I now know why its called a Lupo conversion
Discussion
M@H said:
Nice one 
Mine are sat on the bench right now - so how did ity go, any pointers?
Cheers,
Matt.
Hi Matt, I did quite a bit of research on here and in all preferred the method that 'Roysom' used that involved the fixing of an 8" baking tin to the underside of the wing roof - I did this by taping in place and using expanded foam filler all round - you can then remove all the brakets of the light and push the unit in from the front - this ensures that the torpedo profile of the original light housing is aligned as best it can and was almost perfect light alignment when I tested against my old dip/beam which I had previously marked on the garage door. I did try to retain/use the Lupo fixing lugs but I found it almost impossible to get a good position whilst holding it in place. The baking tin allows you to rest the light in its final place (held by some tape) whilst you pare back the cowls to suit. The beauty of this is that you will have some play in the unit to ensure that the cowl is as tight as it can be. One thing I think you will have to live with is that no matter how much I tried I could not get the cowl to be perfect fit all round - I have a 5mm gap at the top from 11 oclock to 2 oclock - but unless you get on your knees you cant see it, the fit is pretty perfect on the rest of the clock face, which is what people will see. I trimmed the cowls roughly with a dremmel and then just spent time with a sharp file paring back bit by bit until I was happy.Mine are sat on the bench right now - so how did ity go, any pointers?
Cheers,
Matt.
I also ditched the rubber seal on the unit and removed all the old wiring from the new ones and used the old main bulb (H4) Tiv wiring - but I retained the Lupo side light just spliced it into the Tiv loom. I also reatined the back door of the unit but drilled a 30mm hole in it to offer the wiring through - I inted to find a rubber gommit for this to ensure as much watertightness as possible (one of the problems of the old Tiv unit). One thing to remember is that access to adjust the lights from the rear is a little more restricted so you will need to remove the white gogs from the horiz and vert adjusters - this will give you better access for adjustment as the mechanism can then be adjusted simply with a 10mm socket accessed directly from the wheel arch - this access will need to be made on older models and enlarged on the newer models.
Having then got a good alignment of the unit with the cowl I was then able to fix the unit to the bodywork with strong silicon sealer (eg sikaflex) unless you are very accurate with the cutting of the body work, you will not be able to do this all around - I manage from about 9 oclock through to 4 oclock.
When I've made the access from the wheel arch slightly bigger to gain access I will fill the gap between the baking tin and the unit - this will really make it solid. Just for added security I also fixed an aluminium bracket to support the front of the light at 6oclock. I'll post pictures later.
Hope that helps.
kslett said:
Very nice work. Look as good as mine, and I paid Carizma for the pleasure!
Yes, but I've spent far more time and care on my car thant they will ever be able to. If you take some time, get the right tools and do your research there is no reason why anyone cannot do this modification. Slowly slowly catch a monkey! Tx for the compliment.
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff