling over on your thread...

RE: Crowsnest, you must have been chattin' with Vic! I just got home from the run. All I can say is that the day was truly EPIC. I bet 25-30 recoveries between 4 trucks. lol I'll throw some pics up over in my build thread.

 

[TN_Soljah808]

I want new headlights in my 4runner. I'm hoping to get on to the group buy in the 5th gen forums.

I need your help I just want better lights because where I drive to the lake is really dark and full of deer.

From my readings Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S) & Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (H1) will be the easiest to install. However I will have to find someone to install cause i'm not smart enough.

Can anyone recommend which one I should buy? And what is compatible for our 4runners? for example I don't know what I should get below.

Adapter Plate:

Ballasts:

Bulbs:

Halos:

Projectors:

Re-sealing Glue:

Shrouds:

Wire Harness:

I just don't want to buy the wrong items and have the installer say it's not compatible.

 

[rickashay]

I want new headlights in my 4runner. I'm hoping to get on to the group buy in the 5th gen forums.

I need your help I just want better lights because where I drive to the lake is really dark and full of deer.

From my readings Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S) & Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (H1) will be the easiest to install. However I will have to find someone to install cause i'm not smart enough.

Can anyone recommend which one I should buy? And what is compatible for our 4runners? for example I don't know what I should get below.

Adapter Plate:

Ballasts:

Bulbs:

Halos:

Projectors:

Re-sealing Glue:

Shrouds:

Wire Harness:

I just don't want to buy the wrong items and have the installer say it's not compatible.

Well, I'm first going to have to ask who is installing all of it for you?

 

[TN_Soljah808]

Well I haven't looked into that yet. My plan is to purchase the kit and save more money for new headlights and install cost. I have the money right now for the kit but not sure what it would cost to do the install. If you're capable to do the install I wouldn't mind shipping it to Canada, but it wouldn't be until later this year.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

I want new headlights in my 4runner. I'm hoping to get on to the group buy in the 5th gen forums.

I need your help I just want better lights because where I drive to the lake is really dark and full of deer.

From my readings Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (D2S) & Bi-xenon Morimoto Mini Stage III Kit (H1) will be the easiest to install. However I will have to find someone to install cause i'm not smart enough.

Can anyone recommend which one I should buy? And what is compatible for our 4runners? for example I don't know what I should get below.

Adapter Plate:

Ballasts:

Bulbs:

Halos:

Projectors:

Re-sealing Glue:

Shrouds:

Wire Harness:

I just don't want to buy the wrong items and have the installer say it's not compatible.

As bad as this gonna sound if your gonna get the Morimoto kit you can easily do it yourself. If i can do it, anyone can swing it, seriously! i have complications beyond explainable and I did struggle a to get it done but that was only because of the lack of time. You can save a ton of money doing it yourself man. just thought I'd add my 2 cents

 

[rickashay]

:toilet3:

As bad as this gonna sound if your gonna get the Morimoto kit you can easily do it yourself. If i can do it, anyone can swing it, seriously! i have complications beyond explainable and I did struggle a to get it done but that was only because of the lack of time. You can save a ton of money doing it yourself man. just thought I'd add my 2 cents

Ouch, I'm getting burned in my own retrofit thread here!!! Hahaha


No he's right. The Morimoto stuff is pretty simple to install. It still takes time though and I'm still going to claim that I can get the horizontal alignment better than those centric-rings can. Don't be intimidated by it though, there are lots of people who can answer your questions here if you decide to do it yourself, including myself. However, I'd gladly do a retrofit for you anytime. PM me and we can discuss details in that regard.

Cheers

 

[GottaBeTRD]

doh! sorry Rick i didn't mean to make it sound that way. Your setups obviously take some serious skill. I meant to say that the easier plug and play projectors are an easier job and yeah its late. I apologize man

 

[rickashay]

lol no worries man, I figured as such, but I just had to give you a hard time. hahah

 

[rickashay]

I started my LS460 retrofit today! Hopefully I will have some progress and teaser shots tomorrow.

Still debating if I want to paint the reflector bowls or leave them chrome?? Ideas??

 

[4Running Daily]

I started my LS460 retrofit today! Hopefully I will have some progress and teaser shots tomorrow.

Still debating if I want to paint the reflector bowls or leave them chrome?? Ideas??

Paint them!

 

[absalom]

Super stoked for this. I think paint looks much more unique then chrome tbh

 

[rickashay]

LS460 Retrofit - 3rd Gen. 4Runner

Ok, so here's an update. I've been working on these for the last 3 days as I've had time, but I admit, I haven't really logged as many hours as I would have liked. Slow progress is still progress.

To be honest, there are still a LOT of unanswered questions for me with this project. There are several loose ends and I hope that they all come together with a little thought and innovation. This retrofit is so difficult due to the GINORMOUS size of the Lexus LS460 projectors and the smallish size of the 3rd Gen. 4Runner housings. Simply getting the projectors to sit in the reflector bowl is proving pretty difficult if I want to keep it clean and tidy (let alone, actually getting the horizontal cutoff aligned properly). I'll let my photos dictate my words. Sorry, I didn't shoot my pics with my SLR as I don't like my "good" camera in that kind of dusty environment.

Here you can see my initial markings on the back of the housing. This is really a close estimate with some minor measurements to give me a rough idea of how the projector will sit:

20120602-IMG_7606 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Here, the initial cuts have been made:

20120602-IMG_7611 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr


20120602-IMG_7615 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

This is how the pieces of the puzzle will fit back together around the LS460 projector:

20120602-IMG_7616 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Secondary cuts to fit around the solenoid:

20120602-IMG_7619 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Spacers for optimal "colour" in the cutoff. The green spacer comes installed under the stock LS460 projector lens and the other one is the one I created to effectively double the spacer size --> increasing the amount of colour flicker. Just wait until I get output shots up, it's truly amazing!

20120603-IMG_7622 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Spacers installed under where the new STi-R clear lens will sit:

20120603-IMG_7628 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Drilled out the factory upper shield holes to accommodate some bolts for mounting:

20120603-IMG_7636 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

Bolts in place:

20120603-IMG_7639 by Headlight Hookup, on Flickr

That's all for now folks....

 

[hugo2go]

Good progress.... and extremely detailed on the cuts. What did you use to make the cuts so precise?