BruceTF135

Holy thread revival, Batman!

How did this thread on wheel changing get resurrected from over 7 years ago?

I am also curious about this. I fitted a new hood to my car some time ago and, despite fitting it on the original frame, it doesn't fit very well over the left-hand window. I never figured it out, but I have wondered whether adjusting the tension on the wire on that side would help.

I've never been over concerned as the car rests in the garage and I try to avoid using it in the rain.

Well, I did burn my fingers a bit on the hot, molten rubber. Does that count?

Notanumber wrote:

They look brilliant and Im starting to be convinced about the halo lights too. How hazardous was it separating the headlight clear front cover from the rest of the headlight ?

I'm not going to pretend it was a simple job but it wasn't that difficult and, unlike most jobs, it didn't involve any bloodshed.

The original howto by Sundance can be found here.

• To remove the headlights, you need to remove the front bumper.
• Splitting the headlights, although straightforward in principle, wasn't that easy. I had to put them in the oven several times in order to separate the two halves completely.
• Making a neat job of installing the halos onto the chrome lens surrounds is fiddly.
• Reassembly of the headlights requires working with some thick, sticky mastic and more oven action.
• You'll need to run 12v from the fusebox to the front of the car and then tap into the indicator and side lights.
• Connecting to the indicator wiring was awkward. I didn't want to use Scotchlocks but it would have been a lot easier if I had. In the end, I used 'Y' shaped bullet crimps.

It's not actually that hard if you take your time, I bought a pair of 2nd hand headlights to work on at my leisure. It was 3 years ago. It probably took me a couple of weekends. You can sell your old headlights later.

It was worth it because now they look cool. From a few meters, they look like they were designed that way but close examination reveals what has been done.

You can always PM me if you want any further hand-holding, although I'm no expert!I

Halos from Amazon
The butyl rubber sealant was like this.
Y 1 female to 2 male crimps here.

MGB281 wrote:

No video but a couple of photos. Went straight through the MOT with no problems. In Roger Parker’s book he says that all TF’s predate the legislation and you can do what you like with them. I had the auto dimming controllers but lost the amber indicators so they are as in the photos.
Since 22/03/2022 fitting LED bulbs in pre 01/04/1986 cars is legal, after that not so. As time goes by LED bulbs are being developed that work well in halogen light fittings, a MOT tester probably would pass them if the beam is okay.
These were taken when it was brightening up after rain, they are very obvious even on a very sunny day, at night they are not stupidly bright.

That's exactly what I did with the identical result. But these pictures show it much better.

Notanumber wrote:

I saw the interesting article about the halo lights but have you replaced the Tf's standard halogen headlight bulbs with LEDs ?

No. My understanding is that they would not be legal but, if I remember, I'll ask my MOT guy next time. TBH, the headlights on the TF don't seem too bad but I am using Nightbreakers.

Here's the video. Unfortunately, the halos flashing orange doesn't really show in the video but they are perfectly clear in reality. Blame the uploader!

Thanks to Bertl for the advice on including a video.

Regarding the halo lights in the TF. There are a few references to this modification on The-T-Bar (Sundance wrote a howto, I think). I fitted them to my 2004 TF a couple of years ago. I discussed it all with my MOT tester before starting work and he seemed perfectly happy. I also incorporated the switchback indicators. I bought a DRL controller and fitted it. It dimmed the DRLs nicely but then the indicator switchback wouldn't work. I removed the controller and now my DRLs do not dim but the indicators work perfectly again. When the MOT guy saw the car he was quite enthusiastic. His attitude has been basically along the lines of 'you need white lights at the front, red lights at the back, and orange indicators' and 'in any case, the car predates the DRL regs'. I have to say that the white halos I bought from Amazon aren't so bright that they are ever going to dazzle anybody, even at night. I've never attached a video before, so it may not work, but this is what they look like in bright sunlight. They look better than the video!

The video won't upload. Could someone PM me to explain how I upload a video, please?