I'm doing work.

[JettaGetUpandGo]

Hi. I'm Brian. Welcome to my thread. I'm the original owner of this highly modified stock looking GLI. Some say that's the definition of OEM+. Call it what you want. It's mine and I love it (most of the time).

Car: 2005 GLI | PG | 6-speed | 71,000 miles

Engine:
GIAC X+ ECU flash
Shaved stock airbox with GHL extension tube
Samco turbo inlet pipe
Eurojet throttle body hose
Eurojet Street FMIC
APR R1 diverter valve
Gruvenparts power steering pulley
Fluidampr crank pulley
VF Engineering motor mounts
Color matched engine covers
MKVI Coilpack harness cover
JCaps power steering, coolant, washer fluid, oil and dipstick caps
OEM polished hood strut

Transmission:
Neuspeed 6 speed short shift
42 Draft Designs solid shifter bushings
Verdict Motorsports solid cable bracket bushings
USP Motorsports stainless clutch line

Exhaust:
APR 2.5" turboback with 4" Magnaflow tip
42 Draft Designs O2 sensor spacer

Brakes:
OEM R32 front brakes
Hawk HPS pads
Tyrolsport solid guide pin bushings
USP Motorsports stainless brake lines

Suspension:
KW Variant 2 coilovers
H2Sport sport spindles
H2Sport sway bar endlinks
Polo upper strut mounts
TT control arm bushings
Neuspeed 28mm rear sway bar
Neuspeed front upper strut bar
Neuspeed front lower tie bar
Unibrace rear chassis brace
Masontech Great Plates

Wheels:
19x8" ET50 BBS CH's (5x112)
...H&R 20mm front / 25mm rear adapters
...OEM Audi gray lug bolt covers

Tires:
225/35/19 Hankook Ventus V12

Exterior:
OEM stubby mirrors
...Chromed caps
...Skoda puddle lights
OEM Aero wiper arms and blades
OEM Sharan stubby antenna
35% Llumar window tint
Painted red front and rear tow hooks

Lighting:
Custom retrofitted headlights
...OEM GLI headlights
...FX-R projectors
...E55-R shrouds
...Morimoto 5000K bulbs
...Matsush!ta gen 4 ballasts
...Dual clear turn signal lenses
......Top: amber LED turn signal
......Bottom: white LED city light
...Chrome headlight surround
...OEM lexan headlight covers
Hella Micro DE fog lights
...PIAA Ion Yellow fog light bulbs
eBay OEM pattern clear sidemarkers
OEM Euro R/R/R/C tail lights
...Internal amber turn signal reflector removed
...OEM rear fog light
...White LED reverse bulbs
42 Draft Designs white license plate LEDs

Interior:
OEM full leather R32 seats
...JCaps knob covers and release handle
...rear center seat belt and headrest delete
...rear locking Jetta handles
OEM black leather door card inserts
OEM R32 steering wheel
OEM R32 pedals and dead pedal
OEM R32 e-brake boot
OEM R32 shift boot
OEM BMW E92 sport short shift knob
Black alcantara parcel shelf and sunroof motor cover
Custom brushed aluminum coin slot cover and seat belt slider plates
42 Draft Designs / VLEDs white interior LEDs
Shaved OEM sunglass holder
OEM FIS Euro R32 gauge cluster
OEM Euro interior monitoring system
OEM W8 console
OEM Subaru auto dimming rear view mirror with hidden compass display
OEM lighted Jetta vents
OEM Funk switch plate for ESP
OEM SEAT Arosa Euro switch
OEM SEAT Arosa HVAC controls
Second OBDII port mounted in radio cage in OEM Euro location
OEM climate controlled glove box
OEM Euro lower dash panel
LED trunk light strips
OEM polished trunk struts
OEM MKV grocery bag hook
OEM Gorilla Gear trunk mat
OEM black "Mojo" carpeted floor mats (Shows)
OEM Monster mats (Daily)

