H4 conversion from Sealed Beam Headlights
 

I just wanted to make a thread to say this mod is probably the BEST bang for the buck improvement you can make to a 1st gen.

I am mad I waited so long to do it. I was considering going HID, but I wanted to keep my car "PERIOD CORRECT." So I just wanted to do the H4 conversion. I bought the HELLA H4 lenses on Ebay for a little under $100 shipped. Now the fun part...is bulb shopping! H4 bulbs are very popular so you can go with pretty much any ricer/racer color you want. Cool blue, bright white, purple etc...I personally went with JDM yellow. Again, keeping the car "period correct."

Here are some pics...it is a simple mod can be done in an hour in your driveway...driving at night is FUN. Super improvement I am very very happy.

here is the Hella lenses kit.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/...a67c9228_o.jpg


install...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3231/...8b8b57e3_o.jpg


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3081/...6d9284e6_o.jpg

comparo pic TOP is stock sealed beam and below is the HELLA H4 lens
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3232/...1b1ce93e23.jpg

detail on hella lens
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3108/...e0494043_o.jpg

I wish I did this at the start...should be a first mod! So easy improves the look so much...and lets not forget the safety upgrade! You night time vision and driving range improve with these lights too.

You forgot to show how it looks at night!!!!!

Your old wiring may not survive this conversion. Heres a writeup I did on doing this along with using a relay harness all from blackdragon.

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/lighting-how-heavy-duty-headlight-harness-installation-695121/

No doubt any improvement in lighting is a win over the old stock lights.

Yes, definitely check into the wiring. I have also upgraded the wiring to heavy gauge and installed relays. The difference on stock bulbs was amazing. The stock wiring is so tiny, that it doesn't allow very much of the power to actually reach the lights once it runs through all the switches etc. which use 16 gauge.

A very good source for information on this problem: www.danielsternlighting.com



.

Thanks for the replies, I will double check the wiring. I thought you only needed to upgrade the wiring if you were doing HIDs. I figured the simple lens change would not need it.

I will look into it...thanks for the heads up.

If you are using the stock 55/60Watt bulbs it will be fine. I have used the stock wires with the Hella kit for three years now. If you went to higher wattage H4, then I'd upgrade.

That being said, using a harness will increase the light output of your current bulbs. Not necessary, but its up to you. You may want to leave your setup looking more stock.

Getting the correct voltage to even the 55/60W bulbs will make a major difference. I am keeping my car as stock as possible, but will be upgrading to Hella ECE headlights and 60/100W bulbs and an upgraded wiring harness.

these are the bulbs I am running...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/...1fe5e512_o.jpg

so you still suggest the wiring harness?

I have seen some that are kinda pricey....any other links to alternative wiring harnesses I should use?

If I need to get all the juice to the lights and make em even brighter...I am all for it.

Like I said, you don't technically need it for those. They are the same drain as stock. Adding a new harness however will increase the light output.

As for price, I think the black dragon one is $30. Or you could go with an eBay unit (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Harne...spagenameZWDVW) or something similar.

As long as you do some reading, and fully understand what you are trying to do, then you can just do what I did. All you need is some heavy gauge wiring and a couple of 5 dollar relays and you're all set. Very easy to do, as long as you really understand what you are doing...

I don't like how our headlights use only half of the entire housing to project light, and you only see the other half when you flip on your high beams. My HID's look weird considering it does that.

All lights work like that. Even HID's in projector lenses. It's just not as noticeable.

Yea.. no fun. Makes me wanna custom fab square headlight housings.

You can also make those kits FULL HID
With ballast boxes and all.

Check these out there Great im going to buy this set up and post some pics

The Light housing

http://www.eurolamps.com/eurolamps/sealedbeams.htm

The HID Kit

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-H...mZ380064278088

yeah if you read my first post I decided not to go HID because I wanted to keep my car "period correct." I was definitely considering it...and I saw tons of H4 HID kits...but yeah ultimately I am happy not going full HID.

I wouldnt buy that HID kit, "made in germany" the first one I bought that was made in germany was horrible and one of the ballast boxes went dead after 3 months. Impossible to get the warranty replacement.

Those are the exact housings I bought something like 5 years ago and installed. Made it until a rock destroyed one 2 months ago. I just used the white xenon bulb they included and it was a vast improvement over stock. I didn't upgrade the wiring and never had any issues. Now I'm buying replacement housings and an upgraded wiring kit so they'll be even brighter, probably gonna get some Hella ones off of ebay.

The bulbs you have are good. You can run them on the stock wiring or upgrade the wiring. Upgrading the wiring will get the proper voltage to the bulbs, which will make them brighter.

I had P/U that I installed the Hella ECE's and ran 60/100W bulbs. Major improvement over the stock headlamps. I also had Hella 550 fog lights on the P/U, they seemed brighter then the headlamps and I used the wiring harness that was included with the fog lights. I then installed the wiring harness upgrade on the headlamps, literally a night and day difference. The Hella ECE's were much brighter.

You are looking at 25 year old wiring that was marginal when it was new. Go with a wiring harness, the one from Black Dragon will work well, and you will be bypassing the old wiring for carrying a big load. The old wires will just be used to supply power to the relay.

For more info go to http://www.danielsternlighting.com/

great info...thanks

Here is a link to a good writeup about lighting.

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...#WiringHarness

One other thing I did to my lights on my P/U, and will do on my 7, is put the following onto my headlamps and fog lights. Much cheaper to replace and keeps the glass from pitting from driving in the winter.

http://www.autoseattle.com/xpel.htm

Won't be driving the 7 in bad weather, but both of the current headlamps have small stars in them. If they were the Hella ECE's that is $40 per side.

I got the lens set with angel eyes!
Ordered it today it will be here about same time next week.
Im gunna see if i like the lights they send me, if not im gunna get a HID kit.

Good advice about the German stuff, but i used that as a example.

Got the Halo's installed first pics
 

http://photos-e.ak.facebook.com/phot...75228_6290.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...75233_7647.jpg
http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/phot...75234_7914.jpg
http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/phot...75238_9012.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/phot...75239_9307.jpg

hey dont suppose you have the part numbers for the Hella H4 lenses???
thanx
the angel eyes look killer!!!!
Id get hassled by the law if I did that :(