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 How to modify the headlight for continental usage? (currently 989 views) |
| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009, 9:23:48am |
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I hope i will have the time next weekend to get my headlights out and see if i can manage it without opening the lamp too  Is the material in there thick enough to drill a blind hole or do you have to drill thru? |
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Reply: 40 - 66 |
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| zygi |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009, 12:22:14pm |
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Reply: 41 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009, 1:03:48pm |
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| That looks good! Great idea to use a piece of a spray can, so you already have the round shape So you used the 'open-the-headlight'-method, right? Was it hard to separate the shells? |
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Reply: 42 - 66 |
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| Cappo |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009, 1:51:09pm |
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Try to get hold of some projector lamps from an LHD S14 Nissan 200SX / Silvia, as I think these are the same as R32 Skyline projecotrs which are the same as Cappuccino projectors.
R32 Owners in the US use S14 LHD lamp parts to make LHD R32 headlamps. Could be worth a look?
Andy |
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Reply: 43 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009, 2:22:56pm |
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| Good hint! Just checked them, it has to be the headlight from the S14a, the past-facelift version after 1996. They're quite expensive tho. |
Last modified Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009, 2:46:54pm by ol@fson |
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Reply: 44 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009, 3:55:31pm |
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Zygi, well done. Basically you did the same thing than me, only that I would like to achieve it _without_ opening the headlight at all...
Ol@fson, a blind hole probably won't be achievable. But I don't think it does matter: once the screw is in, blind it will be again!  |
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Reply: 45 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009, 4:27:31pm |
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| True Was just curious. |
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Reply: 46 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 10th, 2009, 1:51:51pm |
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| Small update: received the missing tools and the raw material I missed. Hopefully I can go on with this experiment soon. |
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Reply: 47 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Saturday, November 14th, 2009, 8:43:17pm |
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Hello!
I worked further on this mod today, and I must say that.. It worked! I was able to drill, then thread 2 holes inside the headlight, without opening it. Eg, all the work was done through the bulb opening, on the back.
Here is how it looks like from behind, after drilling/threading:
To make sure the beam has the correct shape, I made comparative pictures. They are not very good quality, but show what has to be seen.
Here is how the beam looks like with no modifications (well, apart the holes, which could be easily blocked by simply inserting a screw in them):
Now, here is how the beam looks like with my added part mounted in place. One can see that the beam shape is perfectly symmetrical with the unmodified one above.
Here is how the added light-guide looks like:
Now, one thing is not perfect, it is the lateral alignment. But it will be easily fixed by simply making another light guide, which will mount a few mm more to the left. I already made 4 of them to get this result, so one more or one less...
What do you think of this all?
Py |
Last modified Saturday, November 14th, 2009, 8:44:12pm by Py |
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Reply: 48 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Monday, November 16th, 2009, 11:58:19pm |
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| That looks great Very well done! |
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Reply: 49 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 17th, 2009, 9:03:05am |
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Thanks, ol@fson!
One headlight (nearly) done, 3 to go. Yes, I was looking for one cappuccino for more than one year, and ended up buying two of them, 2 weeks apart. One red and one silver... |
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Reply: 50 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Thursday, November 19th, 2009, 12:24:44am |
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Congratulations!
BTW, you said you live close the border, did you ever see this Cappo?
Sounds interesting. |
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Reply: 51 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Thursday, November 19th, 2009, 11:11:38am |
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Thanks!
No, never seen it. A little bit too "flashy" for my personal taste. I much prefer a stock-looking car, with "invisible" tuning made to enhance performance. I find it really fun to be faster starting at the red lights than some wannabe boy-racer while driving some odd looking car. Well, the cappuccino is not odd looking at all, but you get the idea
Py |
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Reply: 52 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Thursday, November 19th, 2009, 9:40:40pm |
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| Yeah i know what you mean, i don't like the colour either but it's 1999er with a very low mileage |
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Reply: 53 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Friday, November 20th, 2009, 9:58:43am |
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According to wikipedia:
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Production of the Cappuccino ceased in late 1997 as the Kosai factory was gearing up for another Suzuki vehicle, and sales came to an end in 1998.
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So I'm somewhat curious about that "1999" claim... 1999 import?
71k km are 44k miles. One of mine (the red one) passed the 50k mark while I was driving it home The silver one passed the 68k mark in the same circumstances.
Py |
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Reply: 54 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Friday, November 20th, 2009, 11:20:16am |
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| 1999 is a bit late indeed .. maybe it just stood in a dealer's showroom for a while. It might be a direct import from Japan. Well anyway, could be worth a look - maybe it's just crap. I live too far from there for "just having a look" unfortunately |
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Reply: 55 - 66 |
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| berengun |
| Posted on: Friday, November 20th, 2009, 6:23:48pm |
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in Belgium, you can only import the '94/'95 models, due to the strict regulations anyway 
You've done a great job with the headlights!! I am very hapy someone did it for me. In case you get tired of doing the other 3 headlamps, the modified set is for sale at Dour Automobiles where I bought my Cappuccino (he does the mods himself) for 180euros per set (as he told me 2weeks ago). I thought this was a reasonable price? He needs your old headlamps as a parts exchange.
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Reply: 56 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Saturday, November 21st, 2009, 1:13:02am |
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Thanks for your appreciation of my work I spent a few hours figuring out the best way to perform this work, but now I did it once and acquired the tooling required, it is much more straightforward. So the next 3 definitely won't be as painful. Didn't know there was somebody offering this kind of service in Belgium, however.
It is not true that only 94/95 models can be imported in Belgium. All models can get registered in Belgium (even Japanese imports), using what they call "approval on an individual basis" ("homologation à tire individuel" in french). Basically it means a deeper test, and more time and money for the paperworks and this all (about 2 months and 350¤).
So nothing impossible at all, but more annoyance just for a piece of paper... |
Last modified Saturday, November 21st, 2009, 1:14:21am by Py |
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Reply: 57 - 66 |
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| berengun |
| Posted on: Saturday, November 21st, 2009, 11:27:36am |
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| oh, that is good to know! I have some friends with Caterhams and they have the same problem. You can import them, but some of them had to wait for 9 !!! months before all the paperwork was finished. Must be hell if you buy a car and if you can't drive it for 9 months! |
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Reply: 58 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 24th, 2009, 8:10:24pm |
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After Suzuki Germany didn't want to give me a CoC i contacted Suzuki England to see if they can help me. I got a document from them which says:
Certificates of Conformity (CoC) - AUTOMOBILE
CoCs were a legal requirement for new motor vehicles from 1998, the CoCs have 51 numbered lines and are generally not available for any motor vehicles built before early 1998.
The DVLA will not accept any vehicle to be registered after 1998 without a certificate of conformity.
So it seems as there's no chance to get a CoC at all for most of our Cappos. |
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Reply: 59 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 24th, 2009, 10:56:16pm |
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Hum, really strange. I have a written confirmation from Suzuki Belgium that they can provide me a CoC for one particular cappo I planned to buy (but didn't at the end)... Still waiting for mine however.
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Reply: 60 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Tuesday, November 24th, 2009, 11:03:05pm |
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Just thought of this: if I finally can get the proper document, you could go with a copy of it and ask German authorities if it is what they need. If it is, we maybe might organize something to get the paperworks in Belgium first, before registering the car in Germany?
If something can be done this way, I'll be glad to assist and get the paperworks for your here in Belgium.
But there are quite a lot of (well, you see what I mean) of imported cappo on German roads, so there definitely should be a way to get it done. Another paperworks-induce headache!
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Reply: 61 - 66 |
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| ol@fson |
| Posted on: Thursday, December 3rd, 2009, 10:06:36pm |
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| Thank you for that offer. I will be very happy for any support i can get! I just called my Suzuki Dealer today and told him to get hold of that "Certificate of Construction". It will be car-specific, he needs the buyer's contract and the VIN for it, so i hope it will be kind of "official" enough to help with TÜV. I will post a copy as soon as i have it, which will probably end of next week. |
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Reply: 62 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Thursday, December 3rd, 2009, 11:43:14pm |
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Still waiting for mine... Called the Suzuki dealer to ensure there wasn't another stupid problem, he told me nothing was wrong so far, and I'll get it as soon as he receives it back from Japan...
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Reply: 63 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Thursday, January 21st, 2010, 3:44:06pm |
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Finally got a call from the Suzuki guy: he got the CoC for my car in today morning's mail! Now I just have to go, pay and get it!
Hopefully I'll find a way to get there in the upcoming days, because I broke my shoulder 2 weeks ago while skiing, and as such am not able to drive anymore, for the next few weeks |
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Reply: 64 - 66 |
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| Py |
| Posted on: Wednesday, June 9th, 2010, 11:22:46am |
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OK, I'm undigging this thread just to let you know that my red Cappuccino passed it's "Belgian MOT" yesterday with flying colors!
I didn't mention anything about having touched the lights to the guy in charge of the check, and here is what he told me:
"Your lights are spot on, and the ray of light's shape is perfect. It's great because with right-hand drive cars we usually get a lot of trouble, but here, there's nothing to complain about, it's just perfect!"
Of course it was a pleasure and a relief to hear such a praise . FYI regarding the adjustments after the mod, I just carefully followed the instructions in the service manual (10m from a wall, etc), and it seems it was good enough. So no need to pay garage for this.
Conclusion is, I have figured out a way to modify the headlights for continental usage unobtrusively, and without opening them at all (everything is done through the bulb's hole, as explained earlier). So I can keep the factory default condition and look of my headlights, and even better, the mod is quite easily reversible if it ever needs to be cancelled. I'm happy
The car is now registered, all I have to do is just drive it! And obvisouly it's heavily raining right now... |
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Reply: 65 - 66 |
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| Ricou |
| Posted on: Wednesday, June 9th, 2010, 1:31:39pm |
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Good job !
And you could take advantage of the rain to learn how to drift your Cappu (if you don't already know), it's fun & useful  |
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Reply: 66 - 66 |
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