FAQ: Headlamp Lens Modifications (Headlights, Projectors)

Crap that's close! I wonder if that will fit? I like the clear lense.

I wonder if one could make a stencil then plastidip the headlamp lens and make something like this?




LOL His license plate is Booze. Doesn't seem like a smart idea to me, no matter how cool you think your family name is!

wow. Thats fugly.

Gee man,i hope my shit, when all is sed and done, looks better..jus sayin

Haha....

LOL if Mr. Booze somehow manages to come across this thread someday. You guys are awful.

*shrug*

I'm just not a fan of many car modifications on anything that are glaringly obvious they are not factory. Rims should look like they belong on the car and *could* be factory. They should add to the whole look and not dominate it. Your eyes should be drawn to the car as a whole, not be dragged directly to overtly done parts of it. The same for any body work. Look at the Sqrivi front and rear bumper kits. A drastic change, but the Riv could have come from the factory like that. That’s the way to do it. Otherwise you end up with something with the same finesse as a kid's bicycle with crap stuck all over it. (Playing cards in spokes, etc...)

Honestly though, for his car its mostly those headlights.

That was our plan when we did Dave Jr's car. To make all the custom touches look like they were special edition factory original. Hopefully we succeeded.

karma wrote:

I'm just not a fan of many car modifications on anything that are glaringly obvious they are not factory. Rims should look like they belong on the car and *could* be factory. They should add to the whole look and not dominate it. Your eyes should be drawn to the car as a whole, not be dragged directly to overtly done parts of it. The same for any body work. Look at the Sqrivi front and rear bumper kits. A drastic change, but the Riv could have come from the factory like that. That’s the way to do it. Otherwise you end up with something with the same finesse as a kid's bicycle with crap stuck all over it. (Playing cards in spokes, etc...)

Agree 100%. This is what separates the customizer from the designer. Customizer is an artist. His work is a personal expression. Usually custom jobs are one-off and appeal to the artist and a small group of dedicated followers. But most of us will think it's ugly, for reasons Karma sited. The designer is trained to put the audience first, suppressing his personal likes, resulting in a product that has mass appeal, and will sell.

In my experience, customizers tend to combine and alter existing parts (or stock) to create something new, because of limited resources and fabrication methods. Lots of cutting, welding, forming. Since designers make products that sell in high numbers, they get more backing and have more production technology at their disposal (injection molding, metal stamping, casting). That's why a few of us like the Bonne's head lights, but if you tried mass producing them, it would fail. Once in a while a customizer is so good, they achieve mass appeal (eg. Chip Foose), however it's interesting that Foose was trained at Art Center as a designer before achieving his custom fame.

Bah, in support of the booze mobile I'd say having spent years in the market looking to buy a pontiac bonnie or the like I could've easily seen those headlights as a factory design. Compare that to the sqrivi, no way in any universe would Buick ever have released that thing. To me does not at all say subtle or factory original. I applaud its sheer impressive feat and successful resculpting of the car but to take the riv further out of xk8/xk220 territory and make it more Audi TT just doesn't sit right with me personally. Sqrivi extreme. Booze subtle. I dig it. To each his own afterall

There's not a single rounded rectangle shape to be found anywhere on the Bonneville's exterior. Booze's lens is filled with them. Being that headlamps are one of the most important styling elements on the car, there's no way the factory would have done anything like that. They might seem subtle, but to me they are loud because they're so different from the rest of the car.

Sqrivi's bumper mods might seem extreme, but at least they try to update the bumper to modern standards, and they do play off the existing Riv styling. I agree GM wouldnt have styld it that way, but I could see them being produced in limited numbers. They do have enough appeal for that. Biggest problem, because they are custom, is price.

I just got my head lamps retro to 55  watt head lamps.
My problem is when i go from dim to bright or back again it takes 25 seconds for the full power out put of light power . So i am in the very dim light for that long every time i switck
Can any one help me?

Firefighter

Paris, it sounds like you might not be in the right thread. This is about lenses, not the lamps themselves. But I'm intrigued at this Booze guy referred to... looks like the pic of his car that was posted is gone?  

Paris, did you install HID lights? Having both HID highs and lows is, iirc, not recommended on these cars. Here's a link: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t2812p480-write-up-hid-conversion

Paris, looks like you already posted in that thread and got a ton of feedback! Did you see the responses?

It's a matter of personal taste, but I think the stock Riviera lights are quite nice looking and put out great light. They are worlds better than my 95 Roadmaster's lighting.

al_roethlisberger wrote:

It's a matter of personal taste, but I think the stock Riviera lights are quite nice looking and put out great light.  They are worlds better than my 95 Roadmaster's lighting.

I agree, they improve the lighting every few years. I was never a fan of composite lighting - the big rectangles in my old trucks did a great job.

That said, the only improvement I enjoy to these headlights is the silverstar or other whiter bulbs - it makes a big difference on dark wet roads.