THE COMPLETELY HOMEMADE M ALIBU
*************UPDATE June 18th 2009 (Early Summer photos)***********
I recently added a few things
- QMI brand chrome fender flares (2 of the 3/4 arch sets which were then modified to produce 1 full arch set)
- Double bar Escalade style fender vents (I shaved out my former louvered style fender vents and then smoothed the fenders out back to a stock look and the added the new vents over top)
- Rear window visor/spoiler (I custom made this out of two of the standard sunroof visors by joining them together and then heating and molding the peice to the right shape for the Malibu)
The "General" 360 degree exterior shots:
- shots of the custom made rear window visor/spoiler
- shots of the new Escalade-style fender vents and the custom made full arch set of QMI fender flares (they stick out about and inch or two so it widensthe body just nicely)
- of course more shots of the doors and headlights
- a shot of the back with the CCFL-halo/LED retrofitted tails
******UPDATE December 13th 2008 Winter photoshoot (all pics on Page 2)
*************End of summer 2008 Photoshoot (all pics from the shoot are on Page 2)
***************UPDATE November 2nd 2008
Headlight LED upper Eyebrows
LED sidemarker retrofit
***************UPDATE September 27th 2008
Retrofitted altezza tail lights with LEDs and CCFL Angel Eye halos. Camera is old so pics are pretty blurry and full of glare but it gives you the idea.
***************UPDATE July 21st 2008 on Page 2
***************UPDATE July 8th 2007 on Page 2
***************UPDATE June 4th 2007 on Page 8
PLEASE SIGN THE GUESTBOOK AND VOTE VOTE VOTE!! Leave a comment, question, an idea, a shout out, anything so I know you were here. Let me know where I can see your ride, and I will do the same for you.
******And if you vote that you don't like it or leave a low rating, show some maturity and let me know why. It is really irritating when people leave shitty ratings and negative poll votes without having the courtesy to leave a comment in the guestbook. I am almost 30 years old and as an adult, customizing a car means to create a representation of the owner, not to just throw on huge mufflers and spoilers made out of Lego and think you are now suddenly fast enough to be competition for a Ferrari (Unless that is what you are in to, just don't be a dick about it). So, please, this site is for people with a passion for cars and creativity and not for people who just think it is "cool" to sabbotage anything that doesn't say "Powered by Honda" on it. I don't have time to play testosterone-driven children's games with kids who have 4cyl. 1.6L stock cars and think they are in the Fast & the Furious movie. I am not interested in ignorance here, so all "haters" please just leave now. You should be able to act like an adult a bit and at least appreciate the work on any car even if it doesn't suit your own style. Just spitting out poor ratings isn't being cool, it is being an ass. So if you aren't digging the car, you can leave low ratings and negative poll votes, but actively participate in our CarDomaiin community as well. Leave your reasons, comment, and/or suggestions in the guestbook. Please leave some input. WRITE SOMETHING!! I will always return the favour by checking out your ride and leaving you a comment.
And check out my CCFL Angel Eyes do it yourself tutorial
on this page to find out how to do the CCFL Halo headlights mod for $40 instead of buying some "kit" for $100+. It's incredibly easy and 10x brighter than LED Angel Eyes. It was written for the Malibu but the directions are pretty much universal.
Page 1: CCFL Angel Eyes/projectors "how-to" tutorial (You are here if you believe you are here)
Page 2: List of mods and their photos
Page 3: Coming soon....
Page 4: Coming soon....
Page 5: Coming soon....
Page 6: Coming soon....
Page 7: Coming soon....
Page 8: Ideas for future mods
My Car's Pics & Info are currently on Page 2! Along with a list of my many, many mods.
