87 4ks

Well, with a bunch of head scratching and fiddling around, I have finally got my lights mounted. The brackets and buckets are '79(?) VW Dasher pieces that I moved the tabs around on and made my own tabs to pick up the Audi factory light mounting points. The brackets are set back from the grill, not flush with it. I also wanted the headlights out to the corners of the car, kinda like my old '77 Audi Fox. I did want to keep the marker lights, though. I tried to see what other model lights would fit between the new brackets and the fender. Some old Jetta ones I had were skinny enough, but not not the right shape. So I thought, hmm, I could section the facory marker light to make it narrower. I then proceeded to cut apart a spare light with a dremel, taking a 1" slice out of it. That went ok, except I didn't like the way the two remaining outer pieces were going to fit together. So I went to the hobby store and got some plastic sheet and made my own inside panels for the cut-down lights. The bulb holder was no longer present, so I modified the tiny marker lights off the rear of my Jetta parts car and glued them in place. I ended up cutting off over 2" of the factory marker light. I then made some brackets to attach the lights to the VW brackets using the mounting points that were already there. To cover the lights, I used some Wade brand clear light covers that have been cut down, filed, sanded, heat-gunned and bent and twisted into shape to fit the curve of the marker light. I couldn't find any black plastic so any white plastic or brackets you see will be painted black before final reassembly. I will take pictures of the modded marker lights when I take them off for painting.

For now, I just have some plain ol' DOT Sylvania bulbs in place. Even they are better than the factory lighting. Eventually I want to have an H4/H1 combo. I just wonder how the covers would react to the heat of high powered bulbs.

Anyway, at least I'll have one of the things I want to have done finished before going to Carlisle.

Now for the pics.

Here are the modified brackets. The inside lower tab (lower right in the picture) did not have to be moved. It fit right on to the stock mounting point. I drilled out the spot welds and moved the outer lower bracket to line up with the other stock mounting point and welded it in place. I also removed the upper tabs by drilling out the welds. I bent up some new upper tabs that go to the stock mounting points and welded them in place.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/headlight_bracket.jpg">

Here are the narrowed marker lights showing the Jetta bulb housings and plugs. I made a new hole in the light housing and just glued the Jetta housing on. The bracket is some aluminum angle I had laying around. It is bolted onto the new plastic side piece.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/marker_light_1.jpg">

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/marker_light_2.jpg">

Here is a shot of the light covers. The one on the right is unmodified and shows where some of the cut lines are. A screw goes through the lower tab and picks up a factory mounting hole. The tab on the top gets bent up and fits through a slot in the upper grille trim piece. Two small sheet metal screws attech this tab to the core support. These are the only additional holes I had to make.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/headlight_covers.jpg">

Shots of the lights installed on the car
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/p3310026.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/p3310024.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/p3310022.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/p3310023.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/p3310027.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/p3310028.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/p3310032.jpg">
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/p3310031.jpg">

And finally, a shot of the completed lights with the plastic pieces and brackets painted black. I also painted some of the cover that extends back.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/68233/front_light_group.jpg">

The last picture also shows the one-piece front turn signal I made. Click the link to check out the write up on that.

87 4ks

I guess I still don't have the knack for posting pictures, I'll keep trying

87 4ks

Got it, forgot my colons

- GT Style -

1 question though, how do you change the marker bulbs now if they're glued in? Any way to do something similar to mount it w/ glueing? Or was that the easiest/best way you found?<ul><li><a href="http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/lights.htm">Also, was Huw's site much help?</a></li></ul>

87 4ks

Just the housings from the Jetta are glued in place. The marker bulbs fit into in sockets that just pull out of the back of the housing. They are a friction fit with a rubber boot over the connections. I wanted to use parts of the front marker lights, which would have let more of the bulb show, but after I modded the first one and went to get the other marker light off my parts car, I found that it had melted! the fronts exposed a little more of the bulb, whereas the back housings kinda shroud the bulb a bit. I had seen the versions on Huw's site, but thought that the lights looked too close together. That's why I wanted to push mine out to the corners. Also, the diameter of the round bulbs is actually slightly greater than the opening of the grill (on my car anyway), that's why I sank them in, so as not to make that so obvious.

Supercoupe

don't know if I'll be done by Carlisle though.

- GT Style -

Ok, gotcha

drewskiUr

I like, looks almost like a E36 bmw

87 4ks

maybe too much which is why I may also make another version by tunneling the lights with some thin-wall pvc pipe and filling in the gaps between the headlights and marker lights with some extra grill pieces.

Max'sCoupeGT

Need a HID kit!