Electronics:
Excessive Amperage 200 amp alternator
OEM Euro DWA alarm siren
Remote window control via VDS Pro
Escort Passport 8500 x50 radar detector with custom mute button in lower dash switch with color matched LEDs
Pioneer AVIC-D3 headunit
Polk C400.4 amplifier
Polk MMC6500 6.5" component speakers
Polk C500.1 amplifier
JL Audio Stealthbox (10W3v3)

Outdated pictures from last summer:
















Current, but crappy pictures:








"The List":
Pickup R32 rear seats (at upholsterer)
Trim and install new painted engine covers
Install ECS fuel pressure gauge
Passat mirror switch (on its way, need to order connector)
Polo headlight switch (here, need to install)
OEM fire extinguisher under passenger seat (waiting on some parts)
Climatronic swap (install starting 7/22 with Zach!)
...Kufatec harness
...Aluminum trim bezel
OEM Navi (waiting for misc. parts)
...Kufatec harness
...OEM Triplex antenna
...Harmon Kardon Drive + Play 2 molded into ashtray (working out the details)
D-DOT FIS display module (waiting for some bugs to be worked out)
Kufatec heated seat harness to replace self-made harness (here, need to install)
OEM in dash aluminum cup holder (here, need to install)
Footwell lights (need to order)
42DD Stealth catch can (deciding on PCV simplification)

Distant Future:
ECS R32 2-piece rotors
ECS Stage 1R rear brake kit
LSD
GT28RS or GT2871R turbo kit (Likely APR Stage 3+)
APR or SEM intake manifold
OEM Euro front rubstrip with chrome trim or Bora R bumpers and 4-door R side skirts
Hybrid GLI/Euro trunk lid
Black Alcantara headliner
Custom LED tail lights in Euro R/R/R/C housings

Index:
Coming Soon(ish)

[flatsix02]

BMW 335i 6spd knob is my guess..

headlights are awesome. I <3 retros.

[JettaGetUpandGo]

This was the original first post. Moved down here to make more room up there.

Previous thread: My Journey

What I remember doing between then and now:
-rolled the front fenders and was able to reduce the damage from the wheel falling off a couple of years ago
-traded the Aristos for TT wheels
-traded the TT wheels for a different set of Aristos to use for winter with Nokian tires
-new General Exclaim UHP tires for the RC's
-sold the Superleggeras in order to fix / rebuild my computer
-traded trunks with another PG Jetta to get rid of the spoiler
-traded my black Neuspeed front strut bar for a polished one
-sold the Neuspeed P-Flow (didn't like the noise)
-realigned the exhaust and welded on a larger tip to fill the opening in the GLI valence a little better
-water pump failed at 55kish miles
-replaced timing belt, water pump, etc.
-had a FluidDampr crank pulley and Gruvenparts alternator and power steering pulleys installed with the timing belt stuff
-replaced the alcantara covered door card inserts with OEM leather inserts
-installed and coded for an OEM DWA alarm siren (chirps instead of honks)
-bought a spare intake manifold to polish (haven't gotten very far)
-built a dash mounted mute button for my radar detector with color matched LEDs
-installed a limited run Unibrace designed for Jetta fitment
...and I think that brings us back up to speed. I'm sure I forgot some stuff, but that's most of it.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty productive. I took advantage of the VW Outlet / ECS blowout sales and bought an .:R pedal set and dead pedal, a Gorilla Gear trunk mat, and I finally bought a set of OEM Aero wipers (not on sale, but I've wanted them for years). I bought an OEM E92 sport shift knob and a shift lever on eBay to see how it attaches and modify my lever to make it work, and bought a set of Great Plates to push the rear wheels back and eliminate rubbing. I refinished and sold off a set of junk stubby mirrors I bought last year, then bought a new set from ECS to either paint or chrome. I found a rare set of new OEM lexan headlight covers in anticipation of a future project, then I made that future project start a little quicker than intended.