CCFL ANGEL EYES INFO:
CCFL Angel Eyes are just regular ccfl rings that the automotive industry decided to call "Angel Eyes" and charge a lot of money for. However, CCFL rings are used in lots of other industries too all over the place, including the computer industry. People who like to modify computers use CCFL rings (Angel Eyes) as accent lights for around the grilles of computer case fans. They are quite common in the computer industry and because they are so common, they are also very inexpensive. CCFL rings for computer fans in the computer industry usually cost only $5-$10 each and yes, they are the exact same thing as CCFL Angel Eyes. Some automotive industry Angel Eyes kits can cost up to $500 I have seen. That is why I am giving everyone this information. CCFL rings are available from most computer modding websites in a wide array of sizes and colours (except 80mm white, but I have found a couple of places with these that I have linked to below). So if you want 80mm white CCFL Angel Eyes (the same ones I have on my car), then just go to one of the links for white CCFL's.
For all other sizes and colours, here is a link to one of the best sites I have found so far for them:
(*NOTE: Anything with UV in the title contains a purple ccfl ring, the actual fans are the indicated coulour and the UV CCFL ring makes them glow. If you don't want purple ccfl rings then stick to things that do not say UV. Anything that does not say UV comes with a clear fan and a CCFL ring in the indicated colour. Yes, the CCFL rings can be removed from the fans, they are just connected with a couple screws. Just take the ring off and throw the fan away, or use it if you want, I don't care :).)
Angel eyes website
For white CCFL Angel Eyes:
This is where I got mine from a couple years ago when they were the only place around that had them (page is in German but I did the transaction via Email in English and the contact info is at the end of this tutorial):
http://shop.wiltec.info/tabshop_s/kaltlicht_kathoden_rund___weiss_o_80mm_m,pd12!0,,21386-1.html
Or another place that has since started carrying them that is probably more convenient than the German link above as it is in English, lol:
http://www.oznium.com/cathodes
Now read the tutorial for help on installing them once they arrive
Here is a copy of the Angel Eyes installation tutorial I wrote:
Here we go...
Take your headlights off the car...so like you ghave them like this:
These are the rings I will be installing (the 80mm white ones [look at the end of this post for info on where to get them]):
Peel the splash guard off the headlight unclipping in from the housing clips as you go:
So now you are left with this:
Using a slot (flat) head screwdriver, pry the lens and housing pieces apart using firm but gentle force. Unclip the retaining clips holding the two pices together as you go. Once you get them apart, cleam off the old silicone from the edge of the lens and the groove of the housing:
Drill holes for the angel eyes wires in the top rear of the headlight housing. One wire at a time so not to get them mixed up, cut the angel eye wires and strip off the insulation sheathing a bit at each end of the two resulting pieces. Slide the length of wire still connected to the ring through the drilled hole from the interior of the headlight housing to the exterior as shown:
Once through the hole, splice the two coresponding stripped wirends back together:
Use a good quality, strong adhesive tape (the on pictured is rated at 11lbs. Cut yourself a few small pieces and use them to secure the rings ins place:
Now you need 4 clamps (two/headlight), a spreader, and silicone:
Apply the silicone in the groove around the housing piece and quickly reassemble the lens and housing parts together. Secure and tighten the clamps around the whole thing and press the excess silicone that seeps out along the joining seam back in and over top of the seam with the spreader:
Let the silicone cure for at least 3 hrs. and put the headlights back on the car. Plug the angel eyes into the inverters (just rest the inverters above the headlights under the hood). Connect the inverter wires as you wish (I provided a general wiring scenario here:
MalibuClub.ca
you are done:
And thank you to WilTec Wildanger Technik GmbH for the white 80mm CCFLs
White 80mm CCFL Angel Eyes
It's a company in Germany. They cost about $10.00/ring with steel inverter. The rings are much thicker than the ones that come on the computer fans and they are about the same price (I paid about $70.00 Canadian total for 4 80mm rings with 4 inverters and shipping). Best part is... the shipping only took 3 DAYS!! From Germany!! And that's their regular shipping not Express or anything.
I did the transaction all via Email with the company owner in English. I got great prompt customer service and he was more than happy to let me give you guys his contact info. So here it is:
Mr. Bernd Wildanger
bw@wiltec.info
Just send him an email if you need anything and he said he'll see what he can do for all of you. My name is Andrew if you want to tell him how you got the info.
