I am a big fan of hide away headlights and have them on my 73 Vette, 87 Trans Am and 86 Trans Am. In all those instances, the headlights are fully hidden. I am not a big fan of the "lazy eye" half covered head light covers on the Sunbirds. I made these head light cover extensions out of 1" foil covered Styrofoam insulation for mock up. I painted them black because it compliments the bumper strip and because my front bumper area will be silver and dark blue when finished. I actually think I will make the cover extensions out of a neat metal grill mesh that has tiny round holes drilled into it that are very close together making up the metal mesh. I this might look like a duct cover and compliment the same mesh item I want to make to fill in the long rectangular opening below the protruding bumper bar area which I hope will be flanked by GT fog lights. With that in mind, I had hoped to create a phantom factory look and pieces that they forgot to make.
Looking for thoughts, comments and suggestions.
Front view
Off to side view
Off to side view without headlight cover extensions which is the current factory design
Hard for me to say, I always liked the look of the partially hidden headlights; but always wondered why they didn't hide them all the way.
Wayne I suspect that Pontiac went with half covered headlights first out of safety and convenience for the driver when the head light motors fail to open. That way at least some light will be shined onto the driving area ahead which didn't require the lazy or ignorant owner from spinning them open by hand and disconnecting the motor wiring circuit. Also because I think the look kinda of parallels that of their cousin, the Firebird / Trans Am. Even though my 87 Trans Am headlights are fully covered and shine back into the bumper when closed, the covers have a black plastic "step" to the them in the front which is similar to the T/A's. The way they are now, is also half like their predacesor's like Orlens which are not covered, so the "in between" option seems to catch all those reasons.
Thanks for you opinion.
I think it would look better if it were covered. My only concern would be would the lid open far enough with that extra chunk not to block any of the light beam?
I say go for it. But I always like to have an original kept as a spare if you ever want to go back to the stock look.
looks neat. I will have to dust off the covers I made for mine back in the day
She is Your "Canvass" Bill!! Enjoy your creativity! This is something I haven't seen before - will enjoy the example if you do the modification.
I got a feeling this is going to be one of those cars you are never quite going to completely finish - always trying some new and fresh. A drawing pad of sorts?
This was a car destined for the scrap pile - now it is getting a Huge dose of attention!! So I am enjoying the play by play!
.
Ahhh some really good concerns and thoughts.
I too have wondered if the longer covers would come fully open and have not gotten that far in the R&D to know, but an issue on my mind. I was hoping the mesh cover would allow enough light to pass through it that would make the blockage nearly unnoticeable or enough to hinder safe night driving.
I think I can just bolt on the extensions to an existing mounts on the underside of the OEM cover so as not to alter the factory part. I will not go that route, though I am fortunate to have a spare pair from my GT parts car.
I am curios to see how your covers looked Paul and know how you mounted them since I didn't think your car had the hidden headlight front end, though I could be mistaken. My cousin put plexiglass tinted covers over his 84 Camaro openings in the bumper years ago. I think we had to put sheet metal screws into bumper cover to the upside down "L" brackets on. Then the covers were held onto the brackets with Velcro for easy removal since they were illegal to run in this state.
Actually Orlen, once this car is done....it's pretty much done because then its on to other projects which I hope to I put the same full attention of design into and think that was the best I could come up with while building it. If I continue to tinker with one particular car too much, the other half completed projects will never get finished and I really do have some neat old stuff that most of the folks who know me can't believe I am not working on. They shake their heads in disbelief that I chose a Jbody to work on instead of.... But I know the powerful draw a jbody has, and a droptop with my preferred passenger by my side is one that is hard to shake when the trip calls for a car with modern comforts which most of those neat old cars do not have. I love my project roadster and touring car hot rods, but the lack of roll up windows and heaters just don't make them a preferable option to Momma like a j body drop top does. And we all know...."if Momma ain't happy, then no one is happy!" I may be the king of the garage, but she rules ALL the land and house I reside in...LOL
Not that I have any experience with headlight doors, but would the extra weight of what you put on be a strain on the motor/gears?
I've heard all the plastic gears GM used in the 80s were the same, and you may want to check into a Fiero site for a metal replacement.
A few years ago, I read about some guy that started some sort of Fiero warehouse, and that's where I found out about the metal replacement gears.
If my memory serves me correctly, the worm gear was metal, but I think your right that the large drive gear was plastic. The design is so the engaging pills break down or the large plastic gear will wear out before the motor is burned up from being jammed. Those are pretty powerful little motors. The weight of the covers I am considering making is not going to be concerning factor. They will be very light in weight and barely add to the overall strain on the motor. But you are thinking and appreciate your concern and thoughts.
One item I am curious about though is the force that might be put of the entire covers when in the upright position while traveling 65+MPH Will the drag caused the air coming off the front end try to rip them off the car since those are some wide and high hanging covers when open. That might also be another reason why Pontiac went with the half covers.
My 1980's vintage NASCAR Bird...
Back when Dale Sr. drove the Wrangler car...
Yeah Paul....that's a very cool look. I dig it. Thanks for sharing!
.