www.jec.org.uk

I have recently bought a '92 4.0 facelift fhc. Love the car but needs a bit of TLC. I would like to upgrade some of the exterior (it will eventually need a complete respray I'm sure). Is it possible to replace the front bumper and valance to the celebration model type.
I would also like a twin headlight conversion but have not been able to find a relacement.
Any help greatly appreciated on my first post

Hello and welcome. I notice sng barratt are now offering the twin headlamp conversions for facelift models. See page10 of the Feb '08 JE magazine.
Pop

aarondrs

"Celebration" bumper conversion may be possible, (to be honest I don't know) but be aware, this body kit is like hens teeth to get your hands on so if you see them, grab them

Do you want twin headlight conversion for cosmetic or practical reasons? If the latter try replacing the bulbs with Philips X-Treme (approx £25.00 the pair). If the former bear in mind your "old" headlamps are also like hens teeth and are worth good money.......

DH Dove

I don't want to "hijack" this thread, but I made one of my rare nighttime journeys the other weekend and was horrified by the lack of light from my headlamps. It wasn't so bad when there were no other cars around (this was out in the countryside), but other cars' lights were so much brighter that I felt invisible and couldn't see much of the road ahead.

It would interest me if anyone has upgraded their bulbs. Was it worth it? Which bulbs seem to work best? Are there any issues about putting more strain on the wiring or other parts of the electrical system?

AndrewB

Andrew B

Check my post above...............

The Philips bulbs are a direct replacement, are legal and give much better "white" light. (+80% allegedly)

I can certainly recommend them.

NB If it's THAT bad have you checked the silvering in your headlamp units -if they're corroded away you will get little light on the road...............

DH Dove

Something I have done with success is rinsing out the headlight inside with warm soapy water. Serious! If the inside of the headlamp glass is also covered in a film, it can be wiped with a wipey-thing on a stick. Danger, don't wipe the silvering, but if you have to, no more than lightly with soapy soft cotton wool or it'll be ruined.

thanks all. I guess my first issue was performance of the lights. after spending sometime with the earth wiring and a wire brush there has been an improvement. I guess I was curious re the cost of the twins (about £470) though I know it ruins the purity. I also think the celebration front would update teh car a little but again only if I found one at reasonable cost.

I think that you mean the big plastic bumpers which were fitted to all cars from 1993 onwards (well before the Celebration models came out). You can buy the plastic bumpers but the difficulty you may find is that there are different steel beams behind them and energy absorbing struts, compared to the earlier facelift models. You can buy most of the bits, but it will work out quite expensive. It would be easier to find someone breaking a car later than vin 188105 and purchasing the beams, struts and bumper covers. Try Graham Hallett at Grublogger or Eurojag.

Another way might be to buy the TWR-type plastic bumpers which look extremely similar to the late standard XJS plastic bumpers but are slightly different. You can often pick new unpainted ones of these up on ebay. However, I think they might fit straight over the standard early facelift steel beams.

Paul

Thanks, DH Dove - I had seen your post (in fact it's probably impossible to look anywhere on this forum without seeing one of your posts!). I was just wondering if anyone else had any first-hand experience of a bulb upgrade.

I will make a mental note to consider fitting new bulbs at the next service - and to avoid driving in the dark out of town until then.


AndrewB

Hello aarondrs, years ago I had a Twin headlight conversion. I have a problem at the time I was broke, so I bought ford lights (round), but this did not have a parking light. So i rewired it to the bumper. I bought a MK1 MR2 indicator lens. This had the yellow and white. You just replace the old indictor light with the MK1 MR2. easy !! and looks good too.

er thank you irisphoto. sounds like a really good idea. I have carried out the conversion you suggested and added XR6i to the bootlid.... cool lol

Thats sound good, do you have any photos of it?

HIDs 4U h4 bulb replacement. 300% improved light output no extra strain on the electrical system, £149.00 from UK Bulbs direct. These type of units used to cost around £500 - £600.

Aarondrs

See post in this section "TWR Bodykit" by Pop Rivet.

DH Dove

DH,thank you. I had a look at the kit previously and decided that I rather liked my car as is (once the rust is sorted)