Mr. Appleton built a set of retrofitted headlights and didn't make a DIY, but posted pictures as he progressed. He put them up for sale shortly after finishing them. I was too far back in line and missed out on the sale. After a lot of reading on the HIDPlanet forums and some emails back and forth with Matt@TheRetrofitSource, I decided it was something I could do myself.

I bought this stuff:
-new Hella / OEM GLI headlights from MJM
-junk set of OEM lights with clear turn signal lenses and chrome outer trim ring
-second set of clear turn signal lenses
-this stuff from TheRetrofitSource
......FX-R projectors
......E55-R shrouds
......Phillips 4300K bulbs
......Morimoto 5000K bulbs
......Matsush!ta gen 4 ballasts

This is a portion of what arrived last week:


This is what I've done:


Discuss.

[RuB_MyZZteR]

Do you have a DIY of how you did the headlight/projector conversion?

Or where did you learn how to do it? Is there a DIY out there?

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I didn't really follow any specific DIY. I just read everything I could find and learned as much as I could about it.

Even though there's not a lot of VW specific stuff there, the forums at http://hidplanet.com were great to learn a lot about the various retrofit components and reading / learning from other retrofit builds gave me the confidence that I could do mine.

This thread was my inspiration and probably wasn't intended to be a DIY, but kind of is: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4738520

Matt @ TheRetroFitSource (http://www.theretrofitsource.com) was very helpful in picking out components and guiding me through the order process.

I started with brand new GLI style Hella headlights from MJM (cheapest OEM / Hella lights I could find new) so the lenses were perfect, the chrome had less of a chance of peeling and everything was clean to work on. I also bought a set of beat up OEM lights in the classifieds forum cheap to use the clear turn signals and chrome trim ring to replace the black one on the GLI lights. The second set of clear turn signal lenses I also found in the classifieds.

This one helped me get the headlights open and apart: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4196278

I made a template to use as a guide for cutting (IM me for a full size .pdf file):

I taped off the chrome with blue painters tape (the tape for delicate surfaces and 60 day clean removal, not the regular blue tape with 14 day clean removal), dremeled a hole for the projector, drilled 11/64" holes to mount it with #8 nuts and bolts, and trimmed the shroud quite a bit to fit around it.

For the dual signal lenses the guide above was pretty good and I added to it a little bit at the end.

I still need to remove all of the sealant from the housings and lenses, cut up the other reflector, make new backs for the housings to fit the longer projector, test the aim of the projectors, and seal them up. It will probably be a couple of weeks still. I don't have a lot of time with school full time, a weekend job, and an internship during the week.


Modified by JettaGetUpandGo at 11:07 AM 3-19-2010

[SalMoney]

You work too fast Put me to shame!

They look really nice though

[ninjapants]

wow man.... the lights look sick!

[GTi 2718]

lights look good

[RuB_MyZZteR]

Quote, originally posted by JettaGetUpandGo »

I didn't really follow any specific DIY. I just read everything I could find and learned as much as I could about it. Even though there's not a lot of VW specific stuff there, the forums at http://hidplanet.com were great to learn a lot about the various retrofit components and reading / learning from other retrofit builds gave me the confidence that I could do mine. This thread was my inspiration and probably wasn't intended to be a DIY, but kind of is: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4738520 Thank you sir! How much do you think the whole transformation will cost me and how many hours do you think it'l take? Matt @ TheRetroFitSource (http://www.theretrofitsource.com) was very helpful in picking out components and guiding me through the order process. I started with brand new GLI style Hella headlights from MJM (cheapest OEM / Hella lights I could find new) so the lenses were perfect, the chrome had less of a chance of peeling and everything was clean to work on. I also bought a set of beat up OEM lights in the classifieds forum cheap to use the clear turn signals and chrome trim ring to replace the black one on the GLI lights. The second set of clear turn signal lenses I also found in the classifieds. This one helped me get the headlights open and apart: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4196278 I made a template to use as a guide for cutting (IM me for a full size .pdf file): I taped off the chrome with blue painters tape (the tape for delicate surfaces and 60 day clean removal, not the regular blue tape with 14 day clean removal), dremeled a hole for the projector, drilled 11/64" holes to mount it with #8 nuts and bolts, and trimmed the shroud quite a bit to fit around it. For the dual signal lenses the guide above was pretty good and I added to it a little bit at the end. I still need to remove all of the sealant from the housings and lenses, cut up the other reflector, make new backs for the housings to fit the longer projector, test the aim of the projectors, and seal them up. It will probably be a couple of weeks still. I don't have a lot of time with school full time, a weekend job, and an internship during the week. Modified by JettaGetUpandGo at 11:07 AM 3-19-2010

