Disclaimer- sorry, this post is kind of long, but it's for a new product. I'm not just making one set of these.
Hello all.
I spend a lot of time on this forum, but very rarely make posts. I like to see what people are doing, read up on new ideas and search the archives mostly. I've been a member of this forum since 2003, and yet I've only made 350 or so posts. So before I post this thread, I'd like to introduce myself.
My name is Kurt, I'm 22, and I'm a few credits away from getting my BA in entrepreneurship with a minor in 3d art. I spent a summer working at a super high end body shop, and I'm pretty confident in my bodywork skills. I've done large collision repairs by myself from pulling to paint, and nobody can tell the difference. I figured with my education and experience, an automotive body parts business would be perfect for me. Basically what I'm getting at is that I have the training and experience to do this, and I'm not just BSing everyone with my hoop dreams.
No auto manufacturer uses popups anymore... even the corvette has gone the way of the projector. Most other platforms with popup headlights have a conversion available. Thats because there so many advantages to a projector. There are less moving parts. Popups aren't aerodynamic at night. The light quality can be easily improved in a projector... And in my opinion they look better.
So about 6 months ago, I decided to solve this problem once and for all. I would design and build a popup conversion for the 1st gen 3000gt that is a bolt in, direct replacement unit, lights and all.
Since then, I've done hundreds of hours of research, shaping, getting quotes and estimates and everything you can imagine.
I've got a lot of work to go, but I figured I'd show some of my progress and start to build some hype. That way I'll have a place to post pics when I'm finally done!
So without further rambling, I'm going to post a couple pics and then I'll give you all some details on the product.
Step one for me was to get my idea down on paper so I could really see what it would look like. I took a page out of chip foose's book, except i prefer pencils. In this drawing you'll notice I added a front mount with a bumper cut, euro lenses and no moustache/emblem. The reason I did this is because this is exactly what i'm doing to my own front end.
next up is an early progress pic of the partially shaped unit in the car. I'm much farther along than this now. The piece is fully shaped and I'm just starting to sand it smooth and work out all the little imperfections.
For the lighting itself, I will be using Hella 90mm projectors. These are sealed units, individually adjustable, with a seperate unit for the high and low beams. They are DOT approved, street legal, and used on many high end and racing applications. They take a 65w H9 bulb instead of the 55w bulbs all our 3Ss take. I'm not at the point where I can put them in yet, but based on reviews they are a big upgrade over stock lighting.
I know I dont have the skills or equipment to manufacture these, so the plastic housing will be outsourced to a professional manufacturer. Based on the quotes I've gotten and the cost of the materials, I'm estimating the cost of a ready to bolt in set at $600. This may seem steep, but compare it to other popup conversions, and even the 99headlights from mitsu (other platforms pay $1000+ for simillar products, and some NSX popup conversions even cost in excess of $4,000!) 600 isn't a set price, just a guess. But i would say between 500 and 700 for sure.
So let me know what you think. If you're interested in a set, or have any questions, let me know!
Sorry for the long post, Kurt
My 1g headlight conversion - teaser thread.
Groundcontroll Coilovers. Silver Pro N-1 18" with falken 255-35/18. Veilside frontbumper, Veilside carbonfiber wing and Veilside sideskirt. Ohio spiderman STS, Genuine italien leather shift and e-brake boot.
