Boss 427 Build

[Boydster]

Made the call to Whitby's where I'm having the bodywork and paint done. Got to chat with a guy named Jeff who was really nice and appreciative that I was bringing this work to him.

A quick note about this: I'm a pretty good mechanic. But I also know my limitations and I know where I have patience and where I dont. I love building this car, but I know that I do not have the knowledge, skill or patience to do bodywork. I know that I wont enjoy it, will get in a rush, shortcut it and it will look like crap. Especially after studying threads by the 2 Jeffs, Mr. Robinson and the myriad other threads on the subject. I budgeted the cash to have this done by a pro from the start. I chose Whitby's because of what I've seen come out of their shop and they are only 250 miles from me.

Guess I feel guilty cuz it is a home-built, but a man has to know his limitations.

And I want this car to look good.

So I'm taking all the fiberglass and the scoop down to Greensboro next week. Figured I had a few things to fit up before taking it down there, so put aside the Go-Kart and tried to get some work done outside.

First up was the headlights, which I could also work on inside. I'm installing Watson's LED lights in the F5 buckets. Of course I ref'd to Edwardb's build where he used these same lights.
One thing is the lights have been updated. They now use a Hella reflector / lens assembly and have made the plug / driver / led assembly all one piece. This part tossed me for a loop because I was going to have to drill a hole in the bucket big enough for the driver or the LED to fit through. Watson's says you can mount the driver inside the bucket, but I dont really see the room for it and there's no space flat enough.



I thought about trying to unsolder or otherwise unattach the wires inside the LED driver box. Then I could run the wires through the bucket and reattach. Opening up the driver box I found they are very well sealed up and there's no chance of doing it that way. Not too worried about water intrusion here.



My answer was to cut a slit in the bucket from the front edge back to where I wanted the cord to go through. At that point, I drilled a hole only large enough for the grommet to hold / protect the cable between the driver and the LED. I can slide the cable back through the slit and pop in the grommet. Once the bucket is screwed into place, that holds the front of the slit together. I may use some plastic weld or maybe some weather proof rubber tape to seal up the slit, but I put both the slit and the hole on the bottom of the bucket, so I dont think anything will go in that way. I didnt use the factory supplied hole because thats towards the top of the bucket, and the cord from the LED comes out of the bottom.



OK, next step was fitting the new reflector / lens assembly to the F5 bucket. Everything was going very well, right along with the F5 Assembly manual. Next morning I got up and found 3 broken clips sitting on the table. I really didnt clamp down on them, realizing they weren't of the highest quality.



So of course something else had to be done.
After posting on the forum about these clips, I believe it was Mr Everson suggested silicone. Hmmm... with the F5 setup, you're using a sealed lamp unit that needs to be replaced if it quits working. With this setup, you only replace the lamp (LED unit) and the reflector / lens stays in place. Only reason to ever replace the lens is if it gets broken, and while possible, how often do we really see that. Eureka.

I used some all weather, all temp silicone adhesive. After insuring the lamp was correctly oriented in the adjustment ring, I glued that baby together. I made some .040 aluminum pieces and used #6 screws & nuts to bolt in where the broken clips an self tapping screws went. This not only helped hold it together while it cured, but works well as a backup should the lens ever come loose. I dont really think it will... this thing is solid.



One downside to this is you dont have the clips to properly orient the lens. Be very careful doing it this way. If you're off by even a bit, the headlight will be crooked on the car.

Dont have a pic, but once cured it all went together very nicely. I havent mounted the driver yet, but will most likely use the same kind of idea as Edwardb... to mount it on a plate on the back of the bucket. Then the 3 prong plug will go right into the harness.