Headlight covers

[keith-vznby]

I have seen a number of cars with what looks like Etype light covers are they aftermarket would like the conversion cheers Keith

[ChimpOnGas]

Do you mean like this?

[BeastMaster]

Hi Dave - that looks great, having mine repainted and wish to do the same headlight mod.

Want to fit myself from a kit, yours look like the true mk3 version with larger lights etc. which is what I'm after.

Can I ask where you had this done, and if they provide DIY parts?

Many thanks

Andy

[N7GTX]

Steve Edwards from Halifax does the kits. He also does a DIY video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_F2pyk5u4M

[ChimpOnGas]

BeastMaster said:

Hi Dave - that looks great, having mine repainted and wish to do the same headlight mod.

Want to fit myself from a kit, yours look like the true mk3 version with larger lights etc. which is what I'm after.

Can I ask where you had this done, and if they provide DIY parts?

Many thanks

Andy

Surface & Design did it for me, first class job but not really DIY although I believe you can buy a kit here.

http://www.damagedtvrs.co.uk/

The conversion uses genuine Hella branded Mk1 Golf headlights like these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-MK1-Golf-Genuine-OEM-...

They're a quality unit that uses an H4 bulb but hardly the last word in headlight technology, but you can give them a whole new level of power by using modern uprated bulbs.

I took in one step further by fitting the new breed of LED H4 bulb replacement units which are devastatingly bright, they do however have one slight flaw that means you can either adjust them for the perfect dip beam alignment which ends up putting the main beams a little high, or get the main beams perfect to find on dip you don't quite get the full reach & spread light they are ultimately capable of.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I've adjusted mine so the main beams are perfect and am currently fitting a set of tiny but powerful Ring Micro Cruise Lights to fill in the areas the super bright LED H4 units dont cover on dip.

http://www.ringautomotive.co.uk/uk/products/Cars/A...

These lights use H3's which I've further upgraded to Osram Night Breaker Unlimited bulbs

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-OSRAM-H3-NIGHT-BREAK...

The package is meant to look discrete, the Micro Cruise Lights are set in the lower grill aperture in the tiny spaces either side on the number plate making them virtually invisible to a casual observer. The car looks very Mk3 Chimaera standard but offers the kind of headlight performance Chimaera owners have only dreamed of until now.

If you want to take it one step further ditch the Hella Mk1 Golf headlight units for a set of JW Speaker 8700 Evo2 7" units, apparently these are the Mutt's Nuts but at £600 a pair you've got to really want the best headlights in the world.

Personally I think my mix of two 4,000 lumen LED H4s and two Ring Micro Cruise Lights with uprated H3 bulbs will be fine, lets face it this setup will be shining the best part of 10,000 lumens down the road which is about 10 times what a set of original corroded reflector Chimaera headlights can muster up at best.

If you excuse the punn the comparison really is like night and day, what I have now on my Chimaera looks stock but rivals or betters the best modern car headlight performance out there

[Andav469]

BeastMaster said:

Hi Dave - that looks great, having mine repainted and wish to do the same headlight mod.

Want to fit myself from a kit, yours look like the true mk3 version with larger lights etc. which is what I'm after.

Can I ask where you had this done, and if they provide DIY parts?

Many thanks

Andy

I had mine done by Central TVR, they also sell the parts as a kit.

http://www.centraltvr.com/product/chimaera-mk3-hea...

[BeastMaster]

Thanks Dave, huge amount of information for me. Have had a quote from S & D for repainting and fitting mk3 lights, heard a lot of great things about them but just too expensive.

My car cosmetically is getting tired, now 21 years old and just on the point of maybe looking a bit dog when up close, needing hood, carpets, dash and paint but wanting to keep a very tight rein on costs otherwise it does not make sense keeping it.

Think I'm going to go with the mk3 lights as standard Golf units, replaced the standard reflectors around 7 years ago and now have a broken lens. The cost of replacing again goes a long way towards mk3 lights. Did not think about cruise lights, think I will look at these but only as you say can be hidden away, but I have the mk1 grill to consider.

Hoping to repaint, mk3 lights, carpets, dash and hood for £4k (a lot of dosh for a car worth 10K ) with doing a lot of the work myself except the painting of course, but can save some money by taking as much off the car as possible and refitting after paint.

The car has been very well looked after, I'm the second owner so leather is still very good, may swap seats over to get equal wear. On around 80k now 50k with me, did consider selling, adding some money and moving on, but just could not find anything this side of £30k which would replace it.

Thanks for the info Dave

Andy

[BeastMaster]

N7GTX said:

Steve Edwards from Halifax does the kits. He also does a DIY video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_F2pyk5u4M

Thank Iain, did look at this but want to change to the larger sealed unit headlights at the same time. Also want to keep as original as possible and although this mod is a good option thought the black surround looked a bit after market.

Andy

[ChimpOnGas]

BeastMaster said:

Hoping to repaint, mk3 lights, carpets, dash and hood for £4k (a lot of dosh for a car worth 10K )

Andy, here's the thing...

You love the car, now ask yourself this question....

"What else can I buy for my Chimaera's market value plus £4k?"

I'll help you answer that question... "Nothing that even comes close!"

It's your car and you clearly have lot of history with it, spend a few quid on it and don't get too hung up on getting every penny of your money back.

This is the philosophy I take, I'm not a car dealer so the only return on investment I'm concerned with is how much additional pleasure the the car returns to me for the money I spend on it.

When you add that to the answer of "what else are you going to buy for it's market value plus £4k?" question, it really helps justify what money you might be putting into your TVR over the next few years.

When I'm hitting the apex on a winding French country road in convoy with my mates on the way to the Le Mans Classic I'm not thinking about what I've spent on the car, I'm grinning like a loon and giving thanks to to the day I decided to buy my Chimaera.

Hopefully all food for thought

[BeastMaster]

Hi Dave - you are so right, already come to that conclusion. Going to let the beast go at a drop down (trade in ) price and add considerably more than 4K to move on, but you know when it came down to it I realised I would be bored in a short time.

The realisation was when my wife sold her pride and joy of 12 years due to Italian electrics dampening her enthusiasm, and bought a well known German replacement. And what a drivers car it is, does everything you ever hoped it would and totally gob smacks with ability and control.

I would miss the TVR experience and it would leave a big hole in my driving pleasure - seat of pants driving, the positive attention received, making grown men grin, small boys wave and old women jump into the air - priceless

Am very lucky to have a equally petrol head wife who understands, and blessed with DIY capability, otherwise would probably be divorced, bankrupt and half mad.

So thanks Dave and roll on the summer