[Cloud9...68]

Here's one I'm sure has never been asked before - could someone please place a straight edge across the surface of one of their headlights, and measure the distance between the headlight glass at the edge, and the bottom of the straight edge? I think it's in the neighborhood of 3/8" to 1/2". I'm going to take a crack at creating my own lexan covers for my fixed headlight conversion, and I'd like to curve them to match the curvature of the original headlights. I've seen plenty of conversions which used flat lexan covers, and this approach looks very crude and home-made to me. Thanks.



Also, I'm open to any suggestions as to how to do this. My plan is to make a "frame" that exactly matches the outer edge of the cover (minus the width of the frame, which will be about 1/2"), attach this frame to a piece of plywood, place the cover on the frame, place a weight in the center of the cover, and place the assembly in the oven at a temperature where lexan (polycarbonate, actually) will soften, until it sags to a depth that roughly matches the radius of curvature of the headlight. I did a trial run of this awhile back, and while it turned out suprisingly well for a first try, I discovered that the lexan cover follows every imperfection in the frame that it's resting on during the softening/sagging process. So, I'm not sure how I will be able to build a frame that's "perfect" enough to not have any imperfections transfer into the lexan.

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[Inkedupfatboy]

What if you used an original headlight lens as a mold - would the heat crack it?

Or you could put an original headlight into a vacuform machine and make a mold and then use some sort of material to make a positive.



I would be happy to help but my car is in the transmission shop an hour away.

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[Cloud9...68]

Thanks, but the problem with the original headlights is that they have a pronounced "dimple" (or maybe two - I can't remember) which would have to be ground off. The other problem is that I sold my original headlights, so I don't have them anymore. So, I need to figure out how to make a mold that approximates the shape of the original headlights, is free of imperfections that will translate to the lexan, and can take ~250 degrees. No wonder most people who've done these conversions leave them flat!

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[flash]

lol - their conversions leave me flat

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[tamathumper]

Find an old, cracked headlamp, spray it with release agent, and push it face-down into a bunch of Sugru, thick plaster or thin concrete? That should give you a negative mold that would last through a few attempts?

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='tamathumper' timestamp='1371810078' post='144677']

Find an old, cracked headlamp, spray it with release agent, and push it face-down into a bunch of Sugru, thick plaster or thin concrete? That should give you a negative mold that would last through a few attempts?

[/quote]

That sounds like a good plan. So, anybody have an old, cracked headlamp they don't need...?

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[Cloud9...68]

So, anybody willing to measure the curvature of their headlights? Please take the measurement along the length of the car, and the curvature should be greater in this direction.



A guy at work gave me a suggestion for how to curve the lexan pieces that I think should work. Thanks.

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[tamathumper]

OK, using an adjustable square of sorts, I measure 15/16" of curvature across 8 1/2". I put the lower end of the square against the bottom of the headlight lens, and measured at a 90-degree angle from it down to the lens at the 8 1/2" mark, which basically covers most if not all of the lens.



I have XPel on my headlights, but I don't believe that affected the measurement.

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[Cloud9...68]

Thanks! That's more than I had most recently thought, but now that you mention it, I seem to remember measuring closer to 1" than 1/2". My goal is to take the "flatness" out of the covers, and come reasonably close to the curvature of the original headlights. I saw this on a 968 race car, and thought it made a world of difference in the appearance.

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[tamathumper]

You're very welcome. If I didn't measure it the way you needed, just let me know. It seemed the only way to do it at the time.

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