They will finish the front end lines of your car very nicely and add to its sleek appearance.
velo-rossa-Headlight-covers.pdf
They will finish the front end lines of your car very nicely and add to its sleek appearance. However, they are not warranted to be street legal. If you are concerned about legality, check your local and state regulations BEFORE mounting.
Please read these directions completely before attempting installation.
These covers are made from a polycarbonate material which is scratch- and fracture-resistant. However, that does not mean that they cannot be scratched or broken. Please handle them with care when installing, and use care when washing or servicing them. Be aware that if you park your car outside, uncovered, after a few years you may experience some clouding and yellowing of the material in spite of the UV inhibitors that are part of the polycarbonate chemistry.
These covers are formed with a drape/stretch technique which yields good clarity and is very cost effective. They are not optically perfect, as you might expect from very expensive injection-molded glass lenses, but then they cost a lot less and they look pretty good. With the small quantities in which they are made, this is the most cost effective method of production.
Cars which can utilize these covers directly include the Eagle GTO, the Alphabet GTO, and the Velo Rossa™. Some McBurnie cars can use them without modification, but later McBurnie cars, Blue Ray Rhino cars, and Stable cars (among others) may require slight modification in terms of trimming and/or using heat to change the shape slightly.
Because of the process by which they are formed, not all of these covers are identical. This means you may have to GENTLY force them to fit the headlight recesses as you fasten them. There is a left side and a right side…try them both ways to make sure you have them right before you attempt modifications.
Should you need to re-curve them for better fit, you will need considerable heat. A heat gun will allow you to soften small areas for this purpose, but be aware that excessive heat will distort the covers so be careful. Obviously, if you ruin them you will have to buy new ones.
There are many different ways to fasten your covers. Therefore I do not supply any attaching hardware (which would obviously add cost), and the covers themselves are not pre-drilled for mounting screws, in case you are replacing covers that already have mounting brackets in positions other than what I use. The following, however, is the most common method of mounting.
From your local hardware store you will need 16 to 20” of aluminum bar stock ½” wide and 1/8” thick, sixteen bright zinc (or stainless steel) machine screws (10-24x 3/4” work well), eight matching nuts and star washers, and eight matching flat washers. Button-head Allen screws look a little nicer than slotted screws. If you want to create seals and faux trim rings, you will also need silver spray paint, clear silicone RTV, and silicone spray lubricant.
Fabricate four aluminum “L” brackets for each side of the car. Two will have an angle slightly less than 90 degrees and two slightly more. Mark off the aluminum at 1” intervals and drill holes before cutting. Each bracket will use about 2” of material, with the mark in between indicating the bend line. The hole in one end of each bracket should be a “through” hole. This will allow you to pass the screw through the hole and the corresponding hole in the fiberglass to attach the bracket to the headlight recess. For the other hole in each bracket, if you drill it SLIGHTLY undersize, the screw can make its own threads in the soft aluminum. Do not overtighten and strip out the threads or crack the headlight cover.
Once the holes are drilled, you can cut the brackets. Round the corners slightly for a cleaner appearance. Bend the brackets in a brass-jawed vise or use soft jaws of some sort, to prevent marring the brackets.
Easiest way to determine locations for the brackets is by removing the headlight assembly and positioning the headlight covers over the recesses. Hold them in place with masking tape or electrical tape. Position the brackets at the 2 o'clock, 4 o'clock, 8 o'clock, and 10 o'clock positions in the headlight recess. Bend the brackets as necessary to make the “up leg” lay flat on the inside of the headlight cover. Tape the brackets into place.
Drill through-holes into the fiberglass where you can use machine screws with star washers and nuts on the inside of the bonnet to hold the bracket in position.
When you are satisfied with the position of the brackets and have them screwed down, place the headlight cover over the recess and tape into position. Mark the headlight covers, then remove and drill through holes for mounting screws.
If you are going to paint the headlight recesses silver, now is the time while the headlight assembly is out. Remove the brackets, prep for paint, and apply paint.
Reinstall the headlight assemblies. If you adjust the position of the lights before final mounting of the headlight covers, you will not have to remove them later for adjustment. A little RTV silicone sealant around the headlight assembly before installation will help keep road spray out of the headlight recess.
Many customers like to seal the headlight covers to help keep water out of the headlight recess. Here is a great way to do that and create a faux trim ring as well.
Turn the headlight covers upside down. Mask off a ½ to 1” band around the edge, scuff with a Scotchbright pad, and use silver spray paint to create a silver edge on the underside of the headlight cover. Allow to dry thoroughly before proceeding.
Before remounting the headlight covers, you may also want to drill two small (1/4” or so) holes in the bottom of each headlight recess. One should be at the front and the other at the back near the headlight. This will allow any water that may seep in or condense inside the recess to drain out. With one hole at the back and one at the front, water will drain regardless of whether the car is parked slightly uphill or downhill.
Spray silicone lubricant around the edge of the headlight recess as “mold release.” Squirt a small bead of clear RTV silicone sealer around the edge of the recess. Carefully position the headlight cover in place and screw it down gently, so as to just bring it flush with the fiberglass and squish out some of the sealer. You do not want to tighten it too much, as it might squish out all of the sealer in some areas.
Following the directions on the RTV silicone and allow to cure before proceeding. After cure, you can use a pocket knife or Xacto knife to run around the edge of the headlight cover (being careful to not dig into the paint or the cover), then peel away the excess silicone.
Any excess sealer on the inside of the headlight cover should be hidden by the faux trim ring. Therefore it is not necessary to remove the cover for further trimming. However, if you should need to remove the cover, the silicone spray lube should allow you to do so without damaging the paint or unintentionally pulling the seal off the cover.