[JettaGetUpandGo]

What was the reason for quoting all of that?

[Bork]

damm dude...headlights look sick

[ragu9000]

amazing looking

[bradmb]

not very hard to guess that was from a 335. i knew it as soon as i saw the shift boot.

headlights look great. one of the better retrofits ive seen

[RuB_MyZZteR]

Oh I'm sorry about that I meant to reply to what you said...

I was trying to write thanx for the info and also how long do you think itl take to do the whole job?

My bad again

[JettaGetUpandGo]

Quote, originally posted by RuB_MyZZteR »

Oh I'm sorry about that I meant to reply to what you said... I was trying to write thanx for the info and also how long do you think itl take to do the whole job? My bad again

Haha, sorry, I didn't see your reply in the middle of all that.

445 Projectors, shrouds, bulbs, ballasts, harness. (could do for ~$100 less with different bulbs and ballasts)
225 New Hella GLI-style headlights from MJM
55 Junk OEM headlights with clear turn signals and a chrome outer ring
30 Second set of clear turn signals
$750 total

All of those prices were shipped. I should be able to get some money back selling the amber turn signal lenses, black GLI trim ring, second set of reflectors, and another $550ish for my current headlights.

I expect the total time to be 20-30 hours. I only get to work on them for an hour or so here and there. I want them to turn out good too, so I'm taking my time. Scraping the old sealant off is going to take forever.

[RuB_MyZZteR]

Thanx again for the info.... but I really don't think I'll be able to pull that off though....I second that...I know I won't be able to pull that off...isn't their any projector headlights that you can buy off the shelf that are similar to the stock ones and would look like the ones that you're retrofitting? Wouldn't that save you a lot of time?

[JettaGetUpandGo]

If there were projector headlights that looked just like the ones I'm building with similar output, then I wouldn't be building them.

[RuB_MyZZteR]

Quote, originally posted by JettaGetUpandGo »

If there were projector headlights that looked just like the ones I'm building with similar output, then I wouldn't be building them.

Haha alright...thats it...good luck with your work

[DBR007]

Good stuff.

[am1899]

Beautiful work on the headlights

[.:3513]

Quote, originally posted by am1899 »

Beautiful work on the headlights

Yep. Headlights looks great.

[JettaGetUpandGo]

Thanks! I bought some 3" PVC and end caps today to seal off the back of the light and did the other projector today start to finish. Hopefully I'll have enough free time between classes and work this week to scrape the sealant off the housings and maybe next weekend I can get the backs made!

I remembered to take pictures of most of the steps as I did the second projector today:

With the lights disassembled, tape off the lens and bend the tabs in to pull the bulb cover out:

Using a 3/4" socket, tape to add thickness, 1/4" drive extension, and a 1/4" drive to screwdriver bit adapter, make a centering guide for the template:

Line up template:

Trace template and make a rough first cut with a Dremel and a cutoff wheel:

I've had my Dremel for years and this is the first time I've tried using the flexible shaft attachment. Not having having to hold the entire tool in your hand makes working with it so much easier!

