vette427-sbc
07-30-2013, 08:49 AM
I picked up a set of Black Flame Customs 7” HID projector headlights for my ’55 Chevy and finally got around to getting some pictures and a review together… Before this, the car had a set of regular Sylvania halogen bulbs that just barely got the job done. It did have a new American AutoWire harness, so the voltage was there, but the bulbs just weren’t up to the task. Driving on a country back road with no street lights at night had me focusing on just seeing the road instead of taking in a few twisties. (Having a tinted windshield doesn’t help either!)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/10A233D3DC73456499857BDECE1F62BD45056000-1.jpg
I wanted to change the look of the car to be a bit more menacing… JB from BFC sent over a set of all black headlights (extremely well-packaged too!). I really love the black background look! These are a complete HID Projector Retrofit conversion.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps6fef5559-1.jpg
I did have to do two small mods to my buckets to get them to fit, but I don’t think that is the norm with most other 7” bucket cars. The bulb sticks out just a hair too much to fit in my bucket so I had to drill a hole to let the back of the bulb pigtail poke through
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps5f3271b2-1.jpg
Due to the projector headlight housing being a bit offset, I had to grind a little off the sub-bucket lip to get it to sit flat. As you can see in the picture the offset is pretty minimal and only required minor modification to fit.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps42ff6dcf-1.png
Once I had the lights in, I wired everything up next. The kit comes with a very nice relay harness. Everything uses weather tight connectors and has a nice protective braid. Everything is labeled and very straight forward. There is a fused wire that goes to the alternator, a harness that plugs right into your factory headlight plug, and two plugs for each headlight. It really doesn’t get much simpler. If you are wondering what all of this is for, this harness makes it so that you are no longer running all of your headlight current through your old headlight switch. Just a few amps to power the new relay pack.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zpsafd8365f-1.jpg
Just to see how great these really were I did a little side by side comparison…
Here is one stock halogen. Bright in one concentrated area, but then the light is scattered and fades out to the sides.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps0bbcf32d-1.jpg
And here is ONE of the projectors. Notice the lack of scattered light:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zpsb5d6c73d-1.jpg
After seeing that, I was pretty excited to get both in and aligned (I rushed the alignment but it was close enough to take for a test drive). This is 30 ft from the wall. Notice how sharp the cutoff line is still! Driving at night is now pleasurable instead of stressful, not to mention a lot safer.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/06/null_zps9d42bcdf-1.jpg
]https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps73a7a595-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps140a0b0c-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps7f637e6f-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zpsd4946fca-1.jpg
And the best part about this… I started this whole conversion at 6pm Friday night and still finished it in time to make it to the bar! It really is a very simple install. Besides the product being great, JB from BFC was extremely helpful throughout this whole process. From picking out my housing colors, projector shroud style and bulb color, he was very easy to work with. I honestly only have positive things to say about my experience and I cant say enough how much I love these lights!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/10A233D3DC73456499857BDECE1F62BD45056000-1.jpg
I wanted to change the look of the car to be a bit more menacing… JB from BFC sent over a set of all black headlights (extremely well-packaged too!). I really love the black background look! These are a complete HID Projector Retrofit conversion.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps6fef5559-1.jpg
I did have to do two small mods to my buckets to get them to fit, but I don’t think that is the norm with most other 7” bucket cars. The bulb sticks out just a hair too much to fit in my bucket so I had to drill a hole to let the back of the bulb pigtail poke through
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps5f3271b2-1.jpg
Due to the projector headlight housing being a bit offset, I had to grind a little off the sub-bucket lip to get it to sit flat. As you can see in the picture the offset is pretty minimal and only required minor modification to fit.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps42ff6dcf-1.png
Once I had the lights in, I wired everything up next. The kit comes with a very nice relay harness. Everything uses weather tight connectors and has a nice protective braid. Everything is labeled and very straight forward. There is a fused wire that goes to the alternator, a harness that plugs right into your factory headlight plug, and two plugs for each headlight. It really doesn’t get much simpler. If you are wondering what all of this is for, this harness makes it so that you are no longer running all of your headlight current through your old headlight switch. Just a few amps to power the new relay pack.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zpsafd8365f-1.jpg
Just to see how great these really were I did a little side by side comparison…
Here is one stock halogen. Bright in one concentrated area, but then the light is scattered and fades out to the sides.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps0bbcf32d-1.jpg
And here is ONE of the projectors. Notice the lack of scattered light:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zpsb5d6c73d-1.jpg
After seeing that, I was pretty excited to get both in and aligned (I rushed the alignment but it was close enough to take for a test drive). This is 30 ft from the wall. Notice how sharp the cutoff line is still! Driving at night is now pleasurable instead of stressful, not to mention a lot safer.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/06/null_zps9d42bcdf-1.jpg
]https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps73a7a595-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps140a0b0c-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zps7f637e6f-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2013/07/null_zpsd4946fca-1.jpg
And the best part about this… I started this whole conversion at 6pm Friday night and still finished it in time to make it to the bar! It really is a very simple install. Besides the product being great, JB from BFC was extremely helpful throughout this whole process. From picking out my housing colors, projector shroud style and bulb color, he was very easy to work with. I honestly only have positive things to say about my experience and I cant say enough how much I love these lights!