Updated alternative link for white CCFL Angel Eyes instead of the German site mentioned before:
Also, perhaps more convenient, you can find white CCFL Angel Eyes through Oznium's website and they have several different sizes. And, it's in English, lol.
Oznium CCFL Angel Eyes
Here is a simple MS Paint wiring diagram that I drew up to show how to wire the Angel Eyes:
DO-IT-YOURSELF PROJECTOR RETROFIT TUTORIAL:
So you have your headlights out I assume and have removed the lens from the housing (If not, do it before continuing. If you don't know how, see my Angel Eyes how-to for instructions).
Basically you cut a hole in the back of the low-beam section of the headlight housing. Generally, it is a good idea to cut outwards from the stock socket, using the lowbeam bulb hole as a center reference point.
To accomplish the majority of the cutting, I recommend an appropriately sized hole-saw (this is what I used, 3" diameter).
I also had to shave off some of the perimeter of the projector bowls so they would fit in the housings. You can see I had to completely delete 1 shield mounting hole at the bottom of the bowls and also shave and round-off the upper mounting holes.
Work the projector bowl back into place through the hole and get it set into a relatively visually straight position.
To set it straight, our headlights have ridges along the bottom inside the housing, as shown below. Align the projector with these ridges and with a 90 degree angle along the inner side of the housing as shown. Also, to help get the light aimed straight out, try to align the projector bulb socket with the high-beam and turn signal sockets (see pics below).
Now it should fit like a glove.
Use a marker to mark the points where the mounting holes are in the headlight.
Remove the projector and drill holes where you marked. Mount the projector bowlds back in the headlight and secure it with stove bolts or machine screws. Make sure the screws are long enough to go right through out the back of the newly drilled mounting holes so you can attach a nut on each one on the other side. (*NOTE: These will be used for aiming the projetor.)
Assemble the shields and lens on the projectors bowls and put them back on the car.
Carefully aim the projectors and use the mounting screws to help. Use the following diagrams to help aim the beam. (In diagram 2, x=distance between the 2 projectors).
After everything is aimed, and the screws are retightened to keep the projectors in the aimed position, remove them from the car so we can do the covering up of all the work. I made 2 cone-shaped shrouds to go over the lenses out of aluminum sheting as you can see below. Then to stop any light from escaping around the edges of the shrouds, I measured and used a Dremel to cut out 2 bezels from a sheet of 1/4" thick plexiglass.
The bezels will fit around the outside of the aluminum cone shrouds as shown in the pic.
Now, lay all the pieces out flat and disassembl;e the projector lense and shields and mask off the projector bowls. Then, lightly sand the chrome housing interior, and clean it thoroughly and let it dry. Then apply a few light coats of primer, waiting 5-10 mins. between coats, and then apply a few light coats of paint, again waiting 5-10mins between coats.
Once the paint has flashed (lightly tacked) remove the masking and let everything dry for a few hours. (My dog took a shit beside my project during this time).
I cut out a few strips of gloss black adhesive-backed 7yr. vinyl to hold the bezel in place as I silicone the edges of the bezel and shroud where they meet the housing.
These pics show where I placed the vinyl strips.
Now everything should be secured and held in place ready to be sealed.
I cut 2 pieces of regular chrome adhesive-backed body trim moulding to use as trim around the projector lenses just to pretty them up a bit
Now seal all seams, joints, edges, holes, and cracks with silicone (I used an entire tube of black silicone for the "inside-the-housing" part of the job and put on the chrome ring. Let everything sit for a few hours to cure, seal, and adhere.
Here I have reattached my Angel eyes (see my CCFL Angel Eyes How-To for instructions on installing Angel Eyes and resealing the headlight housing and lense).
Finally for the back, I used a bit of silicone, but mostly gloss black adhesive-backed 7yr. vinyl (the stuff they make decals and graphics out of) because it makes a good seal and bond and then I wrapped it all again tightly in electrical tape, which of course is also vinyl.
Voila! Projectors.