Using a 60 grit sanding bit, sand out the hole for the projector and test fit:

Sand down this tab like so if you plan on doing dual signals:

Drill holes for mounting the projector, cut bolts to the proper length (I wasn't sure what I needed when I was at the store. It's always easier to buy longer and cut than to go back and buy longer bolts), and trim the shroud to fit around the projector (I loosely bolted the projector to the reflector before removing the tape to fit the shroud. The trimmed edges are sharp enough to damage the chrome, so make sure you trim and test fit before removing the tape):

With the projector loosely bolted in place, connect the bulb and ballast to a 12 volt source to aim the projector and make sure the cutoff is horizontal. I used the battery for our backup sump pump because it was convenient (it's just a car battery). With the projector aligned, use hot glue to temporarily hold the projector in place. I didn't take any pictures of the aiming because I didn't have enough available hands to take pictures:

Once the glue sets, carefully tighten the bolts. Make sure you do not over tighten them and crack the plastic. I didn't take a picture, but I used two nuts on each bolt and hot glued around them to ensure they did not loosen:

If you are doing dual turn signals, now is a good time to attach the lenses. Screw the top lens and reflector in place first, then bolt the second lens and second reflector together. Again, I used two nuts with hot glue. The left and right side of the bottom turn signal reflector will need to be trimmed. You can see in the pictures below exactly what was trimmed. Using the pattern in the top signal lens as a guide, line up the bottom lens and liberally apply hot glue around each tab to hold it in place. (can you tell I like using hot glue?) The closeup pictures are of the already completed projector:

Use hot glue to hold the shroud in place and you're done!

Both sides finished:

Staging area:

Work area:

I hope this combined with the links posted above are enough to guide someone through this process.


Modified by JettaGetUpandGo at 1:38 AM 3-22-2010

[am1899]

Thanks for posting the DIY. Starting to think I might be able to do this...

[JettaGetUpandGo]

Quote, originally posted by am1899 »

Thanks for posting the DIY. Starting to think I might be able to do this...

No problem. If you have a Dremel, a hot glue gun, and some of the other basic tools, this really isn't all that bad. It's just ridiculously time consuming and kind of expensive to start with new lights in order to keep the chrome (or have the reflectors re-chromed when you're done, but that's $$$. I looked into it)

[ninjapants]

do work son! **** man, and I thought I got some **** done yesterday

[JettaGetUpandGo]

Haha. Progress is going to be slow from here on out now that I'm back in classes.

I felt so close to finishing the second reflector last night when I wanted to go to bed, but figured it was better to stay up late and get it done while it was fresh in my head rather than to wait another week to finish it. It was a rough morning waking up at 6:00 to get to class.

[ninjapants]

hahah yea that's rough, but your right to some degree. It's always better to get it done while it's still fresh but if you get too tired to start making mistakes and make the work harder for yourself just making you even more tired.

[JettaGetUpandGo]

That's true. I wasn't tired at all since I was up late all week, I just needed to go to bed early to get back into my regular routine.

[ninjapants]

well than it's a good thing you got it done I'll be watching for more work

[JettaGetUpandGo]

Since I'm bored in class I've been reading about the durability of hot glue. It seems it doesn't do well in colder temperatures. That being said, I used a lot of it to hold the bottom signal lenses in place and I also used some for the shrouds. I think I will be ok since the lenses (even with a bulb) are pretty lightweight, but I'm worried that I'll hit a bump too hard and knock the shroud off the projector.

[ninjapants]

hmm i didn't think about that. You may want to get ahold of some cold weather friendly epoxy and no need to remove the hot glue but add some epoxy and you should be ok without having to redo all the work.

[JettaGetUpandGo]

I can do that for the signal lenses. I'm out of luck with the shrouds though unless I use a hair dryer or something to heat up the glue.

[ninjapants]

i'm sure you'll figure it out

[DowNnOuTDubin]

Nice work and great info posted

[Code3VW]

Excellent DIY-like thread!!

Can't wait to see the pics of these things fired up!!